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Moving From One Fort To Another By Train

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Moving From One Fort To Another By Train
Posted by SPer on Monday, September 28, 2020 11:14 AM

When the USA entered WWII in December 1941, a soldier from Minnesota went to Fort Lewis,WA via the Great Northern, after FL, he moved to Fort Ord,CA via the Great Northern and Southern Pacific,respectively, and if he was transfered to Fort Meade,Maryland, what railroad will take him to Fort Meade, Maryland.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, September 28, 2020 3:17 PM

SPer
... if he was transferred to Fort Meade,Maryland, what railroad will take him to Fort Meade, Maryland.

B&O and PRR go there directly, or he could transfer to a Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis car.

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, September 28, 2020 6:17 PM

Overmod
 
SPer
... if he was transferred to Fort Meade,Maryland, what railroad will take him to Fort Meade, Maryland. 

B&O and PRR go there directly, or he could transfer to a Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis car.

The W B & A did not survive The Depression.

Wikipedia
Around the time of the purchase of the ASL (Annapolis Short Line), the Defense Highway was built providing an alternative route into Annapolis.[1] As a result, gross receipts for the railroad began to decline. The railroad only survived because of a law exempting it from taxes. In January 1931, during the Great Depression, the extension of the law failed to pass by one vote and the line went into receivership.[10] The line remained in operation for four more years and was eventually sold at auction in 1935. Evans Products Company of Detroit negotiated to buy the railroad in June 1935, but those negotiations failed and the railroad officially ceased operations on August 20, 1935.[11][12] Scrap dealers eventually bought most of the rolling stock. Evans bought the Arlington and Fairfax railroad the next year. Over time, the rails were hauled away, though by the beginning of World War II some remained and at least one post-War home in the area used old rails in lieu of I-beams. The right of way within Washington, D.C., remained under the ownership of WRECo and then the old Capital Transit Company.[13] At some point between 1951 and 1956, the tracks in D.C. were removed.[14]

The right of way of the North Shore Line and some equipment was bought by the Bondholders Protective Society, who then formed the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company, which continued to operate rail passenger service between Baltimore and Annapolis until 1950 and freight service along with diesel passenger buses into the early 1970s to Brooklyn in South Baltimore, connecting with the #6 transit line for streetcars and buses of the old Baltimore Transit Company.

While the vast majority of the South Shore division was abandoned and sold for scrap in the 1930s, the portion between Annapolis Junction and Odenton was purchased and operated by the B&O to serve Fort Meade until sometime between 1979 and 1981. It too was removed. Only the junction tracks at Annapolis Junction, which are used by an aggregates terminal, and an abandoned spur to the old Nevamar plant in Odenton remain.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, September 28, 2020 9:40 PM

That's right, he did say 1941.  I got mixed up with the date in the thread about the gun.

Note that the prospective buyer Evans was the manufacturer of the Auto-Railers.  Would have been an interesting operation...

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Posted by bill613a on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 8:43 PM

It was the title of this thread that gave me a chuckle. In November 1970 I was stationed at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs. Only God and the US Army know why a decision was made to move the 613th Combat Engineer Battalion lock, stock and barrel to Ft Ord in California. Just like in all those old WW II movies all the equipment was loaded on freight cars for the trek west. An advance party left before the show got on the road and those that were not part of train were given four days to "make post."

I opted to take what was left of the CZ from Denver to Ogden and connect with the CITY  of SF to California. An early morning Continental Trailways bus got me to Denver for the first leg of my rail journey.  After the conductor lifted my ticket I made a bee line for the dome observation car for the spectacular ride out of Denver (this my farthest trip west so far). I always wore my class A uniform when traveling to get the furlough fare (usually 30% off) but I soon learned there was a down side. I must have been the only non-Mormon on the train as I was "approached" by both male and female, singles and couples of all generations wanting to spread the gospel of Joseph Smith when all I wanted was to get some photography in. Not what I had planned.  At Salt Lake City the dining car and dome observation car were removed and what was left headed for Ogden. (Before this segment was bustituted). We were running behind but the connection was held and off we went. At this time the CITY crossed the Salt Lake which was very impressive from the home built SP dome.

The next morning I made my way back to the dome lounge for the Sierra scenery and one of the passengers kindly bought me a beer for breakfast (Hamms). It hit the spot.  The CITY moved along at a good clip and we made it to Oakland on time.  A bus took me over to SF where I caught the DEL MONTE for my final leg to Ft. Ord. The train consisted of a LD coach and a parlor/lounge of SUNSET LTD heritage. After a while I went back to this car for a snack.  Just as I sat down to eat the only other person in the car, an elderly matronly lady got up and told the attendant that I shouldn't be in this car (technically correct). So much for supporting the troops.  The station at Ord was a wooden shack across the highway from the front gate. I don't think the MPs had ever seen someone get off the train so needless to say they had some questions.  A phone call to our new company area brought me a ride to my new home. 

Several times during my stay here I flagged down the DEL MONTE for trips to San Jose and San Francisco. Chad and Jeremy had it right, "Yesterdays Gone".

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Posted by gmpullman on Thursday, October 22, 2020 7:54 AM

Thank you,  Ed

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Posted by wjstix on Monday, October 26, 2020 2:43 PM

Reminds on SiriusXM I was listening to a episode of the Dennis Day show from 1945 (or '46). Dennis, who had recently been discharged from the Navy, is taking an oral exam for a job with the US Post Office.

Examiner: OK let's test your knowledge of Geography. Imagine you're on a train going from Cleveland to Toledo. What cities would you go through?

Dennis: Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Kansas City, Seattle, Atlanta, and Chicago.

Examiner: What? What kind trains have you been riding on?

Dennis: Troop trains.

Examiner: Oh, OK, I'll give you that one.

Stix

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