2.jpg

Even More Work Trains

Photos by John C. La Rue, Jr., except where noted.

A collection of additional pictures of cars mentioned in the article on work trains.
MGRS 21523. An official O. F. Jordan Company photograph, prepared for use as a catalog illustration, showing how a Jordan could be configured to spread ballast evenly along the track. The front flanger blade, hinged and normally in a V configuration, has been brought forward on the right side to form a shear plow. The ballast retainer has been installed on the left spreader wing to form a pocket to keep the ballast close to the track and out of the drainage ditch, which has already been cut by the bolted-on ditch digging extension. Picture was probably taken at Jordan's factory in East Chicago, IN, but there is no information on the date. It was probably no earlier then the early 1950s, when the front-end cab was introduced. From an official Jordan negative.
DM&IR W3000. Tool cars appeared in work trains as early as the late 1860s. The first ones resembled large cabooses, but later designs looked like baggage cars with windows. This is a good example of the latter type, undoubtedly built new as a tool car. It can be found as early as 1909 in a roster of predecessor Duluth, Missabe & Northern. Judging by the cables slung along the car side, it carries wrecking tools and is probably sent to cope with minor yard derailments in place of the "big hook". Taken at Proctor, MN, on July 27, 1967, by O. Leander.
PRR 493707, definitely a non-standard riding car on "The Standard Railroad of The World". Most PRR riding cars had eight large square windows and were usually seen as part of a camp outfit, apparently being used for dining or recreation rather then to carry men about. This one, converted from a class XL boxcar, looks like a combination of the riding cars and the tool cars seen on early PRR wire trains, but lacks the windowed cupola and the grounding pantograph. It does have the large light seen on many wire train riding cars, probably used for back up moves. Taken at an unknown location, probably in the early 1950s, by P. B. Dunn.
IC X32. The earliest steam shovels, built in England, were called "steam navvies", because they replaced the men called "navvies" who hand-dug canals and early railroads. Steam shovels appeared in this country in the 1880s and quickly became common on railroads, which used them extensively until the great era of railroad building ended around 1920. This one appears to be an Atlantic and is seen in a typical situation at an unknown location in 1924, apparently excavating a new cut for a track realignment, a common project at that time. Copied by C. W. Witbeck from an old photograph.
PRR 491435. A view of a typical PRR crawler crane on its assigned carrier car, coupled to an unusual "Living & idler car". The carrier car has a support for the crane boom, which has been tied down for traveling. The peculiar cab shape, narrowing towards the rear, allowed operation in confined areas and was seen on many PRR crawler cranes and locomotive cranes. Taken at Trinway, OH, in the early 1960s by P. B. Dunn.
UP 903900. Welded rail unloaders often looked as if Rube Goldberg designed them. This one appears to be capable of unloading two rails simultaneously. It may also be used to weld short rails together to form the ribbonrails, as it looks rather complicated for an unloader, and there is a label for National Cylinder Gas on the car side. It is painted UP's "ecology green". Taken at Ogallala, NE, on April 6, 1978, by J. R. Quinn.
SRS 131. Among the most frequently noticed type of contractor train is the Sperry Detector Car. It induces a magnetic field into the rail, which is then measured by sensitive instruments. Any irregularity in the measurements indicates a crack in the rail, which could eventually fail and wreck a train. The irregularity triggers a spray of yellow paint, marking the defective rail for immediate replacement by section crews. The Sperry cars had cramped living quarters, but crews preferred, whenever possible, to live in nearby motels. Taken at Chamblee, GA, on January 3, 1970, by O. W. Kimsey, Jr.
Loram SBC11. Loram also operated self-propelled ballast cleaners like this one. It is designed to clean and replace ballast on the shoulder of the roadbed, where dirt often accumulates to form a sort of dam that keeps water in contact with the ties. Judging by the cloud of dust, plenty of dirt is being removed. The operation can be heard over half a mile away in quiet areas. Taken at Pewee Valley, KY, on October 8, 1988, by J. C. La Rue, Jr.
Nalco 121. The National Aluminate Company was a prominent operator of weed spray cars for many years. Most of its cars were apparently built new. Color was dark blue with yellow lettering. There is no data for this picture, but the car was last repacked in 1964.
RI 95270. Many railroads preferred to operate their own weed spray cars. They were usually converted from old freight or occasionally passenger cars, but the Rock Island used an old gas-electric car, still self-propelled and towing a tank car containing the spray solution. This one was originally numbered 9070. Taken at Silvis, IL, on March 4, 1967, by L. Christiansen.
IC X7. Most pile drivers were built by specialist manufacturers, but the Illinois Central built its own design. Despite being rostered by the railroad as a pile driver, it was essentially a bridge derrick with detachable pile driver leads. This one is blocking highway traffic while driving a piling to stabilize the ground around a small culvert. Taken at Easton, IL, on March 8, 1963, by R. D. Ross.
N&W 914721, an Industrial Brownhoist Model 3. This is a "single ended" pile driver, in which only the lead assembly can be rotated. The design was more stable then a "full revolving" pile driver, in which the control cab and boiler rotated along with the lead assembly. The advantages of the single-ended design were that it could drive longer pilings, and it had the strength and stability to straighten a crooked piling. Taken at Roanoke, VA, on February 19, 1966, by J. C. La Rue, Jr.
MEC 30. An example of the earliest and most elementary form of wedge snowplow. Before snowplows were invented, railroads tried to cope with snow by pushing any heavy car ahead of a locomotive. The wedge plow, designed to slip under the snow layer and lift it up and out of the way, was much more effective, provided only that the snow was not too deep or heavily packed. When the plow got stuck, the usual procedure was to back up and charge the drift at full speed, repeating until the plow had either broken through or derailed, which it often did on curves. Taken at Brunswick, ME, on December 28, 1965, by G. Melvin.
NYC X19556. The ultimate development of the wedge snowplow. From about 1910 on the Russell Snowplow Company offered this large "No. 2", a common sight in the northeastern part of the US. This is an early version built of wood heavily reinforced with iron. It was equipped with ice cutters ahead of the front truck (which had an inside frame), flanger blades ahead of the rear truck (not present on this plow), and patented "elevator wings" to widen the initial cut, all controlled from the cupola by compressed air. Taken at Jackson, MI, around 1964 by P. B. Dunn.
BAR plow train. Wedge snowplow X456 in service, backed by spreader X222 and propelled by GP7 73. The crew has stopped to adjust the spreader's blades, which had to be done by hand, before continuing to clear the yard. Scene is at Caribou, ME, in the early 1950s, taken by A. La Presto.
GN X7301. The Great Northern developed this type of large spreader, which it called a snow dozer, and many examples were operated throughout the GN system. The spreader blade height was adjustable, as seen here. Numerous chains are visible. Taken, probably at Minneapolis, MN, in 1964 by D. Repetsky.
Genesee & Wyoming no number. Snowplows were usually followed by a flanger, a car with small blades notched to clear snow and ice from inside the rail tops. Since the blade had to be raised at switches and highway crossings, most flangers had a cupola or a bay window to give the operator a good view. This apparently homemade flanger (note wooden ladders) has its blades at the ends of the car, supplemented by small spreader wings in the middle. Data unknown, but probably taken at G&W headquarters in Retsof, NY.
NA 16604. A common type in Canada was the drag flanger, usually coupled to the rear end of the plow train, where it left a completely cleared track behind it. The flanger blade is barely visible in the shadows just behind the rear truck. Found in the Northern Alberta Railway yard at Edmonton, Alberta, in August 1972, by S. Styles.
NP 705. An older type of fire car on the Northern Pacific. The wooden tub type of water car was common on this road, but the pump room atop this one is unusual. Taken about 1938, copied from an old print by P. O'Boyle.
NP 795. A more modern type of fire car converted from an old locomotive tender. A hose is housed in the large structure on top (the wheels are for rewinding the hose after use); the smaller structure probably contains a pump. Taken around 1965, but other data is unknown.
SP MW5312. The Southern Pacific operated many tank cars as water cars, but those used as fire cars were distinguished by hose reels and pump housings on a platform on top. This one was probably intended for yard protection at San Luis Obispo, CA, where it was photographed on September 25, 1972, by F. H. Worsfold.
IC A-534. Also for yard use was this Illinois Central fire car built on an old locomotive tender frame. There were few roads in large yards, thus forcing the railroads to provide their own fire protection. Taken at McComb, MS, in 1965 by J. C. La Rue, Jr.
FCM 2. In addition to wire trains, most electric railroads operated smaller self-propelled cars for daily inspection and maintenance of the overhead wire. This railbus answers the call on the Ferrocarril Mexicano [Mexican Railroad]. Like most line cars, ladders, tools and supplies are hung on wherever convenient, producing this decidedly cluttered look. Taken at Orizaba, Vera Cruz, on February 13, 1961, by F. H. Worsfold.
Ma&Pa X1. In 1899, Industrial Works built this 50-ton wrecker for the Akron, Canton & Youngstown as their X990. Eventually it was traded in for a bigger crane and rebuilt by the factory, now Industrial Brownhoist, in 1928 before being sold to the Maryland & Pennsylvania, where it had a long career and was frequently photographed. In 1998 a crack was found in the frame and the crane was unceremoniously scrapped, one year shy of its 100th anniversary. By then it was one of the last, and certainly the smallest, steam wreckers still in service. Here it is seen in happier times, sporting the black-on-yellow logo adopted in the 1970s, at York, PA, on October 23, 1976, taken by J. C. La Rue, Jr.
Soo X105 with X5, a 120-tonner. Virtually all railroad wreckers were assigned an idler car (called a "jib car" on the Soo) to accommodate the boom overhang. This one has a wheeled support for the wrecker boom to enable faster transit to a wreck site. A wrecker's boom was heavy and dangerously unstable, and there were numerous examples of wreckers ending up on their sides after the boom began to oscillate while the crane was being moved too fast over rough track. The large bin at the near end of the car holds oak blocks to support the crane outriggers when the wrecker is making a heavy or angled lift. Taken at Harvey, ND, in July, 1978, by W. Raia.
S&A 5, W145, and W103. Part of a wreck outfit on the Savannah & Atlanta. The crew car, W1, is "off camera". The wrecker appears to be a 100-tonner and was built by Industrial Works in 1913. The idler car, W145, has a large water tank and probably does double duty as the fire car, as well as carrying spare trucks. The tool car, W103, has room for one additional truck and probably serves as the second idler car. The hose hung on the rear of the wrecker is probably used to take water from the tank on W145. Taken at Savannah, GA, on July 26, 1964, by J. E. Parker.
L&N 40015. This 250-ton Bucyrus-Erie machine represents the ultimate size and capacity of the railroad wrecking derrick. Though normally stationed at the L&N's South Louisville Shop, it is seen here along the Louisville waterfront, apparently en route to a derailment on the "river line", a branch serving industries along the Ohio River. The wrecker eventually met its end in a scrap yard behind the photographer. Taken at Louisville, KY, on February 1, 1956, by H. N. Proctor.
CNJ 999. Among the last extant inspection engines was this one, evidently stored prior to scrapping. A 4-4-0, it is larger then most of its kind, which made do with a single driver. Taken at Elizabethport, NJ, on September 5, 1936, by an unknown photographer.
PRR 498014. One of six track inspection cars operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad, this one is shown, with its front windows removed, on display during a R&LHS excursion. Evidently some of the fans are taking a look inside. The stairstep arrangement of seats inside the car is visible through the windows. Conspicuous on the front platform is a searchlight for use at night and inside tunnels. Taken at Altoona, PA, on May 16, 1937, by "Jennings".
Rdg. 90751. Tunnels and tunnel inspection cars were unusually common on the Reading. Like most such cars, the platform is on two slightly different levels. Here the car is standing alone, but in use it would be coupled to the end of a long string of empty cars to prevent the inspectors from being gassed by the locomotive exhaust. Taken at Tamaqua, PA, on April 19, 1981, by J. C. La Rue, Jr.
GN X1507. After its invention in 1886, the rotary snowplow became the snow remover par excellence. It cut up the snow and threw it far from the track, rather then merely pushing it aside; thus it could cope with deeper snow then the wedge plow. This one shows the ice cutters (just ahead of the front wheels) and the flangers (just behind the front truck). The serrated extensions mounted on the cutting wheel are presumably a modification to cope with local conditions. Taken at Hill Yard, WA, on May 4, 1961, by J. R. Cummings.
All of these pictures, and over 26,000 others, are available as B&W prints from John C. La Rue, Jr..
;