David W. Flickwir - Photograph of Machinery

[NW Mailing List]

Abram and others interested:
This is a typical early steam shovel where only the boom apparatus rotates
on the large ring mounted on the front (working end ) of the shovel. You
will notice the boom and shovel (bucket) laying on the ground behind the
unit. Apparently it is undergoing maintenance or repair, or, possibly being
converted to use the boom only for derrick (crane on the VGN) work. the
early ones used rope and/or chains before wire rope came around.
This is an awesome photo, full of details! Thanks for the link and posting!
This is why I belong to the NWHS and the mailing list!
Charlie Long
Lynchburg (the one in Virginia)

On Thu, Feb 25, 2016 at 6:10 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
wrote:

> David W. Flickwir was a very versatile man.  Jim Dalmas' Book: "The Street
> Railways of Roanoke, Virginia 1887 - 1948," lists David W. Flickwir as one
> of the incorporators of a new street railway company chartered January 21,
> 1889, to operate two so-called high speed lines using steam dummy
> locomotive pulling passenger trailers, one line Roanoke to Vinton and the
> other line Roanoke to Salem, Virginia.
>
> Gordon Hamilton
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> *To:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> *Sent:* Thursday, February 25, 2016 7:04 AM
> *Subject:* David W. Flickwir - Photograph of Machinery
>
> David Williamson Flickwir, a native Philadelphian, was Construction
> Engineer during the building of the Shenandoah Valley RR, and once that
> road consolidated with the N&W, Flickwir became General Superintendent of
> the Eastern Division.  In 1896, he left the N&W and went into the business
> of heavy railroad construction, although maintaining his residence in
> Roanoke (903 South Jefferson St.)  He died in 1935 and it is reported that
> he is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Roanoke.  Into the 1960s and 1970s, the
> N&W's listing of sidings still showed a "Flickwir Siding" somewhere in the
> area of Furnace Crossing, Roanoke, but I cannot now recall exactly where it
> was located.
>
> Some of Flickwir's biggest jobs were for the Lackawanna, where he
> contracted for building major portions of the New Jersey Cut Off (across
> the western part of New Jersey) and the Pennsylvania Cut Off (west of
> Scranton,) and for the entire construction of the truly massive Tunkhannock
> Viaduct, one of the largest railroad bridges in the world at that time, 24
> miles west of Scranton.  Tunkhannock Viaduct is 2375 feet long and rises
> 240 feet above creek level, and is still in use.  That portion of the
> Lackawanna Main Line extending from Scranton to Binghamton was sold to the
> D&H, and was just last year bought from the D&H by the NS.  I think they
> may now call it the "D&H South Line," or some such.
>
> I have never seen a photograph of any equipment lettered for Flickwir's
> company until Steamtown yesterday released a scan of their glass plate
> negative number X0257, which Steamtown dates as 1910-1912.  The images
> shows a "Marion Shovel - Model 60" lettered "David W. Flickwir, Contractor,
> Roanoke, Va."  Based on the geography, I believe this photograph was taken
> on the Pennsylvania Cut Off, west of Scranton.  Steamtown holds the entire
> Lackawanna RR negative collection, and releases six to eight scans per day.
>
> The image file of David's Flickwir's fine "Marion Shovel" is attached.  If
> anyone can figure out exactly what this machine is set up to do, I would
> like to hear the explanation !
>
> --  abram burnett
>
> ===========================
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>
> Moderator:
>
> http://nwhs.org/mailinglist/2016/20160225.Flickwir_Shovel_on_Pennsylvania_Cut_Off_1910-1912_Steamtown_X0257.jpg
>
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