To Dave Klepper: Thank you so much for the history lesson! There's so much of the WW2 era that's never made it into the books, and probably never will. Thanks for sharing your memories with us!
To Big Jim: I know of one N&W fireman who was black. This was back in the 1940's and his name was Sam Johns. He was the grandfather of Columbia Md. businessman and toy train collector Tony Lash, who's been featured in "Classic Toy Trains" magazine and a TM video. As a boy Tonys grandfather got him rides on the Y6's from Roanoke to Bluefield. What a lucky (and well behaved!) young man Tony must have been!
timz Most of us agree the notion that coal trains regularly did 70 mph is nonsense-- but if you look at a 1950s N&W timetable I think you won't find anything prohibiting 70 with any freight train. As I recall the timetable didn't care if you did 75 mph, even with a Y6.
Most of us agree the notion that coal trains regularly did 70 mph is nonsense-- but if you look at a 1950s N&W timetable I think you won't find anything prohibiting 70 with any freight train. As I recall the timetable didn't care if you did 75 mph, even with a Y6.
Then you haven't read the employee timetable which clearly states what the speed limits are just as they do today.
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I believe the A averaged about 35 to 40 mph from Roanoke to Lambert's point without stopping since they carried the extra tender.
CZ
and engineers were always white and firemen usually black, at least on the N&W.
First, I don't think that is a very accurate comment for the N&W. I never knew of a black fireman.
about tales of 70mph coal trains being normal operating procedure on the N&W...
Second, I don't think this is true either because it exceeds the speeds allowed in the employee timetable..
Those of you who did not live through WWII and had no experience of railroading during that period are understandably incredulous about tales of 70mph coal trains being normal operating procedure on the N&W and possibly elsewhere. The railroad culture was very different during that period. There were no officials out with radar units to track overspeeding engineers. Every railroad man and woman was impressed that their job was as important to winning WWII as a front-line Infantryman and any slacking or lack of full cooperation could mean lives lost at the front. Dispatchers always worked to move traffic most expeditiously, whether it was a coal train or a peddler freight or whatever. Fuel economy was not even thought about in normal operatons during war on any Class I, possibly yes on shortlines, like the Suncook Valye which did run pretty leasurely, but not on Class I's. Keepig the traffic moving was really the only consideration.
When a through freight came through a division point, it would stop for inspection and usually four car-knockers would inspect, two on each side, one from the front and one from the rear, checking for hot journals (with equpment to repack if necessary), anything loose, etc. On some lines each section crew, and this was an eight-our full time job of four of five people, with overtime if necessary to get a particular problem fixed, had responsibility for only five to ten miles of RofW. working between trains to tamp and align and keep the jointed rail track in as exact alignment as possible.
The Silver Meteor, Champion, and Southerner, all then all-coach streamliners with dedicated equipment, almost always left Penn Station with a specially modified PRR round-top boxcar (and only one on a specific train), with modified Andrew freightcar trucks for high speed and trainline pipes and wiring for steam and communication, between the GG1 and the baggage-dorm car, staying south of Washington between the diesels and that car. Thesse were NOT Railway Express cars. I always thought this was to expedite essential parts from some Long Island or New England factory for some Florida or Georgia defense contractor, and shipping the frieght car via a passenger streamliner insured more prompt delivery. But now I understand the reverse was true. This war-materials frieght car was placed on the streamliner specifically so the streamliner would receive priority handling. These trains generally made good time southbound, and I would arrive in Richmond, or Wilson, or Charlottesville, or Charleston pretty close to on-time. Northbound, it was a different matter. I never saw these cars on a northbound streamliner. And I never arrived in Washington on any of these streamliners on-time. The big hangup was the Patomic River double-track bridge. B&O and PRR freights for Patomic Yard, for itnerchange with the C&O, Southern, and RF&P, shared the tracks with all the passenger trains to the south from Washington. Northbound, we might be on time or a few minutes late at Alexandria, and then sit motionless for a half hour or more between that station and the bridge. Only once did I arrive in NYC on time, and that was because we were only a half hour late into Washington, the switching was done more quickly than usual, and we made the Congresional's usual time, 155 minutes, to New York, instead of the scheduled 170 minutes. .On two occasions on one or two of these streamliners, we were so late that the train was turned at Philadelphia 30th Street, and we continued to New York in heavyweight 12-section-one-drawingroom cars with an across-the platfomr transfer.
Segregation was still enforced in the South, and engineers were always white and firemen usually black, at least on the N&W. But deep friendships existed between firemen and engineers who worked as a team with lots of mutual respect and personal care for each other.
A few rcollections:
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