March 1936 floods

[NW Mailing List]

Did the1936 Floods include the New RIver area also?
 
John Carnahan
Columbus
 
 
In a message dated 5/23/2009 11:02:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:

Frank  and all:

You are so right gary about melting snow and heavy rains for  the March
floods. I know the Potomac River basin inundated with that one  from
further upstream than Harpers Ferry for the oldest remaining  B&O
Bollman Bridge there which was used for auto traffic only by then  was
washed away. Weverton, Knoxville and Brunswick yard were inundated  as
was everything else downriver, including DC which experienced one  of
its worst floods ever. There are still marks on buildings under  the
Whitehurst Fwy which show how high the water was there. Other  bad
Potomac R floods were in 1889 (Johnstown origination but the  weather
system was over the east and nailed Harpers Ferry-DC badly and put  the
C&O Canal out of biz for 2.5 years), March 1924 (this flood put  the
C&O Canal out of biz permanently), 1942 and others which escape  me.

I have read about a particularly bad one in September-October 1870  on
the Shenandoah River but that was some 10 years before the SV RR  was
getting built. Another bad one was in late September 1896 along  the
N&W Shenandoah Division and the Shenandoah Valley as  well.

The 1870 one came after a terrible drought for at least that  previous
summer and then came torrential rainstorms which washed away much.  I
have read this one was confined to the Shenandoah region and  it
inundated Harpers Ferry only from the Shenandoah River side  (remember
that the Shenandoah River flows from south to north) and the  Potomac
side was not where the damage was located. Of course downriver on  the
Potomac, who knows?

Reading about floods of either the Potomac  or Shenandoah rivers can
help shed some light on why operations on various  RR's had to have
drastically alter operations. You then fill in the blanks  from the
river data. Shepherdstown is another place about where much  data
exists concerning high water as they have been particularly prone  to
it over the years.

Some RR's have been prone to another problem,  seldom seen anymore; ice
jams on rivers. Port Deposit, MD was particularly  victimized when the
Susquehanna had a sudden melt and thick ice came  flowing downriver
only to get blocked as the river narrowed into the  Chesapeake. Then,
with little warning came the ice jams and it had no mercy  on any
structure in its path. That was another, albeit smaller reason for  the
dams on the Susquehanna but the Susquehanna wasn't unique. The  Potomac
even had them occasionally, the last in 1919 or 1922 i think.  Around
1977, DC official-dom was concerned enough that it was about to  happen
again and as the ice built up above Georgetown, they posititioned  a
large crane and ram on Key Bridge above the channel, which  was
partially blocked, and they kept poking thru it with a ram for  several
days to keep it from totally blocking the river at that point.  I
remember it making the news and I drove out to see this  "action",
however we have diverged from the main topic.

I do wonder  though, if in written memory, there have been any ice jams
on the  Shenandoah River which have affected the N&W SV Division?

Bob  Cohen

On Fri, May 22, 2009 at 8:58 PM,   <nw-mailing-list-request at nwhs.org> wrote:

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> Today's  Topics:

>

>   1. X and RX telegrams (NW Mailing List)

>  2. 1936 floods (NW Mailing List)

>   3. REA advertising sign  (NW Mailing List)

>   4. Re: "Taking Twenty" with the Virginian  Brethren (NW Mailing List)

>   5. RE: 1936 floods (NW Mailing  List)

>   6. Re: "Taking Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren (NW  Mailing List)

>   7. Re: 1936 floods (NW Mailing  List)

>

>

>  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

>  Message: 1

> Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 12:17:28 -0700 (PDT)

> From:  NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: X and RX  telegrams

> To: Morse TelegraphClub  <slowspeedwire at yahoogroups.com>

> Message-ID:  <798926.76939.qm at web30105.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

> Content-Type:  text/plain; charset=us-ascii

>

>

> May 22,  2009

>

> Hello, all:

>

> A 1929 memorandum describes  to types of high-priority, time-sensitive 

message traffic: x, and  rx.

>

>  http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org/ebay/x-rx-msg.pdf

>

> I'm  used to seeing Day Letter (DL) and Night Letter (NL) designations.  

Were  these additional classes in existence for many years afterwards?  Does 
 anyone recall other special categories of Western Union  messages?

>

> Good afternoon,

>

> Frank Scheer

>  f_scheer at yahoo.com

>

>

>  ------------------------------

>

> Message: 2

> Date: Fri,  22 May 2009 11:20:29 -0700 (PDT)

> From: NW Mailing List  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: 1936 floods

> To:  N&W Historical Society <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>  Message-ID: <77903.43363.qm at web30107.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

>  Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

>

>

> May 22,  2009

>

> Good afternoon, all:

>

> Three Railway  Express Agency delayed service and embargo notices appear 

at  http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org/ebay/flood'36.pdf  It appears  
that the flood damage was extensive over a very large geographic area during 
 mid-March 1936.  This is too early for hurricane season.  It is also  too 
late for a fast thaw of accumulated snow.  Does anyone have  information why 
the N&W Shenandoah Division as far north as White Post was  affected?

>

> Thank you,

>

>  Frank

>

>

> ------------------------------

>

>  Message: 3

> Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 12:00:57 -0700 (PDT)

> From:  NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: REA  advertising sign

> To: N&W Historical Society  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Message-ID:  <994812.21781.qm at web30104.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

> Content-Type:  text/plain; charset=us-ascii

>

>

> May 22,  2009

>

> Railway Express Agency issued a small lithographed sign,  similar to this:

>

>  http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org/ebay/ship-rea.jpg

>

> I  say "similar" because what is shown is a recent reproduction.  These 

are  easily identified because there was no identifying railroad markings on 
the  locomotive tender.  Repros have a railroad name, such as "Monon," as  
shown.

>

> Anyway, I have learned that these signs were issued  during March 1930.  

See:

>

>  http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org/ebay/ship_rea.pdf

>

>  Best wishes,

>

> Frank Scheer

>

>

>  ------------------------------

>

> Message: 4

> Date: Fri,  22 May 2009 15:03:58 -0400

> From: NW Mailing List  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: Re: "Taking Twenty" with the  Virginian Brethren

> To: "NW Mailing List"  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Message-ID:  <9F700BD6F75A49B585CD25A032143A42 at DellDesktop>

> Content-Type:  text/plain; charset="utf-8"

>

> Greg's description of the use of  dampened cotton waste by VGN crews to 

breathe through in tunnels reminds me  what my grandmother told me about a 
similar practice by the engine crews on  the N&W (my grandfather was an 
engineer on the Pokey).  She said that  the crews would keep a bucket on the 
engine deck with water and burlap sacks  in the bucket, and they would wrap the 
sacks around their heads except for  their noses, and sometimes their noses 
would get blistered.  The old,  tight Elkhorn tunnel, aka Coaldale tunnel, 
was probably the prime culprit it  this ordeal pre-electrification when an 
engine crew might be on the second  engine where they suffered from the heat 
thrown off by both engines as they  went upgrade through the tunnel.

>

> Gordon Hamilton

>  ----- Original Message -----

>  From: NW Mailing List

>  To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

>  Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009  10:21 AM

>  Subject: Re: "Taking Twenty" with the Virginian  Brethren

>

>

>  In a message dated 5/22/2009 6:59:25 AM  Eastern Daylight Time, 

nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org  writes:

>

>

>

>    Jimmy,

>

>  You "ain't" gettin' my waste .. just because a bunch of ladies  thought 

it was useless!

>

>    We railroaders know  better. That's why we save "everything"!

>

>    Jeff

>

>

>  ==============================================

>  Grandad  (VGN engineer W.R. Bloyd) kept a bunch of cotton waste in the 

garage in  Victoria and used it for things like cleaning shotgun bores, 
fishing reels and  cleaning stubborn bug juice and other stains off the car and 
other metal and  wood surfaces around the place.

>  Grandad said that VGN steam  locomotive crews on the west end had used 

water-dampened waste to breathe  through when going through tunnels.

>

>  Greg Harrod

>  Fredericksburg, Va.

>

>

>  **************

>  Kick start your favorite grad?s career with mobile email for under $50.  

(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100122638x1221971194x1201441917/aol?redir==ht
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>

>

>  

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>

> Message: 5

> Date: Fri,  22 May 2009 16:29:26 -0400

> From: NW Mailing List  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: RE: 1936 floods

> To:  "'NW Mailing List'" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Message-ID:  <882C0B6031D148C88A05520A73EC96B8 at 071927350f>

> Content-Type:  text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

>

> Frank:  Heavy rainfall and melting snow.   See the 1936 PRR book  covering

> the flood in the mid to eastern Pennsylvania state that  greatly affected

> much of its territory.

>

> Gary  Rolih

> Cincinnati

>

>

>

> -----Original  Message-----

> From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org

>  [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Mailing List

>  Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 2:20 PM

> To: N&W Historical  Society

> Subject: 1936 floods

>

>

> May 22,  2009

>

> Good afternoon, all:

>

> Three Railway  Express Agency delayed service and embargo notices appear 

at

>  http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org/ebay/flood'36.pdf  It appears  

that

> the flood damage was extensive over a very large geographic area  during

> mid-March 1936.  This is too early for hurricane season.  It is also too

> late for a fast thaw of accumulated snow.  Does anyone have information 

why

> the N&W Shenandoah Division  as far north as White Post was affected?

>

> Thank  you,

>

> Frank

>  ________________________________________

>  NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org

> To change your subscription go to

>  http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list

> Browse the  NW-Mailing-List archives at

>  http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/

>

>

>

>  ------------------------------

>

> Message: 6

> Date: Fri,  22 May 2009 18:16:42 EDT

> From: NW Mailing List  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: Re: "Taking Twenty" with the  Virginian Brethren

> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Message-ID:  <d2f.4314dc77.37487e4a at aol.com>

> Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="us-ascii"

>

> I took a break from mowing grass, and  decided to google "cotton thread

> waste" and came up with a number of  sources, nearly all of them in China 

or

> India, and only one website  that had a decent photo of the stuff. Here's 

the

> link:

>

>  

http://sonasales.tradeindia.com/Exporters_Suppliers/Exporter16391.249404/Cot

>  ton-Wastes.html

>

> Greg  Harrod

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>  In a message dated 5/22/2009 4:05:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

>  nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:

>

>

>> Greg's  description of the use of dampened cotton waste by VGN crews to

>>  breathe through in tunnels reminds me what my grandmother told me about 

 a

>> similar practice by the engine crews on the N&W (my  grandfather was an

>> engineer on the Pokey).  She said that the  crews would keep a bucket on 

the engine

>> deck with water and burlap  sacks in the bucket, and they would wrap the

>> sacks around their  heads except for their noses, and sometimes their 

noses

>> would get  blistered.  The old, tight Elkhorn tunnel, aka Coaldale 

tunnel,  was

>> probably the prime culprit it this ordeal pre-electrification  when an

>> engine crew might be on the second engine where they  suffered from the 

heat

>> thrown off by both engines as they went  upgrade through the tunnel.

>>

>> Gordon  Hamilton

>>

>

>

>

>

>  **************

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>  ------------------------------

>

> Message: 7

> Date: Fri,  22 May 2009 19:14:24 -0400

> From: NW Mailing List  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: Re: 1936 floods

> To:  nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Message-ID:  <8CBA94A2E144DE8-BD4-1817 at webmail-me01.sysops.aol.com>

>  Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

>

>  The 1936 flooding was widespread and record setting. In Johnstown PA,

>  famous for the 1889 flood,

> flood markers in 1936 were just a little  lower. Downtown Pittsburgh had

> water in the streets; I remember a  flood marker on the wall behind the

> registration desk of one of the  major hotels. I think the P&LE book has

> an aerial photo. And a  barn southwest of Parkersburg WV has a marker;

> we were there in '75  and the Ohio River seemed far, far below the site.

> Not sure if Harpers  Ferry was hit in 1936; the topography makes it a

> likely flood site,  though.

>

> Jerome Crosson

>

>

> -----Original  Message-----

> From: NW Mailing List  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> To: 'NW Mailing List'  <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Sent: Fri, 22 May 2009 4:29  pm

> Subject: RE: 1936 floods

>

>

>

> Frank:  Heavy rainfall and melting snow. See the 1936 PRR book covering

> the  flood in the mid to eastern Pennsylvania state that greatly affected

>  much of its territory.

>

> Gary Rolih

>  Cincinnati

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

>  From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org

>  [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Mailing List

>  Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 2:20 PM

> To: N&W Historical  Society

> Subject: 1936 floods

>

>

> May 22,  2009

>

> Good afternoon, all:

>

> Three Railway  Express Agency delayed service and embargo notices appear

> at

>  http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org/ebay/flood'36.pdf It appears

>  that

> the flood damage was extensive over a very large geographic area  during

> mid-March 1936. This is too early for hurricane season. It is  also too

> late for a fast thaw of accumulated snow. Does anyone have  information

> why

> the N&W Shenandoah Division as far north  as White Post was affected?

>

> Thank you,

>

>  Frank

> ________________________________________

>  NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org

> To change your subscription go to

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>

>

>

>  ------------------------------

>

>  ________________________________________

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