J's coaling at Prichard WV

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Looked it up in Princes' book- Roanoke to Cincinnati Union Terminal 424.6
miles.  

 

Water could be taken on the mainline on the Peavine at Lawshe and Sardinia
in the later days.  Lawshe had a 50,000 gallon water tank for freight
engines doubling Irvington Hill w/b up to Mt. Zion.  Of course that water
could be used for e/b doubles going up Peebles Hill to Peebles, but e/b
doubles were not common in the steam days.  Sardinia had a 100,000 gallon
tank to water engines working up the Hillsboro branch as there were no other
tanks on that line.   One water column was on the mainline just east of the
station.

 

To water at Clare Yard, east of Cincinnati at MP C9, would have required
cutting the engine off and moving it into the Clare servicing area to the
water columns near the coaling wharf against the hillside.  An e/b train
would have been left on the PRR e/b main (not likely!).  A w/b train would
be left over the Little Miami bridge at the east end of Clare Yard

 

There were two water tanks at the west end of Portsmouth Yard just east of
GS Tower that were used for the yard engines that could be used to water a
passenger engine if necessary.

 

Also, while it has been written that the N&W passenger trains took coal at
Pritchard and didn't coal at Cincinnati Union Terminal to save money, taking
water or not taking water at CUT hasn't been recorded. 

 

Gary Rolih

Cincinnati 

 

  _____  

From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
[mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
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Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2006 7:41 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: J's coaling at Prichard WV

 

Harry,

Something does not add up or I do not have all the information here. 

If a J could make it all the way from Roanoke to Cincinnati (520 miles)
without coal service, why would it be so difficult to run from Prichard to
CUT and back to Prichard (320 miles)?

Ron Davis

At 06:09 PM 9/23/2006, you wrote:



John:
I can't address the water issue, but as for coal, the engine was intended to
go all the way to Cincinnati.  There, N&W paid CUT (Cincinnati Union
Terminal)
to coal during the layover.  Rather than pay inflated prices to CUT, N&W
experimented with topping off at Prichard westbound, turning at Cincinnati
without
coal service, and returning to Prichard to coal eastbound.  It involved
fitting the
tenders of the Class Js with coal boards.
 
Former Governor Holton's brother, Van, was assigned to this trial and told
me
that there were too many instances where the "J" barely made it back to
Prichard.
                                                    Harry Bundy
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