Steam question regarding the Shenandoah Division

[NW Mailing List]

The operation of the 18-car Eisenhower Special 9/26/52 involved a lot of 
planning as detailed in Vol. 3 of Louis Newton's Rails Remembered as well as 
in six pages of N&W instructions in the society's Archives.  To give an idea 
of the planning involved in what may seem to be a simple movement, the 
following items have been extracted from the above-mentioned sources:

The two Class J engines, 600 and 604, and two N&W dining cars, 493 and 494 
with dining room ends together, and one rider coach were sent to 
Winston-Salem that morning.  Two Southern dining cars in the Special were to
be cut out and replaced by the two N&W dining cars upon arrival of the 
Special in Winston-Salem.  Specific instructions were given not to separate 
the rear seven cars that were connected by a (wired) communication system.

No. 55 symbol 57 with engines 2176 and 2125 was sent to Winston-Salem the 
previous day so that the Y6b, 2176, could follow the Special from 
Winston-Salem to Roanoke.  Engine 2125 was not to be permitted to leave
Winston-Salem until Engine 2176 had been inspected and found OK to follow 
the Special.

The Special had a detailed schedule to follow and was to stop opposite South 
Roanoke park with the engines near the Roanoke River bridge so that Ike 
could address the crowd that had assembled in the park.  It arrived two
minutes ahead of schedule.  While the Special was stopped for Ike's address, 
the 600 and 604 were replaced by 612 and 613 for the Special's trip to 
Petersburg, where the ACL would take over to Richmond.

The N&W had a fairly tight utilization schedule for the 14 Class J's, so 
with four asssigned to the Special and the 602 in Ro. Shops for classified 
repairs, a third of the Class J's were not available for their regular 
assignments.  Some interesting substitutions were made as follows according 
to company documents:

    9/25 Train 23, Roanoke to Williamson, Class K

    9/26 Train 24, Williamson to Roanoke, Class K

    9/26 Train 10, Roanoke to Monroe, Class K

    9/26 Train 9, Monroe to Roanoke, Class K

    [The above relieved two Class J engines to be sent to Winston-Salem 9/26 
for the Special.]

    9/26 Train 23, Roanoke to Williamson, Class K

    9/27 Train 24, Williamson to Roanoke, Class K

    9/26 Train 4, arriving Roanoke, remove Class J

    [The above provided two Class J engines for the Roanoke to Petersburg 
Special on 9/26.]

    9/26 Train 26, Roanoke to Petersburg, Class K [Replace at Petersburg 
with one of the Class J engines off the Special.  Return Class K and other 
Class J promptly to Roanoke.]

    9/26 Train 18, Roaoke to Monroe, Class K

    9/26 Train 45, Monroe to Roanoke, Class K

    [The above was to "...afford proper protection at Roanoke."

    9/26 One of the Class J engines off the Special in Roanoke was to be 
forwarded promptly to Bristol to protect American Bankers' Association 
Special, Bristol to Lynchburg, same night, and upon release at Lynchburg was 
to be returned promptly to Roanoke.

    Additionally, Louis Newton's Vol 3 reports:

    9/26  AM, No. 41 Roanoke to Bristol, Class A 1242

    9/26  PM, No. 10 Bristol to Roanoke, Class K1 104 (normally assigned to 
Pulaski Dist. freight service)

    9/26 PM, No. 26 arrived Roanoke, Class K2a 137 (a Scioto Division 
engine)

    9/26 PM, No. 26 departed Roanoke, Class J 604 (off the Special from 
Winston-Salem)

So, it's easy to see that Precision Transportation did not just happen, it 
involved lots of planning.  [Two days prior to operation of the Eisenhower 
Special from Winston-Salem to Roanoke, Class J engines 611 and 613 handled
the Special from Columbus to Kenova.]

Gordon Hamilton

.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 5:38 PM
Subject: Re: Steam question regarding the Shenandoah Division



> Steam question regarding the Shenandoah Division

>

>

>

> I would like to add a few comments regarding this question that has been

> much discussed during the past several days.

>

> I agree with Bud Jeffries' comments that the A's and J's were not the

> ideal locomotives for the Shenandoah Division.  In passenger service, the

> K-2's were all that were needed to handle passenger trains that rarely

> exceeded 7 seven cars in length.  That's not to say that a J might not

> occasionally have been operated in a detour movement.  And two J's did

> quite capably handle General Eisenhower's 18-car campaign train on the W-S

> District in 1952.  (Please see RAILS REMEMBERED, Volume 3, pp. 666-668.)

> Incidentally, according to the division superintendent's instructions

> regarding that movment, a Y-6 -- not a J -- followed the train north from

> W-S.

>

> In regular freight service with tonnage trains, the principal heavy grades

> encountered by A's were the 10-mile Kingston Hill on the Columbus District

> and the Blue Ridge grade on the Norfolk Division.  The Y-6's were better

> suited for the long, heavy grades on the Shenandoah Division, where they

> could operate more efficiently at relatively low speeds than the A's could

> have done.  It's true that there were places on the Shenandoah Division

> where relatively high speed operation was possible; e. g., north of Front

> Royal in both directions, northbound from Lofton to Waynesboro, and

> southbound from Troutville to Roanoke.  In such territory the Y-6's could

> DRIFT at high speeds, probably up to 60 MPH, which is why Gordon Hamilton

> found so many broken parts on them.  But it was hard to WORK a Y-6 with

> tonnage much above 45 MPH.  As far as the Mechancial Department was

> concerned a 45-MPH speed limit would have been desirable.

>

> A similar situation existed on the Cincinnait District, where Y-5's could

> DRIFT at high speed in much of the territory east of Peebles.

>

> Louis Newton