Weed Spraying Train

Thu Nov 1 09:13:50 EDT 2018

Gordon,
I for one would be extremely interested in your remembrances while working
East of Williamson.  Would you consider recollecting those days and perhaps
writing an article or at least feeding us snatches through the list?
Thanks,
Jim Cochran

On Thu, Nov 1, 2018 at 12:49 AM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
wrote:

> Gordon,
> Speaking of the weed spraying train, do you have any more pictures of this
> train or where they may be found in the Archives? I’m contemplating
> building an N&W weed spraying train in O Scale.
>
> Sincerely,
> Joseph Congemi
>
> On Oct 30, 2018, at 22:52, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> wrote:
>
> I am very familiar with the use of water spouts to fill not only steam
> loco tenders but also tank cars.  I worked four summers (1952 - 1955) as a
> laborer in the shops in Durham, NC (3 summers) and in Winston-Salem, NC (1
> summer).  Several times daily I would have to climb up onto the top of a
> tender tank, open the funnel lid, pull the spout down against the
> counterweight tending to pull the spout upward, generally stand or sit on
> the spout to keep it down, reach up and pull on the rope to open the valve
> which admitted water into the spout, and try to judge when to shut off the
> tremendous flow of water to avoid overflowing the tank.  In addition, I
> worked June and July of 1954 as a laborer on the N&W's weed spray train
> covering the entire N&W east of Williamson, WV (the ability to see that
> part of the railroad up close was why I sought that job).  Our train had
> four tank cars for water (plus two chemical tank cars, the spray car and a
> bunk car).  During those two months I filled the four tank cars from many
> different water tanks (see the attached photo of one on the Shenandoah
> Division as best as I can remember the location).  I am  confident that the
> operators of today's weed control trains wish that they had as great a
> selection of high-flow-rate water sources as we did when water tanks were
> all over the railroad.
>
> I don't remember how long it might have taken to fill an almost empty
> tender, but it didn't take long when you consider the diameter of the spout
> and that the spout was completely filled with rushing water.  By the way,
> there was no need for a lock on the water tank valve.  The thief/vandal
> could never reach the valve rope while standing on the ground.
>
> Gordon Hamilton
> On 10/30/2018 5:49 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>
> Mike,
>
> Me too, that is why I originally asked the question.  Remember, after
> coming to a complete stop, the brakeman would have to turn the valve (?
> terminology) on the car immediately behind the locomotive to keep air in
> the line; then the locomotive would uncouple from the train and move into
> place at the water plug.  The brakeman would have to climb up on the tender
> and open the water fill hatch; then position the water spout over the
> tender.  I'm not certain about the mechanism to operate the water spout,
> but I presume there was some type of lock so no vandals or ambitious
> railfans could discharge water improperly.  The spouts were of large
> diameter so I imagine the water discharged at a fast rate, perhaps only
> taking a few minutes to reach capacity; then the entire process was
> reversed from securing the discharge pipe, closing the water hatch and
> climbing down from the tender.  I would imagine a similar procedure was
> followed for coal loading.  The locomotive then needed to back to the train
> and couple up, with the air hoses connected, etc.
>
> Since most sound decoders today have a water fill routine available, I
> have been programming this into my steam loco decoders (there is no coal
> fill that I am aware of); I also use the ash dump feature for locos
> returning the roundhouse and before going on the turntable.  All
> interesting operational aspects.
>
> Jim Brewer
>
> On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 5:04 PM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> wrote:
>
>> I'm curious as to how long on average was a coal and water stop for a
>> mainline locomotive? 15 minutes?
>>
>> Mike Weeks
>> Seattle
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 9:59 AM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Jim,
>>> One of Bud Swearer's recordings is of a train stopping at Villamont for
>>> water and I don't think that they uncoupled from the train.
>>>
>>> Jimmy Lisle
>>>
>>> *Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID*
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> <WeedSprayTrain001.jpg>
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