David Hughes (railroad executive)

David J. Hughes is an American railroad executive.
Hughes has worked in the railroad industry for more than 30 years and was a member of Amtrak's senior management since 2002, serving as the company's Chief Engineer under President David L. Gunn.
The decision by Amtrak's Board of Directors to fire Gunn on November 9, 2005, saw Hughes named the interim President and Chief Executive Officer until a permanent replacement could be recruited.
Hughes was replaced by Alexander Kummant on August 29, 2006.


Belton Subdivision

The Belton Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. State of South Carolina. The line runs from Spartanburg, South Carolina, to Pelzer, South Carolina, for a total of 49.7 miles. At its east end the line continues west from the Spartanburg Subdivision and at its west end the line continues west as the Greenville and Western Railway.


Frank Livingston Underwood

Frank Livingston Underwood (July 26, 1844 - March 17, 1918) was a US banker and copper magnate who built several Western United States railroads which afterward became parts of larger systems.
Biography.
Underwood was born in Walden, Vermont, July 26, 1844, the son of John and Susan (Livingston) Underwood. He was educated in public schools of Lowell, Massachusetts. He married in Muscatine, Iowa on June 30, 1866, Theodosia I. Hawley. Their children were Grace, Pearl, and Blanche. W
From Lowell, Underwood moved to Muscatine, Iowa, in 1861. He was a teller in the Muscatine Branch of State Bank of Iowa in 1863, and when this was reorganized under the National Bank Act and became the Muscatine National Bank, he was made cashier.
Underwood organized and was president of the Merchants' National Bank of Kansas City, Missouri, from 1879 until he left the West. He built in 1872 the Muscatine Western Railroad (later, part of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad); organized 1882, Cuhaba Coal & Mining Company (later, part of tho Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company), and built its railway in 1884. He organized 1882, the Arizona Copper Company, and was its first president. He built the Arizona & New Mexico Railroad, 1882, and was its first president. He built in 1886 the Saline, Lincoln & Western Railroad (later part of Union Pacific System, in Kansas). He was one of organizers of the Kansas City Smelting & Refining Company in 1880. He organized in 1882, and was the first president of the Arkansas Valley Smelting Company. He built the Lake Street Elevated Railroad in Chicago in 1893-94, and sold same to Charles T. Yerkes. Underwood built the Arizona-Utah Railroad, 1898, and was its first president. He procured options for and was the promoter of American Smelting & Refining Company, 1898. He was elected president of the British Columbia Copper Company, Ltd, 1902.
While living in Iowa, he was agent for the investment of money in the West of capitalists in New England, New York, England and Scotland, and much of the activity was in the promotion of their interests. Underwood was a Democrat. He was a member of the Congregationalism Mem Missouri Society, Iowa Society, New England Society, Chamber of Commerce. He was Chairman of the Committee on Civil Service Reform and chairman of the Library Commission; he belonged to the Reform Club. His summer residence was in Livingwood, Litchfield, Connecticut, the site formerly being known as the Litchfield Female Academy. His permanent address was at 115 Broadway, New York City. He died in 1918 at Post-Graduate Hospital.


Michael H. Hall

Michael H. Hall (August 24, 1890 – 1957) was a railroad engineer and politician.
Born in De Soto, Missouri, Hall went to high school in Mayville, New York. He started to work for Great Northern Railway as a locomotive engineer in Everett, Washington and was involved with the railroad labor union. Hall transferred to Superior, Wisconsin and continued to work for the railroad. He served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1935 and 1937 and was elected on the Wisconsin Progressive Party ticket.


Barney and Smith Car Company

Barney and Smith Car Company was a railroad car manufacturer in Dayton, Ohio.
Founded in 1849 by Eliam Eliakim Barney and Ebenezer Thresher as Thresher, Packard & Company, it changed names as partners came and went:
Barney & Smith faced challenges from bigger railcar makers in the late 1890s and early 1900s and went into receivership in 1913, when the Great Dayton Flood damaged its facilities; the company finally disappeared in 1921.


Rockaway Junction station

Rockaway Junction was a junction and station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line and Montauk Branch in Hillside, Queens, New York City, United States. It was located in the vicinity where the Montauk Branch now crosses over the two eastbound passenger tracks and the two freight tracks of the Main Line, just west of the Hillside Facility, although at the time of the station's existence it was at ground level along with the junction itself.
History.
The junction was formed in 1871, when the LIRR's Rockaway Branch (now the Montauk Branch) was built south from the Main Line. It was not a station until June 1875, when it first appeared on a timetable as the first stop of the Rockaway Branch, and superseded the nearby Willow Tree station and when the local Atlantic Avenue rapid transit trains were extended from Woodhaven Junction through Jamaica to Rockaway Junction, their new terminal. Other sources say it opened on June 24, 1890, when at the same time the Canal Street station opened. By 1897, these local trains continued along the Main Line to Hempstead or the Montauk Division to Valley Stream.
Electric service to Rockaway Junction began on August 29, 1905, but the station house was torn down between 1905 and 1906 for construction of the Holban Yard, a major LIRR freight yard. However, Rockaway Junction still appeared on timetables until 1910. The junction itself was eliminated when the tracks were elevated between 1929 and 1931, and included a bridge for the Montauk Branch to cross over the two eastbound passenger tracks and the two freight tracks of the Main Line, just west of the Holban Yard. Roughly eight decades after the station closed, the Rockaway Junction site and nearby Holban Yard became the site of the LIRR's Hillside Maintenance Facility.
Confusion with Hillside.
This station is often confused with the nearby Hillside station, due to their locations (Hillside was located two blocks west at 177th Street), and the fact that their years overlap. Hillside's opening is unknown (although suspected to be in 1909) and closed in 1911. It reopened in May 1911 and closed in 1966, while Rockaway Junction opened in 1890 and closed in 1905/1906 and still appeared on timetables until 1910.


George Francis Train

George Francis Train (March 24, 1829 – January 5, 1904) was an American entrepreneur who organized the clipper ship line that sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco; he also organized the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier in the United States in 1864 to construct the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad, and a horse tramway company in England while there during the American Civil War.
In 1870 Train made the first of three widely publicized trips around the globe. He believed that a report of his first journey in a French periodical inspired Jules Verne's novel "Around the World in Eighty Days;" protagonist Phileas Fogg may have been modeled on him.
In 1872, he ran for president of the United States as an independent candidate. That year, he was jailed on obscenity charges while defending suffragist Victoria Woodhull against charges regarding an article her newspaper had published on an alleged adulterous affair. Despite business successes in early life, he was known as an increasingly eccentric figure in American and Australian history.
Early life and education.
George Francis Train was born on March 24, 1829 in Boston, son of Oliver Train and his wife Maria Pickering. His cousin Adeline later became a noted author. His parents and three sisters died in a yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans in 1833 when George was four. He was raised by strict Methodist grandparents in Boston. They hoped George would become a minister. He attended common schools, where he acquired knowledge about different countries, got exposed to logical ways of thinking, and honed mechanical engineering skills using toy blocks and sticks. His best friend in school had immigrated from England, and related to Train how difficult it was to get around in his hometown, Birkenhead. This is what inspired Train to set up a tramway system in the same town. He did not go into the ministry, instead becoming a businessman and adventure seeker.
Career.
Train entered the mercantile business in Boston, and made it his career all his life in the United States, Britain and in Australia. He initiated numerous new businesses, building the corporate and financial structures to make them work.
Australia.
He and his wife arrived in Melbourne on 23 May 1853 aboard the "Bavaria", where he became the local agent for the White Diamond Line. In partnership with another American, former mariner Captain Ebenezer Caldwell, he imported clothing, building materials, guns, flour, patent medicines, mining tools, coaches and carts. Caldwell, Train & Co. built warehouses at either end of the newly constructed railway line from Sandridge to Flinders St, making it easier for White Star Line passengers to move their luggage between port and city. He was involved in the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce and he helped establish a volunteer fire brigade in the city.
Train's wife returned to Boston in 1854 to give birth to their daughter. He left Australia in November 1855 to join her, travelling via the Orient and the Middle East.
Britain.
In 1860 he went to England to found horse tramway companies in Birkenhead and London, where he soon met opposition. He was also involved in the construction of a short-lived horse tramway in Cork, Ireland. Although his trams were popular with passengers, his designs had rails that stood above the road surface and obstructed other traffic. In 1861 Train was arrested and tried for "breaking and injuring" Uxbridge Road in London. He tried again with the Darlington Street Railroad Company in 1862, but it too was short-lived, closing in 1865.
United States.
Train was involved in the formation of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1864 during the American Civil War. The federal government chartered the railroad for construction of the portion of the Transcontinental Railroad west of the Missouri River. Train helped set up the shadow finance company for the project, the Crédit Mobilier of America, whose principal officers were the same as those of UP. (See below)
That year, he left the United States for England. Referring to himself as "Citizen Train", Train became a shipping magnate, a prolific writer, a minor presidential candidate after return to the United States, and a confidant of French and Australian revolutionaries. He claimed to have been offered the presidency of a proposed Australian republic, but declined. During the American Civil War, he gave numerous speeches in England in favor of the Union and denounced the Confederacy.
In 1868 Train was arrested while aboard the RMS "Scotia" in the port of Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland, and held in custody. He had in his possession speeches he had given in the United States in defense of the Fenian cause of Irish independence. These documents were seized by a local magistrate. His release four days later was on condition that he disavow any intention of promoting Fenianism while in Ireland or England.
In the middle of his campaign for president in 1870, Train decided to make a trip around the globe, which was covered by many newspapers. The actual traveling took 80 days, though he stayed two months in France, supporting the Paris Commune, for which he spent two weeks in jail (the US government and Alexandre Dumas intervened to get him released).
His exploits possibly inspired Jules Verne's novel "Around the World in Eighty Days;" the protagonist Phileas Fogg is believed to have been partially modeled on Train.
While in Europe after his 1870 trip, Train met with the Grand Duke Constantine. During that period, he persuaded the Queen of Spain to back construction of a railway in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. Her support provided funding for the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. He promoted and built tramways in Britain after opposition which he overcame by agreeing to run the rails level with the streets.
On his return to the U.S., Train's popularity and reputation soared. He began promoting the Union Pacific Railroad, with which he had been involved for several years, despite the advice of Vanderbilt, who told him it would never work. Forming a finance company called Credit Foncier of America, Train made a fortune from real estate when the transcontinental railway opened up for colonization huge swaths of western America, including large amounts of land in Council Bluffs, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; and Columbus, Nebraska. He was responsible for building the Cozzens Hotel and founding Train Town in Omaha.
Train was noted for having created the Crédit Mobilier in 1864, started to finance the Union Pacific. While appearing to be a separate, independent company which Union Pacific hired, Crédit Mobilier was staffed by the same officers as the railroad. Train and others created a structure that allowed them to realize outsize profits during the railroad's construction. The story about this scam and congressional graft was broken in 1872 by "The Sun", a New York newspaper opposed to the re-election of Ulysses S. Grant for president. Eventually the scandals resulted in congressional and executive federal investigations which implicated numerous congressmen, including James Garfield. Denying the charges, Grant was re-elected as president.
In 1872, Train ran for president of the United States as an independent candidate. He was a supporter of the temperance movement. That year, he was jailed on obscenity charges while defending Victoria Woodhull for her newspaper's reporting of the alleged adulterous affair of abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher and Elizabeth Tilton. He was the primary financier of the newspaper "The Revolution", which was dedicated to women's rights and published by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Later years.
As he aged, Train seemingly became more eccentric. In 1873, he was arrested and threatened with institutionalization in an insane asylum.
He stood for the position of dictator of the United States, charged admission fees to campaign rallies, and drew record crowds. He became a vegetarian and adopted various fads. Instead of shaking hands with other people, he shook hands with himself, a manner of greeting he claimed to have seen in China. He spent his final days on park benches in New York City's Madison Square Park, handing out dimes and refusing to speak to anyone but children and animals.
In 1890, Nellie Bly traveled around the world in 72 days, instigating Train to do a second circumnavigation of the earth in the same year. He completed the trip from Tacoma, Washington and back in 67 days 12 hours and 1 minute, a world record at the time. A plaque in Tacoma commemorates the location where the 1890 trip began and ended. Train was accompanied on many of his travels by George Pickering Bemis, his cousin and private secretary. Bemis later was elected as mayor of Omaha, Nebraska.
In 1892, the town of Whatcom, Washington offered to finance yet another trip around the world in order to publicize itself. Train finished this trip in a record 60 days.
He became ill with smallpox while visiting his daughter Susan M. Train Gulager in Stamford, Connecticut in 1903.
On January 5, 1904, Train died of heart failure in New York. At the time of his death, he was living in a cheap lodging house named the Mills Hotel. He was buried at a small private ceremony at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. After his death The Thirteen Club, of which he was a member, passed a resolution that he was one of the few sane men in "a mad, mad world."
Marriage and family.
Train married Wilhelmina Wilkinson Davis in 1851, with whom he had four children, including daughter Susan M. Train Gulager.


Perley A. Thomas Car Works

Perley A. Thomas Car Works, Inc. was an American manufacturer of streetcars based in High Point, North Carolina. Founded in 1916, the company was formed from the liquidation of Southern Car Works by its engineer, Perley A. Thomas. Along with the manufacture of complete streetcars, Thomas Car Works also renovated and repaired existing cars to supplement its production.
At the beginning of the Great Depression, mass transit in the United States largely transitioned in format from streetcars to automotive-based buses, leading Thomas Car Works to convert to bus production. From the mid-1930s onward, the company dedicated its production towards school buses. Following World War II, the company became one of the primary manufacturers of large school bus bodies in the United States, leading Perley A. Thomas Car Works to be renamed as Thomas Built Buses, Inc. in 1972.
As Thomas Built Buses, the company is still based in High Point, operating as a subsidiary of Freightliner Trucks (of Daimler AG) since 1998.
History.
1910s.
In 1910, Perley A. Thomas joined Southern Car Company in High Point, North Carolina as an engineer and designer. By 1915, the company had begun its transition from wood-bodied designs to all-steel vehicles. However, Southern Car was unable to remain competitive, leading to its closure in early 1916. Following the closure of Southern Car Company, Thomas relied on his woodworking background and the furniture industry of High Point to found his own company, producing fireplace mantles and other home furnishings.
In the summer of 1916, Thomas was contracted by Southern Public Utilities Company in Charlotte, North Carolina to enclose its fleet of streetcars. As they were Southern Car Company streetcars designed by Thomas, the utility company sought him out for the renovation. Along with a small crew of former Southern Car Company builders, Thomas performed the work in a Charlotte car barn.
One month after securing the contract in Charlotte, Perley A. Thomas Car Works was officially organized in High Point, with Thomas hiring 30 employees from the former Southern Car Company. With a $6,000 loan, Thomas acquired the equipment of his former employer at auction, opening an assembly facility in a former ice manufacturing plant in High Point. By the end of the year, four additional cars were renovated for Southern Public Utilities in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. During 1917, Thomas Car Works renovated 9 streetcars for the United States Navy in Mobile, Alabama and a group of streetcars for Montgomery, Alabama.
In 1918, Thomas Car Works would see several company milestones, commencing production of new streetcars for the first time. The factory was capable of producing wooden or steel bodies, with the latter quickly becoming the most common (Southern Car had introduced all-steel bodies in 1911). At the end of the year, a 30-acre property was secured outside of High Point; the company constructed a larger assembly facility, allowing for simultaneous construction and repair/renovation of streetcars. In total, 25 streetcars were produced in the first year of production.
1920s.
As a streetcar manufacturer, Thomas Car Works saw its greatest success during the 1920s, becoming one of the largest manufacturers of electric streetcars in the United States. In 1921, the company secured its largest-ever order of streetcars, from NOPSI (New Orleans Public Service Inc.). In total, 173 streetcars were ordered from 1921 to 1924, as NOPSI sought to standardize their fleet. The steel-bodied 800-900-series streetcars were double-ended (two sets of operating controls and two trolley poles), double-trucked, with an arched roof. Unable to fill the massive order entirely on their own, Thomas Car Works subcontracted a portion of the order to Philadelphia-based competitor J. G. Brill (using the Thomas design).
In September 1922, after the company had delivered 25 streetcars to NOPSI, the High Point factory was destroyed by fire, causing $225,000 in damage (along with 14 streetcars under construction). In response, Perley Thomas secured $100,000 from NOPSI to secure the parts to construct an order of 55 streetcars; a second order of 25 streetcars was delivered by the end of 1923. In total, NOPSI would order 173 800-900-series streetcars, with Thomas Car Works producing 98 (not including the 14 destroyed in the factory fire). The High Point factory was rebuilt to hold three tracks inside the factory; three stations on each track allowed 9 cars to be worked on simultaneously. The factory employed a 125-employee workforce, with seven complete streetcars produced each week on average.
In 1926, the Detroit United Railroad ordered 100 streetcars from Thomas Car Works; the long design was the longest streetcar ever built by the company. The sole manufacturer of the design, Thomas delivered streetcars to Detroit from 1926 to 1929.
1930s.
During the 1930s, Thomas Car Works would see several changes that would alter the company forever. Following the large order from Detroit, demand for streetcars began to decline sharply. In 1930, the company received its last order for streetcars, producing 4 for Mobile, Alabama. Subsequently, all production would transition away from rail to road-based vehicles. During 1931 and 1932, no vehicles were produced, shifting to repairs, streetcar renovations, and automotive refinishing. In 1933, the company produced its first trolley coach (an electric bus with a pair of trolley poles).
In mass transit, by the 1930s, rail-based streetcars were losing ground to automotive-based buses; the latter were not dependent on the power grid for their operation (and ownership), and buses offered more flexibility in routing. In 1934, Thomas built its first transit bus for Duke Power (the successor to the first Thomas customer).
In 1936, Thomas Car Works entered a bid to produce school bus bodies for the state of North Carolina. While required to produce 500 bodies, the company was only able to secure the materials for 200; North Carolina would split the bid between Thomas and Hackney Brothers. After five months of production, the bid was completed at a profit. For 1937, Thomas returned to bid for North Carolina school bus production, commencing a tradition that remains to this day.
Post World War II.
In 1940, Perley A. Thomas retired (at age 65), remaining as president and design consultant. During World War II, Thomas Car Works was active in war production, shifting from buses to bodies for the GMC CCKW 2½-ton 6x6 truck. As an additional means of revenue, the company renovated and repaired its former streetcars. Although streetcars had largely fallen out of favor, the suspension of domestic vehicle production was also applied towards transit vehicles as well as private automobiles; some cities had retained the networks for the operation of streetcars into the 1940s.
After World War II, Thomas Car Works returned to vehicle production, concentrating nearly entirely on school buses. In 1957, Thomas Car Works introduced the "Saf-T-Liner" trade name for the first time.
In 1958, Perley Thomas died at the age of 84; until his death, he would remain a design consultant in his retirement.
In 1972, as a third generation of the Thomas family assumed leadership, Perley A. Thomas Car Works was reorganized as Thomas Built Buses, Inc. Adopting a brand name in use by Thomas since the 1950s, the change was explained as bringing the company closer to its core product line of buses, 42 years after producing its final streetcar.
Operators.
In total, over 400 newly built streetcars were assembled by Perley A. Thomas Car Works from 1918 to 1930.
During streetcar production, Thomas produced streetcars for the following cities:
Usage in New Orleans.
As of 2019, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority operates 35 Perley Thomas 900-series streetcars in active daily use, nearly a century after their construction. Dating from 1923 and 1924, the Thomas streetcars are operated on the St. Charles line (the oldest streetcar line in the world). In 2005, all 35 Thomas streetcars survived Hurricane Katrina unharmed, while 30 of the 31 replica streetcars required restoration, placing them out of service through 2009. The Thomas cars are distinguished by their olive green color; the replica cars are bright red.
To keep the Thomas streetcars in service, the RTA established a parts shop with the capability of building a complete replica of the Thomas streetcar design on its own to maintain a stock of replacement parts. The shop designed and produced the replica cars used on the Canal Street Line and the Riverfront Line. Along with the difference in color, the newer designs are ADA-compliant, and the Canal Street cars are air-conditioned.
Preservation.
Outside of their active usage in New Orleans, four Thomas streetcars (all from New Orleans) have been preserved by railway museums across the United States. Two additional streetcars are undergoing renovations for use as heritage streetcars in San Francisco. Two other cars, #919 and #924, retired from the Riverfront line, are owned by New Orleans RTA, but are currently inoperable.
Examples include:
NOPSI Cars #913 and #952 are under the operation of San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). Both built in 1923, 952 is leased to Muni from New Orleans RTA since 1998; 913 was purchased from Orange Empire Railway Museum in 2005. As of 2019, both cars are in the process of restoration; 913 has not seen active service since 1964 and funds are being raised for its restoration.
In popular culture.
A famous Tennessee Williams play (and later, film) was set in New Orleans, Louisiana where Perley A. Thomas streetcars were operated on the Desire line around the period of 1947 in which the story was set, hence the name: "A Streetcar Named Desire".


Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad

The Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad is a heritage railway located in Abilene, Kansas, United States.
It is a non-profit organization that offers public excursion train rides May through October. The depot is located in the Historic 1887 Rock Island Depot, Old Abilene Town, south of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum.
A 1919 steam locomotive was under restoration from 2005–2008. It was first steamed up and moved under power in the fall of 2008. Starting May 23, 2009 the ex-Santa Fe 3415 became the only operational steam locomotive in the state of Kansas. The 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive hauls the train once a month.
When the steam engine is not running, the regular tourist train is pulled by an ALCO S-1 locomotive that used to work for the Hutchinson Northern Railroad (HNRR). The locomotive, #4, was donated to the A&SVRR by the HNRR when it was retired. The locomotive is a type normally used for switching and has 660 horsepower.
Dinner trains are operated once a month.
The trip travels along an old Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad line that used to run from Herington to Salina. Currently the train operates on approximately of trackage between Abilene and Enterprise. At Enterprise passengers are allowed to explore the caboose and locomotive. Seating in the diner or in open-sided gondola cars is available.
Once a month an all-day excursion between Abilene and Woodbine is operated. At Enterprise passengers are transferred to a hyrail bus, which can travel on both road and rail. After a short tour of Enterprise the bus is placed on a second section of trackage that extends east out of Enterprise, travels through Pearl and ends in Woodbine. The trip is narrated. At Woodbine lunch is provided as part of the ticket price. After lunch the bus travels back to Enterprise with stops to showcase some of the older stone work buildings still located in the area. Upon arrival in Enterprise, the afternoon train returns to Abilene.
Caboose and locomotive cab rides are available at extra charge.


National Mass Transportation Assistance Act

The National Mass Transportation Assistance Act of 1974 is a United States federal law that extended the Urban Mass Transportation Act to cover operating costs as well as construction costs. This act was the culmination of a major lobbying effort by the transit industry and urban interests to secure federal operating assistance for transit.


Pensacola and Fort Barrancas Railroad

The Pensacola and Fort Barrancas Railroad was an eight-mile line connecting Pensacola, Florida, with Fort Barrancas through Warrington and Woolsey, dating to 1870. The company was incorporated by a special act of the State of Florida on February 12, 1870. It was granted an easement by Congress to run through the federal Navy Yard reservation on January 30, 1871.
It was acquired by the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad in 1882.
The line passed through several corporate ownerships and was the rail link aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola before being abandoned circa 1979 with the bridges across several waterways removed. The trestle across Bayou Grande, immediately north of Chevalier Field on NAS Pensacola, was featured in the 1957 John Ford-directed MGM film "The Wings of Eagles" starring John Wayne, with a steam-powered freight train crossing the span during an N-9 floatplane buzz job. There remains almost no evidence of the rail line aboard the naval air station.


Albert Miller Lea

Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with the United States Dragoons who surveyed southern Minnesota and northern Iowa in 1835.
Biography.
Lea was born in Richland, Tennessee, a small village not far from Knoxville. He attended the United States Military Academy. He graduated fifth of 33 cadets in the Class of 1831. Due to his high class ranking, he was assigned to the engineers and posted to Fort Des Moines in the Iowa Territory, serving until his resignation in May 1836. In 1837, despite his youth, he became the Chief Engineer for the state of Tennessee. He then worked for the Federal government determining the boundary between Iowa and Missouri. From 1839 to 1840, he was an assistant engineer on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He became a brigadier general in the Iowa militia and then the chief clerk for the U.S. War Department.
In 1844, he earned his master's degree in engineering from East Tennessee University in Knoxville and joined the faculty as an instructor. From 1849 to 1854, was the city engineer for Knoxville, as well as managing a local glass manufacturing company. He moved to East Texas in 1855.
During the American Civil War, Lea was an engineering officer in the Confederate States Army with the rank of major (later, lieutenant colonel). During the Battle of Galveston on New Year's Day 1863, his 25-year-old son, Lt. Commander Edward Lea of the Union Navy, was mortally wounded while serving on the USRC Harriet Lane. Lea himself was among the Confederate officers who boarded the captured ship, and found his son shortly before his death.
After the war, Lea lived in Galveston for several years. He moved in 1874 to Corsicana, Texas, where he purchased a farm. He died of heart failure in 1891 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Corsicana.
The city of Albert Lea, Minnesota, is named in his honor.


Swinburne, Smith and Company

Swinburne, Smith and Company was a railroad locomotive manufacturing company of the mid-19th century. The company was founded in 1845, in Paterson, New Jersey, by a partnership between William Swinburne and Samuel Smith. Swinburne had been a pattern maker for Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor of Paterson, who worked his way up to become shop foreman. Smith was foreman moulder at Rogers.
The company's first major client was the Erie Railway. Other customers included the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and the Chicago and Alton Railroad.
Swinburne remained in business for only a decade, failing with the Panic of 1857. Afterwards, the firm reorganized, with James Jackson joining the partnership, and became the New Jersey Locomotive and Machine Company. John Brandt was the superintendent and principal design engineer. Among the engines produced by the firm is the "William Crooks" of the Great Northern Railway, which is the sole surviving engine built by the firm.
In 1863 the company experienced financial difficulties. Banker David B. Grant took control of the company and changed its name to Grant Locomotive Works.


Robert R. Young

Robert Ralph Young (February 14, 1897 – January 25, 1958) was an American financier and industrialist. He is best known for leading the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the New York Central Railroad during and after World War II. He was a brother-in-law of the famous western painter, Georgia O'Keeffe.
Because of his initials, R.R. Young was often labeled "Railroad" Young. He was otherwise known as the "Populist of Wall Street," or, as his press agent encouraged journalists to call him, "The Daring Young Man of Wall Street". He regarded himself as a crusader against the mismanagement of railroads by banking interests. Young's most famous advertising slogan was "A hog can cross the country without changing trains - but you can't."
Despite his vocal criticisms, at the railroads he led, Young inaugurated many forward-looking advances in technology that have ramifications to the present. He was one of the first railroad executives to introduce high-speed diesel powered passenger trains which utilized lightweight equipment. He was also involved with the first large-scale railroad computer system, as well as diversification of freight traffic and development and implementation of larger and better freight cars of all types.
Childhood, education.
Young's grandfather was a pioneer rancher in the Texas Panhandle. Young was the third of four children (John Stinson Young, b. 1890; Kenneth Moody Young, b. 1893; Robert Ralph Young, b. 1897; Florence Edith Young Exum, b. 1904) born to David John Young and the former Mary Arabella Moody in Canadian, the seat of Hemphill County in the eastern Panhandle. He was born in a house built by Temple Lea Houston, youngest son of Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas and a later governor of Texas. Mary Moody Young's father built the Moody Hotel in Canadian, which still houses a few businesses. Mary died when Robert was only ten. David Young, a strict man and the first banker in Canadian, did not quite know how to control his precocious son, whom neighborhood boys nicknamed "Pumpkin" because of his auburn hair.
Though of Presbyterian family ties, Young attended the Baptist-affiliated Canadian Academy. In his teens, however, he was sent to Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana, from which he graduated at the head of his class in 1914. He then entered the University of Virginia in Charlottesville but dropped out before the end of his second year.
Early career, DuPont, General Motors.
Young took a job as a powder-cutter at the E. I. DuPont gunpowder plant at Carneys Point, New Jersey. On April 27, 1916, he married Anita Ten Eyck O'Keeffe, sister of Georgia O'Keeffe. They had one daughter, Eleanor "Cookie" Young, who became one of the much-publicized "Glamour Debutantes" of the Great Depression-era.
At DuPont, Young worked his way up to the treasurer's office, where he learned much about finance and advertising. By 1920, he had left DuPont and speculated in securities for a short time.
Young joined General Motors (GM) in 1922 and was made assistant treasurer in 1928. He soon became associated with GM head John J. Raskob, and left GM to handle Raskob's finances, when Raskob, who though a former Republican had been chairman of the Democratic National Committee, took a sabbatical to manage Al Smith's presidential campaign against Herbert C. Hoover.
Early in 1929 Raskob vehemently disagreed with Young's predictions of a stock market crash, and the two men parted company. Subsequently, Young netted a fortune selling stocks short of their earlier value.
Stock market, railroads, C&O.
In 1931, Young formed a brokerage partnership with Frank Kolbe and bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in order to speculate in stocks. In 1942, in alliance with Allan P. Kirby, a retail merchant, Young owned a controlling interest in the Alleghany Corporation, a railroad holding company previously owned by the Cleveland-based Van Sweringen family, which controlled the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, Pere Marquette Railroad, and other railroad properties.
By the end of World War II, C&O was poised to help America during its great growth during the following decades, and at mid-century was truly a line of national importance. It became more so, at least in the public eye through Young, who became "the gadfly of the rails" as he challenged old methods of financing and operating railroads, and inaugurated many forward-looking advances in technology that have ramifications to the present.
As chairman of the board of the C&O, Young launched a well-publicized campaign for the modernization of railroad passenger service. He was one of the first railroad executives to introduce lightweight, high-speed diesel passenger trains.
He served as a delegate from Rhode Island to the Republican National Convention in 1944.
In 1945, Young and Cyrus S. Eaton assembled $43,000,000 in a bid to purchase the Pullman Company operating pool, in the wake of a court decision that forced Pullman to divest that portion of its business. Their bid ultimately failed when a Philadelphia court, acting on recommendations from the ICC, awarded the railcar operations to a consortium of the large railroads.
Young changed the C&O's herald (logo) to "C&O for Progress" to embody his ideas that C&O would lead the industry to a new day. He installed a well-staffed research and development department, which came up with ideas for passenger service that are thought to be futuristic even now, and for freight service that would challenge the growth of trucking. Fortune magazine wrote, "Young has an almost endless inventory of ideas, some pneumatic and some substantial, about passenger service. He believes that the railroads could double any previous passenger revenues if they put out a good product and merchandised it well..."
During the Young era and subsequently, C&O was headed by Cyrus S. Eaton and Walter J. Tuohy, under whose control the "For Progress" theme continued, though in a more muted way after the departure of Young. During that time, C&O installed the first large computer system in railroading, developed larger and better freight cars of all types, switched (reluctantly) from steam to diesel motive power, and diversified its traffic, which had already occurred in 1947 when it merged Pere Marquette, of Michigan and Ontario, Canada, which had been controlled by the C&O since Van Sweringen days, into the system. The PM's huge automotive industry traffic, taking raw materials in and finished vehicles out, gave C&O some protection from the swings in the coal trade, making merchandise traffic 50% of the company's haulage.
Young also owned Pathe Laboratories, a motion picture processing laboratory; and acquired Producers Releasing Corporation, a B-movie production company, also known as PRC Pictures.
Mr. Young was jointly awarded the inaugural Horatio Alger Award for initiative and excellence in 1947.
New York Central.
In the early 1950s, Young turned his attention to the New York Central Railroad. In 1954, after a long proxy struggle and with the aid of Clint Murchison, Sr. and Sid Williams Richardson, Young gained control of the NYC and became the chairman of its board.
Young maintained offices and an apartment in New York City. However, he preferred to do most of his office work in the privacy of the den of his mansion at Newport, Rhode Island. Among his circle of friends were the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal.
The dreams of Young and innovative Alfred E. Perlman, whom he selected to become president of the NYC, to form a true transcontinental line were frustrated by antitrust suits and by lack of interest on the part of the western lines to merge with the nearly bankrupt NYC.
Young donated rare papers to the University of Texas at Austin. For the rest of his life, he maintained lifelong correspondence with friends he had made in boyhood.
Many of Young's friends and smaller investors lost money as NYC stock prices fell. On January 25, 1958, Young, who had suffered from depression for more than fifteen years, committed suicide at his winter mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. He is interred in St. Mary's Episcopal Cemetery in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Oddly, Young had helped to restore an old cemetery in Canadian, which was renamed in honor of his aunt, Edith Ford, who had helped to rear him after the early death of his mother. That graveyard is today known as the Edith Ford Cemeteries.


Staple Bend Tunnel

The Staple Bend Tunnel, about east of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a town called Mineral Point, was constructed between 1831 and 1834 for the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Construction began on April 12, 1831. This tunnel, at in length, was the first railway tunnel constructed in the United States. It is rock-bored and stone-lined.
Finished in June 1833, the Staple Bend Tunnel was advertised as the first railroad tunnel in the United States. It was the third tunnel of any kind built in the U.S.; the first two tunnels were for canals in Pennsylvania.
History.
Work began on November 21, 1831, and often occurred during inclement conditions. The men were paid $13 per month plus room and board for 12-hour days, 6 days per week. Workers chipped and blasted of solid rock to make the tunnel.
Approximately of bedrock was removed using black powder blasting. This was done by drilling -long holes and packing them with powder. Drilling one typical hole took up to three hours of hard effort using a three-man crew. Nine to ten holes, each in diameter and in length, were made before blasting. of explosive powder wrapped in paper was pushed into each hole, tamped down, punctured with a sharp needle, and a fuse added. Fuses were lit with explosions to occur at mealtime. Workers would eat while the dust settled; then get to work cleaning (mucking) the tunnel. Of the 36-inch hole drilled only , or half of the hole, was blasted.
The tunnel grew about each day, with both sides moving toward the center. On December 21, 1832, the workmen broke through the final barrier and connected the two ends of the tunnel. There was much celebration with speeches and toasts. The full tunnel excavation was completed in April 1833.
The ends of the Staple Bend Tunnel were lined with cut stone for safety. Rock and dirt might fall due to rain or other weather, or from the effects of the Portage Railroad going through the tunnel. The fancy entrances to the tunnel were to impress the travelers and the general public. The style was described as a "Roman Revival style with low relief lintel supported by Doric pilasters on each side." Of the total $37,498.85 spent, nearly half was to build the fancy entrance ways. After a few years of operation, the Allegheny Portage Railroad, including the tunnel, was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857.
After the Portage.
In 1907, Henry Storey wrote that the east entrance facade of the tunnel had been removed for building purposes. He gave no indication of a date or the building on which the stones were used. The west entrance facade remains and has been restored to its former grandeur.
After the demise of the old Portage Railroad the tunnel had other uses. Neither the "new Portage" nor the Pennsylvania Railroad used the tunnel. It was instead a popular carriage route until the Johnstown Flood in 1889. Afterward, flood damage and other concerns made the tunnel a less desirable driving spot although local residents continued to visit, and even go courting at the tunnel until the 1940s.
In the 1940s a concrete liner was added to the east portal of the tunnel and large water lines as well as a water vault structure were built. The Manufacturer's Water Company closed the tunnel to the public and the water lines were used by Bethlehem Steel.
The tunnel was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994, and in 2001 became part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, administered by the National Park Service. Rock bolts, shoring posts, and other reinforcements were added as well as a thin mortar between the historic blocks. The tunnel is now open to the public for use as part of the Staple Bend Tunnel Trail.


Carolina Midland Railway

The Carolina Midland Railway was a railroad that served western South Carolina in the late 19th century.
The Carolina Midland was formed in 1891 with the consolidation of the Barnwell Railway and the Blackville, Alston and Newberry's Perry-to-Blackville line.
In addition to a line reaching from Blackville to Barnwell, the Carolina Midland extended its route from Barnwell to Allendale, South Carolina, also in 1891.
It was acquired by the Southern Railway in 1899.


Morgan Draw

Morgan Draw is railroad moveable bridge over the Cheesequake Creek between the Morgan section of Sayreville and Laurence Harbor in Old Bridge in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Located at MP 0.2 near the mouth on the Raritan Bay, the bascule bridge lies just upstream of the New Jersey Route 35 crossing. It is owned and operated by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT) and substantially rehabilitated in 2005-2008. A storm surge during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused severe damage to the bridge.
Operations.
The Cheesequake Creek is used for recreational boating. The bridge serves the North Jersey Coast Line between the South Amboy and Aberdeen-Matawan stations. It is also used by Conrail. As of 2008 the "Code of Federal Regulations" stipulated that it open on signal; except that, at least four hours notice is required from January 1 through March 31 from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.; from April 1 through April 30 and November 1 through November 30 (from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Thursday, and midnight Sunday through 6 a.m. Monday; and rom December 1 through December 31 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.


Trainriders Northeast

Trainriders Northeast is a non-profit citizens' organization group based out of Portland, Maine, in the United States. It was established in 1989 to advocate for the extension of passenger rail service from Boston to Portland and points north. Today Trainriders Northeast may be most well known for their role in bringing passenger service back to Portland, with the Amtrak "Downeaster".
The organization was established not only to promote the extension of rail service, but to educate the public on the pros of rail. They also support comprehensive transportation planning, or creating long-term regional transportation plans.
History.
Trainriders Northeast adopted five goals when they were organized in 1989, the first being the return of passenger rail service to Maine from Boston on the former "Pine Tree" route of the Boston & Maine and the Maine Central.
One of the original goals was to return passenger rail service from Portland to Brunswick, where Amtrak service could connect with the Maine Eastern Railroad. This was accomplished with a $35 million federal grant. The Maine Eastern Railroad operates a scenic train with service from Brunswick to Rockland, via Bath and Wiscasset. Pan Am Railways completed the work on time and on budget. The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority initiated passenger rail service to Freeport and Brunswick in December 2012.
Goals and objectives.
Trainriders Northeast also hope to return passenger rail service to Bangor, via Lewiston – Waterville, and via Brunswick – Augusta, along with returning passenger rail service to other areas of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
The organization also states that it is in their goals to improve and upgrade the current rail system through northern New England.
Host program.
Trainriders Northeast sponsors a "Host" program on certain trains. Hosts are volunteers that provide passengers with information on destinations, attractions, and transfers.


Charlotte Subdivision

The Charlotte Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. State of North Carolina. The line runs from Monroe, North Carolina, milepost SF307.7, to Bostic, North Carolina, milepost 404.9, for a total of 97.2 miles. At its south end the line continues north from the Monroe Subdivision and at its north end it continues north as the Blue Ridge Subdivision.


Nathaniel Lamson Howard

Colonel Nathaniel Lamson "N.L." Howard was an American railroad executive. He graduated from the United States Military Academy and for his meritorious service commanding military railroad engineers during World War I, he was awarded the Légion d'honneur. Upon his return, he worked as an official for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and the Chicago Union Station Company before being elected to the presidency of the Chicago Great Western Railway in 1925.


North Western Railroad

The North Western Railroad was a shortline railroad located in the western part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in the United States. It organized in 1853, and was purchased by the Western Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859 after completing only a portion of its route.
History.
Formation.
The North Western Railroad was chartered by the state of Pennsylvania on February 9, 1853, and authorized to construct a rail line from a point at or west of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The eastern terminus was to connect either with the Pennsylvania Railroad or the Allegheny Portage Railroad. The charter directed the railroad to pass through the towns of Freeport and Butler and proceed to the Pennsylvania-Ohio state boundary somewhere within Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.
The charter permitted each county through which the railroad passed to purchase stock worth up to 10 percent of the assessed value of the railroad. Butler and Lawrence counties both did so. Later in 1853, the Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted legislation amending the railroad's charter, permitting the city of Philadelphia to purchase up to 15,000 shares of the railroad. In return, the city was to be given three seats on the railroad's board of directors. The city also made its purchase. Another $800,000 ($ in dollars) in bonds were sold to finance construction.
Route and construction.
The North Western Railroad settled on Blairsville as its eastern terminus. A branch line connected it with the Indiana Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The western terminus of the North Western Railroad was New Castle in Lawrence County. The North Western intended to connect with the Cleveland and Mahoning Railroad there. The New Castle connection was important: The Pennsylvania Railroad ("the Pennsy") was a standard gauge road, as was the Cleveland and Mahoning. Until this point in time, the Pennsy could send no railcars west of Pittsburgh, since its connections there were with broad gauge railroads. By sending its cars over the North Western and the Cleveland and Mahoning, the Pennsy could move freight all the way to Chicago without the need for transshipment.
The route of the North Western Railroad was determined by its chief engineer, Robert Clark. The route he selected largely followed streams and rivers to achieve the lowest possible slope. Clark left the railroad's employ soon after finishing the route survey. The planned route required an long tunnel between Butler and Freeport, and a long tunnel between Freeport and Blairsville. Three major bridges were needed. A long bridge at Freeport was required to carry the road over the Allegheny River and the Pennsylvania Canal, while the other two major bridges carried the road over the Loyalhanna and Conemaugh Rivers. The route between Blairsville and Freeport needed another 14 bridges over ravines (one long), and five major cuts (all of extreme depth) of through ridges and hilly land.
Construction began in August 1853. Most of the work of grading the route and building bridges was supervised by the new chief engineer, Samuel H. Kneass. By 1860, Kneass had graded and ballasted the line from Blairsville to Allegheny Junction in Butler County. Past Allegheny Junction, some grading had been completed in Butler but not Lawrence county. The superstructure of some bridges along the line was also complete.
Bankruptcy and purchase.
The North Western Railroad ran out of construction funds in 1858. On July 5, 1859, the bondholders of the North Western Railroad took control of the company as part of a foreclosure proceeding. They obtained a charter for a new railroad, the Western Pennsylvania Railroad, and transferred control of the North Western to this new company. The Western Pennsylvania Railroad was in turn purchased by the Pennsy in 1862, which completed the line to Saltsburg in 1863. Traffic began running from Blairsville to Saltsburg while work continued on the rest of the line to Allegheny Junction. This latter part of the line opened to traffic in the fall of 1864. The Pennsy then extended the line to Freeport, and opened the last leg of the line on August 1, 1865.


Smithfield Street Bridge

The Smithfield Street Bridge is a lenticular truss bridge crossing the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
The bridge was designed by Gustav Lindenthal, the engineer who later designed the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. The Smithfield Street Bridge was built between 1881 and 1883, opening for traffic on March 19, 1883. It was widened in 1889 and widened again in 1911. The bridge has been designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, a National Historic Landmark, and has a Historic Landmark Plaque from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
History.
The present bridge is the third bridge at the site and remains the second oldest steel bridge in the United States. In 1818, a wooden bridge was built across the Monongahela by Louis Wernwag at a cost of $102,000. This bridge was destroyed in Pittsburgh's Great Fire of 1845. The second bridge on the site was a wire rope suspension bridge built by John A. Roebling. Increases in both bridge traffic and river traffic eventually made the lightly built bridge with eight short spans inadequate. The present Lindenthal bridge was built in its place, using the Roebling bridge's stone masonry piers.
The Smithfield Street Bridge is the penultimate of the many bridges which span the Monongahela before the river joins with the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River at Downtown Pittsburgh. Only the Fort Pitt Bridge is farther downstream.
The bridge also served the Pittsburgh Railways streetcar system with lines coming from the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel and from Carson Street crossing the bridge and continuing into downtown along Grant Street and Smithfield Street, returning to the bridge via Wood Street or Grant Street. The tracks occupied the eastern half of the bridge. The streetcar line was abandoned in July 1985, when the streetcars were diverted to the Panhandle Bridge and the new light rail subway, on July 7. The last day of streetcar service on downtown Pittsburgh streets and over the Smithfield Street Bridge was July 6, 1985, although the final crossing of the bridge by a streetcar did not take place until 1:40 a.m. on July 7. The former streetcar right-of-way was then converted into a paved roadway for northbound traffic.
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 21, 1974. Two years later, on May 11, 1976, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.
The bridge's short clearance from the river as well as its deteriorated condition convinced PennDOT officials to demolish the bridge and to replace it with a modern bridge. Lobbying by Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation on the merits of preserving the bridge were considered by officials. In 1994–1995 the bridge was rehabilitated with a new deck, a colorful paint scheme, and architectural lighting. The abandoned rail lines became an extra traffic lane and there was an addition of a light-controlled bus lane which is activated during peak traffic hours. The bridge also has the distinction of being the bridge most heavily walked by pedestrians, mostly commuters who park at Station Square.
The bridge connects Smithfield Street in Downtown Pittsburgh with Station Square.
Popular culture.
The bridge is featured in the 1993 Bruce Willis film "Striking Distance", the opening scene of the 1983 film "Flashdance" and the 2010 rap video "Black and Yellow".


Council City and Solomon River Railroad

Council City and Solomon River Railroad is an abandoned railroad in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its name refers to Solomon River and the city of Council in the Nome Census Area. The railway operated from 1903 to 1907.
The remains of the railroad at Mile 31 of the Nome-Council Highway, comprising three locomotives, two flat cars and a boiler, were listed as an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Western Alaska Construction Company.
Organized under the laws of New Jersey, the Western Alaska Construction Co., with a capital stock of $1,000,000, organized for the purpose of constructing the Council City & Solomon River R. R. and extensions. The company was composed principally Chicago businessmen. The company offices were in Chicago, with fiscal agents In New York City. Its officers were:
Its stockholders were J. A. Freund, Samuel P. Herron, William F. Krohmer, John Ryeerson Bowman, and J. Warren Dickson.
History.
The railroad was among the important enterprises inaugurated in the summer of 1903. Before the close of the season, about of standard-gage track had been laid. The Western Alaska Construction Co. asserted that the mouth of the Solomon River, the starting point of their road, was the only point on the south coast of the Seward Peninsula which had a sheltered harbor convenient for the loading and unloading of freight and the protection of it in all types of weather. They proposed to locate the tidewater terminus here, and build the railroad northward and westward, penetrating the most important gold fields of Alaska, the Cape Nome fields. Running from Solomon City, the Council City & Solomon River R. R. was to skirt the Solomon river, passing hundreds of mining camps, en route to Council City, the first terminus of the road. According to the report of the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics at Washington, Council City is the general distributing point of the Upper Niukluk basin. From Solomon City to Council City the distance is approximately 50 miles; from that point the railroad was projected to connect all the principal mineral producing areas and centres of population and mining, including the line to Grantley Harbor, Port Clarence, Good Hope bay, and Nome, thus "gridironing" the peninsula. Initial cost estimates were from $8,000 to $12,000 per mile. The company's surveys were executed by engineers who were official surveyors of the United States government, Paul Heinze, chief engineer, and Hermann Heinze, assistant engineer. The company's rights of way included 100 feet on each side of the centre line of their tracks, with 40 acres as terminal station grounds at each end of the road; plus 20 acres for station grounds for each 10 miles of track. This acreage totaled 13,000 acres.
The route described in the articles of incorporation was from a point near the mouth of Solomon River adjacent to Solomon City to a point adjacent to Council City. The company filed two maps of its preliminary line from Council City along Fox River, right branch Solomon River to Solomon City, 50.79 miles (filed February, 1903); and one from Nome City to Wheeler, 20 miles (filed June, 1904); also one map of definite location from point on Norton Sound near Dickson up Solomon River, 20 miles (filed January 3, 1905). New map of same line filed December 20, 1906.


Woodhull Park station


Bruce and Clairton Railroad

Bruce and Clairton Railroad was a railroad in Pennsylvania, running from Bruce, Pennsylvania to Clairton, Pennsylvania on the Monongahela River. In 1902, it merged with the West Side Belt Railroad, before it had finished its construction.


Lowell Junction

Lowell Junction is a railroad junction located in Andover, Massachusetts, about one mile south of the village of Ballardvale.
The junction was created by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1874, when they ran a branch line off their main line to connect with the city of Lowell in order to compete with its rival the Boston and Lowell Railroad.
The branch line was built under the name of the Lowell and Andover Railroad and gave the B&M a direct link between Lowell and Boston which it did not have before because of a 30-year monopoly that the Boston & Lowell was granted when it received its charter in 1830. By 1865, the monopoly was gone and the B&M was free to build a line to Lowell.
The rail junction is still in use as of November 2016 by Pan Am Railways as part of its Freight Main Line between Maine and upstate New York, but the connection between the former Lowell Branch and the main line heading south to Boston is not in service, as the freight service between Lowell and Boston is run down the old Boston & Lowell main line.
Before the junction was put in, the area was very rural and part of Ballardvale Village. After the junction went in, Lowell Jct has built up with industrial parks, office buildings and small neighborhoods.
Today, Lowell Junction sees up to 10 Pan Am Railways freights daily. New Hampshire Northcoast Corporation also runs two nightly freights under Pan Am Railways symbol, DOBO/BODO


Rio Grande Pacific Corporation

The Rio Grande Pacific Corporation is a railroad holding company. It owns four railroads:
Rio Grande Pacific Corporation is a short line and regional railroad holding company that was founded in 1986 with railroads in six (6) states. Rio Grande Pacific Corporation plans, designs, implements, manages and operates short line railroads in the United States.


Omaha Belt Line

The Omaha Belt Line was a long railroad that circumnavigated Omaha, Nebraska, starting in 1885. The organization behind the line, called the Omaha Belt Railway, was incorporated two years earlier, in 1883. Carrying passengers and cargo, the original line was operated by the Missouri Pacific Railroad, with the first line from the Sarpy County line into Downtown Omaha.
History.
The line was first associated with the Union Pacific Railroad, whose officers first registered it as a "pet project" in 1883. In 1885, a young railroad tycoon named Jay Gould noticed that the Omaha Belt Line would be a perfect route to run his burgeoning Missouri Pacific Railroad around Omaha, thereby giving his railroad direct access to Downtown Omaha, something his railroad had previously only been able to reach via Union Pacific-owned tracks, which Missouri Pacific's line from Kansas City connected with at Portal, NE, just west of Papillion, NE.
While being constructed with Union Pacific employees and materials, the Belt Railway had only weak ties to UP on a business level, so, the always ambitious Gould decided he would expropriate Union Pacific of the 15-mile rail line around Omaha. To ensure local agreement, Gould, known for his charisma and strategic use of easily swayed government officials, stacked the Omaha Belt Board of directors with local officials whom Gould had frequent, personal contact with - except S.H.H. Clark, who was a former president of the Union Pacific - eager to work for Gould's growing empire. This acquisition of the Omaha Belt Railway from the Union Pacific was viewed as a masterfully enacted business coup in later years. The line was finished using materials from both railroads. That use of combined resources was the subject of a later dispute between the railroad companies which they carried to the US Railway Commission. The case was eventually dropped. By the 1920s, 178 trains per day went in and out of Omaha carrying mail, passengers, and freight.
The line was abandoned and removed piecemeal throughout the 1980s and 1990s as freight customers moved to bigger facilities away from the rail line and public transportation service in Omaha became less popular and dominated by an inefficient bus system. Today a portion of the Belt Line has been turned into the MoPac Trail (MoPac being the age-old nickname of the Missouri Pacific Railroad), also known as the "Field Club Trail", a recreational trail in Omaha. A small portion of the Belt Line Railway is still in use on the extreme south end of the line, which now serves as a "spur"(a dead end railroad track that provides access to one or more industries) to several South Omaha industries near Dahlman Avenue. It is operated by the Union Pacific Railroad.
Lines and properties.
Missouri Pacific's Omaha Belt Line included the main yard at Nicholas Street in North Omaha, the "Alley" switching district in Downtown Omaha, the "short belt" industrial area and the Westside Junction near 48th and Leavenworth streets. The Belt Line interchanged with several other roads including the Union Pacific, the Chicago and Northwestern Railway, the "Omaha Road" Railway and the Illinois Central. The Belt connected with the Missouri Pacific Railroad's original mainline at Westside Junction, as well as the newer mainline to Kansas City and St. Louis at Dahlman Ave. in South Omaha. The Missouri Pacific railroad also had branches into Lincoln, Wahoo and Nebraska City.


Keddie Wye

The Keddie Wye is a railroad junction in the form of a wye on the Union Pacific Railroad in Plumas County, California, United States. Located at the town of Keddie, it joins the east-west Feather River Route with the "Inside Gateway" (BNSF Gateway Subdivision) north to Bieber. The west and north legs of the wye are on bridges over Spanish Creek, and the southeast leg runs through a tunnel (Tunnel No. 32). Just to the northwest, where the two bridged legs join, is Tunnel No. 31.
The wye and the town are named for Arthur Keddie, who purchased the survey rights and the right to build a railroad through the Feather River Canyon from George Jay Gould I, the son of Jay Gould.
History.
The Western Pacific Railroad (now part of the Union Pacific) built the tracks along the Feather River in 1909 to complete a route from the San Francisco Bay Area to Salt Lake City, Utah, providing an alternate to the Southern Pacific's route over Donner Pass. Keddie was the site of the "last spike" ceremony held on November 1, 1909.
The Feather River route was preferred by some over the Donner Pass route through the Sierra Nevada because the high point of the former (the Chilcoot Tunnel under Beckwourth Pass) is at a lower elevation — about as opposed to  — and most of the route is at a gentler grade than the line over Donner Pass.
Construction started on the branch running north to Bieber in 1930 and was completed in 1931, along with the north and southeast legs of the wye. This allowed the Western Pacific to diverge from its east-west route (along the west leg of the wye) and go north to an interchange with the Great Northern Railway (now BNSF Railway) and its traffic from the Pacific Northwest.
Railfanning.
The Keddie Wye is a favorite railfan spot and is part of Plumas County's "7 Wonders of the Railroad World". Access to the site is described in the county travel guide.


Lumberjack Steam Train

The Lumberjack Steam Train is a passenger excursion train operated on the Laona and Northern Railway, a heritage railroad located in Laona, Wisconsin and part of the Camp 5 Museum. It is operated by the non-profit Camp 5 Museum Foundation, Inc. The train runs from the outskirts of Laona to the museum site.
The train consists of the steam locomotive, two steel passenger coaches, and three cabooses.
The locomotive, named the "4-spot," is a 2-6-2 steam locomotive built in 1916 by the Vulcan Iron Works in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It served as engine #12 on the Fairchild and North-Eastern Railway until it was leased in 1920 to the Wisconsin Central. The Laona and Northern bought it September 22, 1926 to haul timber from nearby logging camps to their mill in Laona. At 109,600 pounds, it is said to be the largest steam engine built by Vulcan that is still operating in the U.S.
The American Car and Foundry Company built the coach named the “Hamilton Roddis” in 1923 for the Soo Line Railroad. The Barney and Smith Company built the coach named the “Otter Creek” in 1911, also for the Soo Line Railroad. It was rebuilt in 1941.
The three passenger cabooses were purchased in 1965 and 1966 from the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway. Two cabooses have cupolas and offer “up in the trees” views of the passing forest. The third caboose is Soo Line Railroad caboose number 147.


Toledo Terminal Railroad

Toledo Terminal Railroad was a railway company in the U.S. state of Ohio. Primarily a switching railroad, it made a complete loop around the city of Toledo, crossing the Maumee River twice.
Track history.
In its heyday, the TTR was double-tracked all the way around the city of Toledo, except for the portion around the Upper Maumee Bridge.
On March 17, 1982, a train derailed on the Upper Maumee Bridge, damaging it. The Toledo Terminal elected not to fix the bridge, instead abandoning it, stirring up much controversy.
In 1983 it announced plans to lay continuous welded rail in north and west Toledo.
In January 2010, CSX Transportation petitioned to abandon the rest of the "Backside" of the Toledo Terminal (the portion on the west side of the Maumee River) from Temperance, on Toledo's north side, to a small portion just north of Norfolk Southern's Chicago Main, in Vulcan. All of the removal track has since been completed, and plans are underway to turn the right-of-way into a rail trail. This leaves only a small, inactive segment from the Vulcan to the ex-Wabash mainline near Gould on Toledo's south side.
The portion of the Toledo Terminal from Temperance to Bates, mainly the east of the Maumee River, is still in use by CSX.
Corporate history.
The carrier was incorporated December 4, 1907, under the general laws of Ohio, for the purpose of acquiring the property, rights, and franchises formerly owned by The Toledo Railway and Terminal Company, which was done. The date of organization was December 4, 1907.
The carrier acquired by deed dated December 4, 1907, the property, rights, and franchises of the predecessor company, which had been sold at foreclosure sale on May 28, 1907. The latter was incorporated February 12, 1901, under the general laws of the State of Ohio.
Development of fixed physical property.
The owned property of the carrier, comprising of main-line railroad, of second main track, of yard tracks and sidings, a freight and passenger station, and certain other terminal facilities at Toledo, Ohio, was acquired partly by purchase after foreclosure proceedings, as previously explained, and partly by construction. The main-line mileage, of yard tracks and sidings, the freight and passenger station, and certain other terminal facilities were constructed for The Toledo Railway and Terminal Company by The Toledo Railway and Terminal Construction Company during the years 1901, 1902, and 1903, and the entire line was opened for operation on October 1, 1903. The of second main track and of yard tracks and sidings were constructed by the carrier during 1914, the work being performed by its own forces.
In addition to the foregoing, the carrier owns jointly with the Pere Marquette Railway Company of yard tracks and sidings. It could not be determined from the records reviewed how this mileage was acquired.
There is a difference of between the mileage recorded by the carrier, , and the mileage inventoried as of date of valuation, .
Leased railway property.
The carrier uses on date of valuation facilities owned by other companies and other companies use facilities owned by the carrier to the extent indicated in the statement below. The description of the property and the period and terms of use are as stated below. The rentals accrued and charged or credited to income for the year ending on date of valuation have not been ascertained.
Solely owned, but jointly used, used with—The Hocking Valley Railway Company—Tracks, , between--
The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway Company—Tracks, , between—Bates and Boulevard Station, Toledo; for indefinite period from Oct. 1, 1911; stipulated payment 4½ cents per car-mile, with a minimum of $1.25 per train-mile.
The Toledo and Ohio Central Railway Company—Tracks, , between—Stanley and Boulevard Station, Toledo; for indefinite period from Jan. 1, 1908; stipulated payment 4½ cents per car-mile, with a minimum of $1.25 per train-mile.
Hickox and Walbridge, for passenger trains; for indefinite period from Nov. 1, 1907; stipulated payment $1 per train-mile.
The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company—Tracks, , between—Walbridge and Stanley; for passenger trains; for indefinite period from Feb. 7, 1914; stipulated payment $1 per train-mile.
Stanley and Gould; for freight trains; for indefinite period from May 13, 1917; stipulated payment 4½ cents per car-mile, with a minimum of $1.25 per train-mile.
Vandalia Railroad Company—Tracks, , from
Gould to Walbridge, for freight service; for indefinite period from Mar. 1, 1915; stipulated payment 4½ cents per car-mile, with a minimum of $1.25 per train-mile.
The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad Company—This company uses all tracks of the carrier for switching purposes through arrangements made with the above-named companies, which perform all of the service incident to interchange of cars between The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Company's tracks and tracks of the respective companies.
Solely owned, but not used, leased to—The Michigan Central Railroad Company—Land, , at Toledo, for the construction of track for movement of locomotives and cars; for indefinite period from Jan. 1, 1915; stipulated payment $12 per annum.
Jointly used, but not owned, owned by—The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company—Yard tracks and sidings, , at Ironville, Toledo; term 99 years from May 23, 1916; stipulated payment equal to interest at 2½ per cent per annum on valuaution of $30,592.93, plus one-half the cost of maintenance and taxes.
There are other facilities of minor importance, such as interlockers, yard tracks, and sidings, in which the carrier grants or receives joint use, that are not listed in this chapter.


Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad

Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad was a historic railroad that operated between Worcester, Massachusetts, Barre, Massachusetts and Gardner, Massachusetts, and its remaining functional tracks are now owned and operated by the Providence and Worcester Railroad ().
According to the Holden Historical Society, "[i]n 1869, the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad (BB&G) commenced construction of a railroad from Worcester (at Barber), through Holden, to Gardner. This 26-mile line, which cost 1.2 million dollars to build, opened in 1871. It was extended 10 miles to Winchendon in January, 1874 and later that same year the company leased the Monadnock Railroad north another 16 miles to Peterborough, New Hampshire. The BB&G thus attained a total length of 52 miles...The original 52-mile BB&G line through Holden remained under B&M control for 73 years. In 1974, the line was bought by the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W)."


West Michigan Railroad

The West Michigan Railroad is a shortline railroad in southwest Michigan. It began operations in 1995, replacing the bankrupt Kalamazoo, Lake Shore and Chicago Railroad on an ex-Pere Marquette Railway line between Hartford and Paw Paw, Michigan. That company had taken over operations in 1987 from CSX Transportation.
Traffic on the West Michigan Railroad consists of chipped rubber, plastic pellets, methanol, and corn oil.
The railroad has been owned by Hamilton Hartford Group, LLC since 2015.
History.
The Toledo and South Haven Railroad, a predecessor of the Pere Marquette Railway, opened the line from Paw Paw west to Lawrence in October 1877 and to Hartford in March 1883, as an extension of an older line from Lawton to Paw Paw. It was initially built as narrow gauge; the successor South Haven and Eastern Railroad standard gauged the line (along with an extension from Hartford to South Haven) in April and May 1899. The Pere Marquette gained control in April 1903, but the line temporarily left that system when the Kalamazoo, Lake Shore and Chicago Railway leased it in April 1907, intending to electrify it as an interurban. Michigan United Railways leased the line from 1911 to 1916; operations then reverted to the KLS&C until 1925, when the Pere Marquette took it back, having never been electrified. It abandoned the segment from Lawton to Paw Paw in 1942, and in August 1987 the Southwestern Michigan Railroad d/b/a Kalamazoo, Lake Shore and Chicago Railroad began operations between Paw Paw and Hartford. (Hartford to South Haven has also been abandoned.)
Pioneer Railcorp subsidiary West Jersey Railroad Co. operated a Salem County-owned line between Swedesboro and Salem, New Jersey from September 1988 until May 1995, when the lease was reassigned to the Southern Railroad of New Jersey. Three months later, the West Jersey began operating, under a directed service order, the line of the KLS&C, which had entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 1993 and suspended operations in May 1995. In October the West Jersey Railroad changed its name to West Michigan Railroad, and later that month it bought the line. As of the fall of 2011, the railroad from Hartford to Paw Paw is all but abandoned. A filing with the Surface Transportation Board dated December 19, 2012 and numbered STB Docket No. AB-1107X requested abandonment of 10.67 miles of the line from Paw Paw west to a point west of 56th Street on the west side of Lawrence, Michigan. a group of local officials is considering converting the rail line into a rail trail patterned after the nearby Kal-Haven Trail.
Pioneer Railcorp sold the capital stock of West Michigan Railroad Co., effective at the close of business November 3, 2015, to an unaffiliated non-carrier entity, Hamilton Hartford Group, LLC, and PRC, therefore, is no longer in control of WMI. The new owners have identified a dozen potential customers who have expressed interest in hauling freight along the line. Work on plans to lay new rails along the abandoned portion of the line, returning rail service to Lawrence and Paw Paw, are currently underway.


Leonor F. Loree

Leonor F. Loree (April 23, 1858 – September 6, 1940) was an American civil engineer and railroad executive.
He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1877, a Master of Science in 1880, a Civil Engineering degree in 1896 and a Doctor of Law in 1917, all from Rutgers College. He also obtained a Doctor of Engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1933. He was President of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad and had interests in Kansas City Southern, Baltimore and Ohio, New York Central, and the Rock Island Railroads. He was a Trustee at Rutgers University from 1909–1940 and was Chairman of the Rutgers Board of Trustees Committee on New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass College) until 1938. He was the donor of the New Jersey College for Women Athletic Field (which is now Antilles Field). Rutgers has a building named after Leonor Fresnel Loree, erected in 1963 and on the Douglass campus.
Accomplishments.
In 1923, Loree was a principal founder of The Newcomen Society in North America, a learned society promoting engineering, technology and free enterprise.
In 1903, Loree, along with Frank PJ Patenall, received U. S. Patent #733,981, for the upper quadrant semaphore. This soon became the most widely used form of railroad lineside signal in North America. Railroads continued to install them until the 1940s.
"This is a helluva way to run a railroad!".
In 1906 a committee of creditors asked Leonor to take charge of the Kansas City Southern Railroad. At the time it was considered no more than "two streaks of rust, its engines lost steam the men were disheartened and the stations were shacks." After Mr. Loree gave his initial inspection, in a speech in front of the financial community, he ended his professional and technical description of the railroad line by stating, "This is a helluva way to run a railroad". Within three years after accepting the chairmanship, Loree turned it into what they call a banner railroad of the Southwest.


Virginia Railway Express

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the Manassas Line from Broad Run station in Bristow, Virginia.
Service to Manassas began on June 22, 1992; the Fredericksburg service started on July 20, 1992.
VRE is owned by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission. The NVTC and PRTC are governmental entities that were created by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Local governments (such as counties and cities) within each commission's geographic area are members of each commission. The service will undergo expansion as the result of a December 19, 2019 deal brokered between Virginia governor Ralph Northam and rail company CSX Transportation.
History.
Discussions about commuter rail service in Northern Virginia had occurred as early as 1964 at the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, but died in the face of opposition by the freight railroads whose tracks offered ready access to core employment areas. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments eventually commissioned a regional feasibility study by R.L. Banks and Associates, Inc., and planning began in earnest for VRE in 1984. In the meantime, Washington Metro extended its service to much of the inner ring of Northern Virginia, including the independent cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and Arlington and Fairfax counties, which are members of the NVTC.
By 1986, it became apparent that Prince William and Stafford counties and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park could not reach agreement on how to support VRE by joining NVTC, so the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission was created for them. Legislation established a 2% motor fuels tax to support VRE expenses and other transportation investments.
By 1988, NVTC and PRTC established a VRE Operations Board, consisting of three voting members plus alternates from each of the two commissions, plus a voting representative of the Commonwealth of Virginia (currently a representative of the Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation). The following year, the jurisdictions participating in the VRE project agreed to fund it according to a formula that weighted ridership by jurisdiction of residence with a factor of 90% and population with a factor of 10%. Arlington and Alexandria agreed to contribute to the project and have paid each year approximately what their formula share would be. The cities of Fredericksburg and Manassas Park joined PRTC in 1990 and signed the VRE Master Agreement and became participating jurisdictions in 1992.
Spotsylvania County joined in February 2010 to allow construction of Spotsylvania station, which opened in November 2015.
Operations.
Rail service operates Monday through Friday during rush hour in the peak direction, with trains traveling toward Washington in the morning and toward either Manassas or Fredericksburg in the afternoon. Service is suspended or reduced on some holidays.
Through a cross-honoring agreement, VRE and the MARC Train allow passengers to transfer to trains on the other system that are going in the opposite direction of the rush-hour commuters.
VRE operates on lines owned and maintained by Amtrak, Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation. In December 2019 the state of Virginia agreed to purchase large portions of the right-of-way and track on the CSX line, as well as the Long Bridge into the District of Columbia. The state will add parallel tracks and make other improvements for increased service on the VRE. Most of the Fredericksburg Line is on CSX tracks, while the portion of the Manassas Line west of Alexandria is mostly on Norfolk Southern tracks. Union Station in Washington, D.C., which is the northern terminus for most VRE trains, is owned and operated by Amtrak, including the station tracks.
VRE's trains were initially run by Amtrak. On November 5, 2009, VRE awarded a five-year, $85 million operating and maintenance contract to Keolis. The change in operations took place on July 12, 2010, two weeks later than planned, to allow Keolis employees to learn how to run VRE trains.
Ridership on VRE increased an average of 13% each year from 2000 to 2005, but fell 2% in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. VRE said passengers affected by track maintenance and heat restrictions were taking other forms of transportation. The trend reversed in the summer of 2007, with ridership up nearly 2% in June and 4% in July compared with the corresponding months in 2006. As of October 2016, VRE transports an average of 19,400 passengers per day.
In 2015, VRE extended its contract with Keolis for five years, with an additional option for another five-year extension in 2020.
Starting in 2015, VRE began a study of extending service to Haymarket via a short branch line from the Manassas Line, but found that ridership would not sufficiently increase to justify the estimated $660 million cost and ended further consideration of the line.
Lines and stations.
VRE's fares are based on distance, with the 19 stations grouped into zones. The two lines diverge at Alexandria Union Station in Alexandria.
Fredericksburg Line.
The Fredericksburg Line runs north–south along trackage that was once part of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad and is now part of CSX. Amtrak service to Richmond, Virginia, and points south (the , , , and runs to Hampton Roads) also uses this line. An extension to Spotsylvania opened in November 2015.
Manassas Line.
The Manassas Line runs east–west along trackage owned by Norfolk Southern. Amtrak's and , as well as trains bound for Roanoke, also use this line. VRE studied an extension of the Manassas Line west to the communities of Gainesville and Haymarket, but chose instead to pursue added service on the existing line to Broad Run.
Equipment.
Virginia Railway Express commenced operations in 1992 with ten EMD RP39-2C diesel locomotives, 38 Mafersa coaches, and 21 remanufactured Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDCs) from the MBTA. Morrison-Knudsen rebuilt the locomotives from EMD GP40s at a total cost of $5.9 million. Mafersa built the coaches new at $24.7 million, or $600,000–$700,000 per car. VRE sold 33 of the Mafersa coaches to the Connecticut Department of Transportation in 2004 for its Shore Line East service. QIT-Fer et Titane, a Quebec mining company, purchased the remaining five cars in 2008.
VRE operated 13 Kawasaki bi-level cars between 1999 and 2008, after which they were sold to MARC (these cars were originally procured as an option on MARC's larger order). Starting in 2001, VRE also operated a number of second-hand Pullman-Standard gallery cars from Metra in Chicago. These were all replaced by new Sumitomo/Nippon Sharyo gallery cars from 2006 onwards.
Trains currently comprise one and on some occasions two MPI MP36PH-3C locomotives that pull their fleet of Sumitomo/Nippon Sharyo gallery cars. As of 2018, train lengths usually range from at least four cars to a maximum of eight cars.
Locomotive fleet.
VRE also operated a pair of EMD F59PHI locomotives and 18 high capacity Bombardier BiLevel cars leased from Sound Transit from 2002 to 2008; they have been returned and replaced by locomotives V50–V69 and the Sumitomo bi-level cars.
Safety and accidents.
On January 5, 2006, at 6:45 am, Fredericksburg line train No. 304 bound for Washington, D.C., derailed at Possum Point, just north of Quantico. Four people, including the assistant conductor, suffered minor injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the derailment was intimately related to CSX's maintenance practices: a switch point had been repeatedly identified as deteriorating, but CSX failed to replace it. Eventually, the excessively worn and chipped point caused the lead truck of a passenger car to derail—the fourth car on train 304.
On October 3, 2012, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell launched a review of "multiple internal control issues", including reports of corruption and favoritism, that "call into question the management of the Virginia Railway Express". For example, VRE managers disregarded warnings by a former employee, later borne out, that a train would hit the new Broad Run platform.


Medina Railroad Museum

The Medina Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located at 530 West Avenue in Medina, New York, which is northeast of Buffalo and northwest of Rochester.
The museum is housed in one of the largest standing wooden freight depots, built in 1905. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Its exhibits feature interactive displays, 6000 artifacts, memorabilia, photos, toys and a model railroad, all relating to the railroads of western New York. It also includes a collection of historic fire fighting equipment.
The museum sponsors passenger excursion train trips on a seasonal schedule between Medina and Lockport - as well as hosting an annual (May) "Thomas the Tank Engine, Day Out with Thomas" events.
In 1997 the boundaries of the village's Main Street Historic District were redrawn to include the building as a contributing property after research established that it was related to other buildings in that district.


John B. Jervis

John Bloomfield Jervis (December 14, 1795 – January 12, 1885) was an American civil engineer. America's leading consulting engineer of the antebellum era (1820–60), Jervis designed and supervised the construction of five of America's earliest railroads, was chief engineer of three major canal projects, designed the first locomotive to run in America, designed and built the 41-mile Croton Aqueduct – New York City's fresh water supply from 1842 to 1891 – and was a consulting engineer for the Boston water system.
Biography.
John Bloomfield Jervis was born in 1795 at Huntington, New York, on Long Island, the son of Timothy Jervis, a carpenter, and Phoebe Bloomfield, the eldest of seven children. Jervis moved with his family to Fort Stanwix (later known as Rome) in upstate New York in 1798
when his father purchased a farm and ran a lumber business.
In October 1817 at the age of 22, Jervis was hired by Chief Engineer Benjamin Wright of the Erie Canal as an axeman in a survey party to locate the canal west of Rome, New York. The role of the axemen was to clear away brush and trees along a "trace" four feet wide.(Ibid.)
In the spring of 1818, Jervis became a rodman until the canal was located from Rome to Montezuma on July 10, 1818. (Ibid.) By the end of 1818, Jervis was promoted to resident engineer in charge of a canal section seventeen miles long and promoted to General Superintendent of the Eastern Division in 1824.
Jervis left the Erie Canal in early 1825 to again work with Benjamin Wright on the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. In 1827, Jervis became the chief engineer for the Delaware and Hudson. In this position, he convinced the board of directors to test locomotives for the gravity railroad feeding coal to the canal terminal. Among the four engines imported for the experiment was the "Stourbridge Lion", which was built by Foster, Rastrick and Company of England and became the first locomotive to run in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1831, he became the chief engineer for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, a predecessor of the New York Central, and two years later he was appointed chief engineer of upstate New York's Chenango Canal project and helped in its design and construction. In 1836, Jervis was chosen as the chief engineer on the 41-mile long Croton Aqueduct. After his work on the aqueduct, Jervis served as a consulting engineer for the Boston water system from 1846 to 1848.
In the 1850s and into the early 1860s he worked on railroads in the midwestern United States, serving as chief engineer for both the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad, Chicago and Rock Island Railroad (a predecessor of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad), also serving as President of the latter from 1851 to 1854, and finally the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway.
Jervis retired in 1864 to his homestead in Rome, but he continued to work actively in the area. In 1869, he helped form the Merchants Iron Mill, known today as the Rome Iron Mill in upstate New York. He was also the founder of the Rome public library, named for him. Much of the remainder of Jervis's life was spent writing. He published "The Question of Labor and Capital" on economics in 1877.
Work.
Jervis steam locomotive.
Jervis' first steam locomotive design was the "DeWitt Clinton" while working as chief engineer for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad in 1831. The following year he built the "Experiment" (later renamed the "Brother Jonathan"), the first steam locomotive with a leading bogie, a four-wheel leading truck that guides the locomotive into curves. This 4-2-0 locomotive, which had two powered driving wheels on a rear axle underneath the locomotive's firebox, became known as the Jervis type. The Mohawk & Hudson Rail Road began operating the 4-2-0 in 1832.
Croton Aqueduct.
In 1836, Jervis was chosen as the chief engineer on the 41-mile Croton Aqueduct, which operated from 1842 to 1865, bringing fresh water to New York City.
Many of Jervis's original diagrams for this project are now preserved at both the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The High Bridge which still stands across the Harlem River in New York City, connecting Manhattan and the Bronx, was part of this project.
Legacy.
Upon his death, Jervis bequeathed his homestead to the city of Rome to use as the location for a public library. His personal library now forms the John B. Jervis collection of the Jervis Public Library. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
In 1927, the Delaware and Hudson Railroad built an experimental steam locomotive that was designed to run at 400 psi (2.8 MPa or 28 kgf/cm2) steam pressure; this locomotive, road number 1401, was named "John B. Jervis".
The city of Port Jervis, New York, is also named in his honor. The city was a port on the former Delaware and Hudson Canal, which he designed, and is located at the adjoining borders of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
References.
Notes
Further reading