Reading Railroad Pigeon Point Carfloat Operation

[Charlie Conway]

Hello all,

Can anyone point me in the direction of some information about the carfloat operation that the Reading Railroad operated from Wilmington, Delaware across the Delaware River to the DuPont Chambers Works in Deepwater, NJ?  I understand this barge operation operated from the '40's through the late '70's, and it was primarily (or exclusively) intended to transport DuPont tank cars with tetra ethyl lead compound and anhydrous ammonia to and from the Chambers Works.  The remains of the Pigeon Point float bridge are still visible in satellite images, although the associated branch line and yard tracks are long gone.

I'd be interested in any info on the operation, including the type, size and configuration of the carfloats, the tugs that served the operation and the type and class of cars that were transported across the river over to years.  Photos would be splendid.

Thanks,

Charlie

[DSO17]

   A Google search for "pigeon point carfloat" comes up with several items.

   The Reading used to send one of their tugs down from Philadelphia to work the float and it was common to see them on the Delaware River heading back and forth between Philadelphia and Wilmington, often with a loaded car float along.

   The operation continued for several years after the formation of Conrail, but I don't know what tugs were used then.

[ndbprr]

Tetra ethyl lead was a gasoline additive to prevent engine knocking. That and the ammonia would have been outgoing products and empty cars inbound.

["JaBear"]

Gidday Charlie, I see on the Reading Railroad site there is a small photo of a tug which doesn't link to more information, perhaps it may be worth contacting them.

http://www.readingrailroad.org/gallery/rdg_gallery.shtml

There is also this site which I presume you have found....http://www.abandonedrails.com/Millside_Line

Hope these links work.

Cheers, the Bear.

 

["JaBear"]

Gidday Again, while looking for some information for myself regarding Detroit Car Ferry ops I came across this site.

http://members.trainweb.com/bedt/indloco/dieseltugsny.html#Reading

Cheers, the Bear.

[Charlie Conway]

Thanks, Bear. The link to the tug data is very helpful. Charlie

[dehusman]

I model the W&N branch but haven't studied the moser car float since I do 1900. I know in the 1900's they hauled coal to power the chemical plants. There were two destinations in jersey, thompsons pt and carneys pt.

[Charlie Conway]

Thank you, Dave. I'm interested to hear about the coal traffic in the Pigeon Point carfloat. That would make a nice variety of car types being handled - chemical tanks, coal hoppers, box cars and the occasional flat car with machinery. Charlie

[dehusman]

Thompsons pt made blasting powder and carneys pt made dyes and chemicals. I'm sure what types of cars were used varied over the years. You might want to check out the Hagley museum digital collection, they have extensive collections from the DuPont co and several aerial photo companies. I have found lots of good stuff there.

[tgears]

There are a few photos and some first hand recolections of the facility here on our Wilmington RR history Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/227846344042098/

 

Tom Gears

[Charlie Conway]

Tom

I had a look at the photos on the Facebook Group site and found them very helpful - thanks for the link.  It would be interesting to know how the tank cars managed to get away from the Reading crews on a couple of occasions.

Charlie

[dehusman]

"There are a few photos and some first hand recolections of the facility here on our Wilmington RR history Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/227846344042098/"

Isn't any chance its also posted in a public place where anybody can view it?