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NewsletterWinter 2003 Volume 23, Number 1

A Quarterly Publication of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc.

R&LHS Newsletter 23-1

R&LHS MEMBER SERVICES

Membership MattersMembership applications, change of

address and other membership status in-quiries should be sent to:

R&LHS - MembershipWilliam H. Lugg, Jr.

PO Box 292927Sacramento CA 95829-2927

Trading PostSociety members may use, without

charge, the Trading Post section of thequarterly Newsletter and the R&LHS Web-Site to advertise items they wish to sell,trade or acquire or to seek informationfrom other readers. This service is in-tended for personal, not general commer-cial, use. All items should be sent to Clif-ford J. Vander Yacht (see address at left).

Commercial AdvertisingAnyone may present, with payment,

display advertising to the quarterly News-letter and the R&LHS WebSite to adver-tise any railroad oriented items. All adver-tisements should be sent to Clifford J. Van-der Yacht (see address at left).

Locomotive Rosters & Records ofBuilder’s Construction Numbers

The Society has locomotive rostersfor many roads and records of steam loco-motive construction numbers for most

builders. Copies are available to membersat twenty five cents per page ($5.00 mini-mum) from James L. Larson, 12820 West-side Road, Manassas VA 20112. A list ofavailable rosters may be obtained from Mr.Larson for $2.00.

Back Issues of Railroad HistoryMany issues of Railroad History since

No. 132 are available at $7.50 per copy. Forinformation on the availability of specificissues and volume discounts, write R&L-HS Archives Services, PO Box 600544,Jacksonville, Florida 32260-0544.

Articles from the Bulletin & RailroadHistory

Copies of back issues of these publi-cations of the Society are available tomembers at twenty cents per page ($5.00minimum) from R&LHS Archives Ser-vices, PO Box 600544, Jacksonville,Florida 32260-0544.

Research InquiriesSource materials printed, manuscript

and graphic are included in the Society’sArchives. Inquiries concerning these ma-terials should be addressed to R&LHS Ar-chives Services, PO Box 600544, Jackson-ville, Florida 32260-0544. To help expe-dite our response, please indicate a day-time telephone number where you can nor-mally be reached. ^

Newsletter NotesRaintree Graphics suggested a duotone back-

ground for the back page advertisement in the last is-sue. The ad is reproduced again in this issue withoutthat background so it is easier to read.

For those of you who have not yet entered thecomputer/internet age (cyberspace) there is now goodreason to get into the game. The Newsletter is fullyavailable on the R&LHS internet area on the WorldWide Web (a spidery network of small computersaround the world connected by phone lines) at ourspecial address of <http://www.rlhs.org> (don’t in-clude the <> signs). Go to almost any library and havesomeone (kids are very savvy in this) give you a help-ing hand with this. They will show you how to go tovarious other places within our site or into other areasof interest, and how to get back.

Computers for just this kind of use are now ratherinexpensive and usually include an initial internet ser-

^R&LHS Newsletter

Copyright © 2003 R&LHSPublished by

The Railway & Locomotive HistoricalSociety, Inc.

William F. Howes, Jr., President3454 Cormorant Cove DriveJacksonville FL 32223-2790

Editor/PublisherClifford J. Vander Yacht

2363 Lourdes Drive WestJacksonville FL 32210-3410

<[email protected]>

Assistant EditorsVernon J. Glover

704 Renaissance Loop, SERio Rancho NM 87124

James A. Smith

Editorial AdvisorBruce Heard

Printer: Raintree GraphicsJacksonville, FL

vice for a few months. Juno, the service I use, is eithera free service (more advertising) or $9.95 a month (don’tpay more). Contact me for details. On the Newslet-ter side of our website, you will note that the Trad-ing Post and New RR Books sections are updatedoften. The full issue is available about a month beforeyou receive it via mail.

WebMaster, Adrian Ettlinger, has set up a bulle-tin board on the Internet where you can read and postmessages about the R&LHS and other railroad mat-ters. This is further described inside this issue. As Iwrite this, there is a lively discussion about archivingrailroad historical documents. Join in; you are amongstfriends! To give Adrian your e-mail address to join,just e-mail him at <[email protected]>.

I’m almost out of feature articles. Again, may Isay that this is a great place to see yourself in print.Write about 2000 to 3000 words on any railroad sub-ject and illustrate what you write. That is your assign-ment! I won’t grade the papers. ^


Challenges of Running a Short Line RailroadBy Russell Tedder

Running a shortline railroad has many of the samecharacteristics as managing any other business. How-ever, shortlines have their own unique challenges.

A few shortlines began a century ago more or lessand survive today as independents, usually familyowned. Other shortlines were started by shippers inheavy, rail oriented industries such as steel, mining andforest products where logging and lumber railroadsevolved into common carriers. Although some short-lines were formed from branchlines of Class I railroadsthroughout the 20th century, deregulation spawned bythe Staggers Act of 1980 prompted a mass ofbranchline spinoffs that resulted in the creation ofmany new shortlines. The majority of shortlines todaywere created in the past 20 years from former branchesthat are now being operated by shortline holding com-panies or conglomerates in which diversification hasbeen obtained by ownership of multiple shortlines serv-ing varied industries in different geographic regions.Some shipper owned shortlines have also gone to theconglomerates and a few branchlines are still operatedas independent shortlines.

Beyond the basic requirements of rights-of-way,tracks, motive power, railcars, shops, offices, staffing,maintenance of track, structures, signals and equip-ment, it is difficult to prioritize the remaining chal-lenges of running a shortline railroad. However, themore serious challenges are those from external forcesthat are often beyond the direct control of manage-ment.

The first and most basic challenge for a short-line railroad is that of ensuring a market for its ser-vices. A shortline’s tracks cannot be easily redeployed

to other areas to chase new markets. Thus a market forits services must exist or be created along its existingline. The adage, “Build it and they will come,” doesnot often apply to shortlines. Shipper owned short-lines have the advantage of the shipper’s traffic but inmost cases must also be competitive with other modesof transportation. To be successful, other shortlinesmust develop, maintain and hopefully grow their mar-ket share in competition with other modes. The Stag-gers Act of 1980 created a deregulated environment inwhich creative managers developed new business andbrought back traffic previously lost to trucks.

Maintaining adequate revenue per carload is alsoa vital challenge for shortlines. In the past, shortlineshave been accused, and sometimes rightly so, of re-ceiving a disproportionate share of revenue on ship-ments. While this may be true when based upon a strictmileage prorate of sharing revenue from through ship-ments, the allegation overlooks the terminal servicesthat shortlines perform, whether as an originator or aterminator of freight traffic. The shortline typicallyprovides the railcars, switching service to place andpull the car from the customer’s loading docks, weigh-ing (if required), billing and collection of freightcharges, distribution of revenues to other roads thathandle the shipment, data entry into Train II, the na-tional computerized rail tracking system, and deliveryof the shipment to its connecting line for forwardingto the customer at the ultimate destination. Some short-lines even pre-block cars for the connecting line. It wasrecognition of the shortlines efficiency in providingterminal services and more effective marketing by lo-cal management that prompted Class I’s to spin offnumerous branchlines to shortline operators. In addi-tion to a market for its services, a reasonable revenuerequirement for shipments it handles is necessary for ashortline to survive.

Accompanying the need for a market and revenueis the requirement to extend the shortline’s reach viaother railroads. While a few shortlines originate andterminate most shipments on their own line, most

COVER PHOTO: This southbound 85-car train of theArkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi Railroad rollsthrough Spyker, La., at speed on July 10, 2001 on its52-mile run from Crossett, Ark., to Monroe, La. TheAL&M is owned by the Georgia-Pacific Corporation butalso serves a variety of non-affiliated customers,including competitors. Peter J. Smykla, Jr., photo,collection S. R. Tedder.


roads’ shipments are interline, meaning that they origi-nate or terminate on other railroads. Therefore, one ormore Class I connections are essential for access to thenational rail system in order to reach the shortlinecustomer’s sources of raw material and/or markets forits finished products. Two Class I’s, the practical maxi-mum due to mergers and consolidations, provide com-petitive alternatives for the shortline and its custom-ers. However, in some cases, three connections are alsoavailable.

Railcar supply is a major challenge, and onethat is often beyond the shortline’s direct control. Be-fore the boom in leasing of boxcars during the past 25years, most shortlines relied mainly upon their Class Iconnections for railcar supply. For over a century, rail-car supply and demand has rarely been in balance. Moreoften than not it has been in a state of feast or faminewith either shortages or surpluses. Occasionally sur-pluses exceed the line’s storage capacity. Railcar short-ages are devastating to shortlines and their customerswho often are faced with shutting down productiondue to lack of available equipment to move their in-ventory or diverting shipments to highway transpor-tation which is not always a viable alternative.

Even shortlines that obtained their own fleets ofrailcars in recent decades are often frustrated by thelack of control of their fleet. In most cases, rules ofthe Association of American Railroads permit reload-

ing of cars on other roads when needed. While theserules were intended to promote efficiency by elimi-nating empty backhauls and increasing loaded mile-age, it often results in a loss of predictability of returnof cars to the owning shortline. Due to this erratic sys-tem, a shortline that acquired railcars for loading oftenfinds it difficult to size its fleet to a level that will con-sistently provide an adequate car supply for its cus-tomers. Local railcar shortages are often aggravatedby reloading of railcars by connecting lines and/orother roads rather than returning them to their own-ers in times of national shortages. A good deal of manyshortline managers’ time and energy is spent dealingwith this problem during shortages. Traffic divertedto trucks during car shortages is often lost permanentlydue to unreliable rail service. Maintaining an adequatesupply of equipment is critical to the success of theshortline.

Another challenge is maintaining a well-qualifiedand highly-motivated workforce. Most shortlines donot have a sufficient number of employees to developformal in house training programs for new employeesand refresher courses for existing employees. Often-times it is more effective to hire inexperienced employ-ees and train them within the road’s own environmentinstead of hiring experienced employees from largerroads with a different culture. As a rule, shortline wagesare very competitive with local industry. By necessity,shortline employees are generally more flexible in theirwork responsibilities than their Class I counterparts.An attractive benefit, in contrast to Class I employ-ment, is that shortline employees are generally at theirhome base while off duty.

Although shortlines operate mostly within thesame legal and regulatory framework as other busi-nesses, the Railroad Retirement Act, the Railway La-bor Act and the Federal Employers Liability Act arethree Federal laws that apply to common carrier rail-roads, both large and small, that are different from regu-lations of other businesses. Although enacted with goodintentions, these laws are challenging to shortlines. Therailroads’ highway competitors are not burdened withthese laws. Shortline railroads and their customerswould be better served by being under laws compa-rable to those governing competing modes.

The Railroad Retirement Act was passed in the

The image of short trains, old locomotives and lightweight track is fast disappearing from the shortlinescene. Georgia’s St. Marys Railroad handles traffic forthe paper industry and the military using two MP-15’sand an SW 1500, and operates a large fleet of boxcars.The near future for the 14 mile line is clouded as itsprincipal customer has discontinued paper makingoperations. Photo by M. Demeline, collection of M.Bennett.


aftermath of Social Security legislation in 1937 whenrailroad employment was in excess of 2.5 million. To-day it provides a supplemental pension over and abovethe equivalent amount of Social Security coverage bynon-railroad businesses. It is ironic that an industry,which now has fewer than 200,000 employees, less thanmany major corporations, has a separate pension sys-tem under the auspices of the Federal Government.While Railroad Retirement provides superior benefitscompared to employees covered by Social Security, itis a costly plan for all common carrier railroads, in-cluding shortlines.

The Railway Labor Act governs collective bar-gaining within the railroad and airline industry. It wasenacted after the release of railroads from Federalcontrol following World War I. Many, if not most,shortlines are non-union and able to provide attractiveworking conditions without the intervention of thirdparties. However, unionized shortlines find the Rail-way Labor Act is an anachronism designed for condi-tions of decades ago that make it difficult to obtainlabor agreements without a long, drawn out processthat often lowers employee morale with a resultingadverse effect on the railroad’s operations and safety.This is not necessarily the fault of either labor or man-

agement but the antiquated and inflexible provisionsof the Railway Labor Act. The Act also promotes strictcraft lines which conflicts with most shortlines’ flex-ible workforces.

The final law that uniquely affects railroads is theFederal Employers Liability Act. Unlike workers com-pensation, a no-fault insurance system for injuredemployees in other occupations, FELA is a fault-basedsystem that automatically places an injured employeeand the railroad in an adversarial position, usually morebeneficial to trial lawyers than to the affected employ-ees. There is no cap on jury awards in FELA suits, afact that often increases insurance premiums to anuntenable level and makes the cost of coverage pro-hibitive.

Following the creation of the Federal RailroadAdministration in 1972, regulations governing nearlyevery facet of railroad operations have been put intoeffect. Standards have been implemented for track,equipment, signals, rail operations, locomotive engi-neer training and certification, noise, environment andother railroad activity. While the regulations generallycodify and set minimum standards for good operatingpractices, compliance is often a challenge for short-lines with limited staffs. Class I’s have departments thatare specialized in each function while the shortlinemanager must be knowledgeable of all regulations gov-erning the railroad. Reporting and record keeping aresignificant challenges, although certain shortlines havebeen exempted from some of the requirements. Com-pliance, a goal of every well managed shortline, is asignificant challenge, especially as new regulations areadded over the years.

A major current challenge is heavy axle loadings.Historically, shortlines have found it necessary to main-tain their facilities to a level that would permit han-dling of freight cars offered in interchange by theirClass I connections. At the end of World War II, railweighing 60-pounds per linear yard was consideredquite adequate for shortlines. At the same time, 40-ton, 40-foot boxcars were considered the norm. In sub-sequent years 50-ton cars replaced the 40-ton cars andby the 1970s 70-ton, 50-foot cars were the standard.Concurrently with increased axle loadings, track wasupgraded with 90-pound rail which was considered agood standard for shortlines handling 70-ton cars.

A number of new shortlines are finding a specializedmarket by providing common carrier carload serviceto customers in privately owned industrial parks. NewJersey’s SMS Rail Service uses Baldwin switchers likeDS4-4-1000 #1494, to service several major customers,including a Home Depot distribution center, located inthe 3000 acre Purland Industrial Park near Bridgeport,NJ. Photo from the collection of M. Bennett.


In this February 9, 1999 scene, a southbound ValdostaRailway freight train has just arrived at Clyattville, GA.,on its ten mile run from Valdosta, GA. The ValdostaRailway, LP, is owned by Rail Management, Inc., oneof several conglomerates that own multiple shortlinestoday. J. Harlen Wilson photo, collection S. R. Tedder.

However, as the twentieth century drew to a close, 100-ton cars were superseding 70-ton cars. Today, 125-toncars are being developed for increased efficiency andthe current trend is expected to lead to 125-ton carsbecoming the industry norm, or at least the predomi-nating capacity.

The transition from 40-foot 40-ton boxcars on60-pound rail 50 years ago to 50 and 60–foot or longercars up to 125-tons capacity requires major infrastruc-ture upgrading for which many or most shortlines lackadequate funding. Minimum rail weight of 115 poundsis expected to be the requirement for shortlines tohandle heavy axle loadings. Although upgrading is es-sential for shortlines to continue participation in thenational rail system, it is a major challenge. Fortunately,efforts are underway to provide federal funding at somelevel to help alleviate this problem. Nonetheless, short-lines will still be challenged to increase the capacity oftheir track and structures to handle the projectedheavier loadings.

Shortline railroads, along with their Class I coun-terparts, have reached maximum efficiency and safetywith two-person crews, down from up to five persons

Mergers aren’t just for large railroads. The Huron & Eastern, here rollinggrain cars through Ruth, MI, behind GP-9 #101, began as an independentrailroad with the 1986 purchase of several former Pere Marquette branchlines in Michigan’s grain rich Thumb. The H&E became part ofRailAmerica’s core system when its holding company went public. Withthe acquisition of Texas based RailTex, RailAmerica is now the nation’slargest shortline operator. Photo from the collection of M. Bennett.

as recently as 25 years ago. The nextfrontier and challenge for shortlinesis the use of remote control, espe-cially in switching operations.Technology has advanced so thatremote control is as safe as mannedoperations, and often safer. Adop-tion of the new technology is in-evitable and forward looking man-agers will consider embracing thisoption for increased safety and ef-ficiency in operations.

Shortline railroads provide avaluable service to shippers andcommunities across the country.Challenges notwithstanding, run-ning a shortline railroad is a reward-ing profession. The future belongsto those resourceful and creativeshortline managers and employeeswho adapt to change and meet thechallenges thrust upon them.

[Following 46 years in the shortlinerailroad industry, Russell Tedderretired in 1997 as President of theGeorgia-Pacific shortline railroads.]^


THE JOB OF APASSENGER—TRAIN

CONDUCTOR:Education and

Kindnessby Elsie Robertson Voigt

“We are now arriving in RowNOKE, ROWnoke,Vahginyah.” The conductor went through the Pull-man repeating “RowNOKE, ROWnoke, Vahginyah,”helping everyone with baggage to be brought forward.He was The Boss of his train on the Norfolk & West-ern. His voice from the 1930s rings through the de-cades since.

A passenger-train conductor has many of the skillsof a road foreman of engines on a freight division: Heis a diplomat, a psychologist, a judge, an alert nightworker, a public relations expert, someone who makesinstant decisions and is familiar with every mile of trackand track restrictions on his railroad and who knowsthe destinations of all of his passengers. He has to throwtrack switches when required and is a liaison betweenthe service crew and the operating crew, at all times incontact with the engineer. He has a manifest listing ofhis rolling stock and their contents and destinations,cars to be set out or picked up. He has to handle cou-plers, air hoses and head-end power cables. And he hasthe authority to stop his train and others and give emer-gency assistance to any passenger, as well as the au-thority to handle many other situations that may sud-denly arise.

Lowering the trapdoor, ready to leave the Roanokestation eastward on the Norfolk Division, the conduc-tor — and I saw the same one several times in the monthof August traveling between Cincinnati and Farmville,Virginia — would place the yellow stool so that I couldstand with him and look out of the vestibule windowas he pointed out the Roanoke Shops and explained

them one by one: the boiler shop, the wheel shop, theerecting shop. By the mid-1930s I was keenly awarethat I was looking at the greatest railroad shops in theworld. We would be running at about one mile an hourbecause the engineer knew exactly what was happen-ing in the Pullman far behind — that the conductorwas showing off the great Shops to a kid he knew. Ialways made sure I met the engineer first. It would beeasy to make up the time in the wonderful, fast, heavy-Mountain pulling us.

Sitting on the tracks next to where we passed, theconductor would point to the world’s finest locomo-tive, a 2-6-6-4 made in the Shops. He explained whatan articulated could do. Then he would finger several2-8-8-2 Mallets, homemade and brand new. He taughtme how Mallets operated. They were the most impres-sive things I’d ever seen.

Years later in 1967, 1 received another lesson as tojust what a conductor could do. My son, just back fromVietnam, phoned me from the Philadelphia Naval Hos-pital to bring a seabag he had left at home with thingshe wanted. I took the Pennsylvania from Chicago witha ticket from a travel agency. When the conductor calledout “North Philadelphia,” I knew I must have passedmy station and told him where I was headed. The travelagency had screwed up. It took him one second to stopall trains in both directions. The train I needed, goingback in the other direction, was ordered to pull upopposite us with no station near, and the conductortook the heavy seabag in one hand and me in the otherwhile we crossed about five tracks. He handed up theseabag to the other conductor and helped me up thesteps. I couldn’t thank him enough. That whole inci-dent had taken less than a minute and a half.

At the Philadelphia Naval Hospital, the trains wereunloading broken bodies from Vietnam faster than thehospital could cope, and men were lying all over thehalls as I dragged the seabag on the way to my son’sward. The devastation was so terrible that I had to turnmy mind to find to some of the kindness in the worldI had just received. That conductor who stopped thetrains had the coolness and decision of an Army gen-eral — in service to the Pennsylvania Railroad. ^


AC Traction Motors and Controlscement plants. There is also no field shunting to in-crease speed since there are no fields to shunt. Thefrequency and voltage are raised to increase speed.There is, of course, a limit where the voltage cannotbe increased any further and the system runs out ofpower. This determines the maximum speed of themotors.

Electric braking with AC machines is easily ac-complished by changing the slip from positive, i.e..pulling the rotor around faster and faster, to negativewhere the rotor is repulsed by the rotating magneticfield. When this occurs, the rotor induces voltage inthe stator (stationary fields) which adds to the voltagebeing supplied by the source. This extra voltage is fedinto resistors for dynamic braking, or run backwardsthrough the power electronics and put back into thesupply line as regenerative braking. This is anotheradvantage of AC propulsion, the ease of obtaining re-generation.

All of this depends on the recent (20 years) de-velopment of power electronics (GTO’s, gate turn offthyristors, and now IGBT’s, insulated gate bipolar tran-sistors, that can handle the voltage and current levelsof street cars as well as 6000 Hp. locomotives and themicroprocessors to give the orders fast enough andmonitor the response to get the fine regulation neededfor propulsion systems.

I hope this is not too confusing.Walter Keevil

Chief Rail Equipment EngineerChicago Transit Authority ^

2003 Annual Meeting You do not need to register for the convention in

order to attend the R&LHS Board meeting on the af-ternoon of July 3 (Board members only) or the R&LHSannual membership breakfast and meeting on themorning of July 4. There is a charge for the breakfaston July 4. You must register for the convention in or-der to attend the joint NRHS/R&LHS banquet, re-ceive priority ticketing for any trips or other jointNRHS/R&LHS activities, and obtain our specially dis-counted tickets for the B&O Museum festivals. ^

The vast majority of the present day AC propul-sion systems, either light rail, metro or locomotive areessentially the same. They use induction motors, likeall your standard AC motors for washing machines,fans, etc. and a variable voltage, variable frequencypower supply. The traction motor version is 3 phaserather than single phase as used in homes and lightindustry. Note: Your 220 volt motors with 3 wires arenot 3 phase. An induction motor rotates in step withthe frequency of the voltage applied and in relation tothe number of poles in the motor. For single phasemachines, you have 1800 and 3600 as the “Nominal “speed of four pole and two pole machines. Actual speedis a bit less due to the mechanical and electrical losses.The difference between the theoretical speed and theactual speed is the slip. When an induction motor isstarted, the rotor is at zero speed and the magneticfield is rotating at the nominal speed. Thus the slip is100%. The rotating magnetic field induces fields inthe rotor and drags it around until it is rotating as fastas it can under the applied load and losses. The theo-retical 1800 rpm motor actually runs at about 1740 rpmor at a slip of about 4%.

In a propulsion system, the full voltage and fre-quency cannot be applied at zero speed since the mo-tor would burn out from over current. (It would stalland not rotate at all.) In order to accelerate the motorand rail vehicle, the voltage and frequency are variedin most systems to gradually bring the motor up to thedesired speed. This can be anything from almost 0 mphto full speed. This is one advantage of AC: It can berun at any speed continuously. A series DC machinewants to always run at full speed and only by intro-ducing resistance in series with the machine can thespeed be kept below the maximum. This means lossesas heat which do not exist with current day AC sys-tems. As noted in another message, there is no transi-tion with current day AC systems since the motors arefed by a varying voltage and frequency which are raisedas needed to get the desired speed from the machineand all the motors are directly connected to the powersource, not in the series or series parallel connectionsof DC systems. The same concepts are used in all cur-rent day variable speed drives such as rolling mills and


Allegheny Portage RRby Chris J. Lewie

[Due to a misplacement, these illustrations didnot accompany the article about the Allegheny Por-tage Railroad by Chris J. Lewie. These will help inunderstanding the significance of the first railroad toconquer the Allegheny summit in Pennsylvania.]

Inclined plane No. 6 of the Allegheny Portage Railroad,at the summit of the Allegheny Mountains. There wereten such planes, five on each side of the mountain.The rise westwardly from Hollidaysburg was 1,398.71feet, and the descent to Johnstown, 1175.50 feet. Theseplanes were considered one of the great triumphs ofcivil engineering at the time of their construction in1834. The Main Line of the Public Works, including theAllegheny Portage Railroad, was purchased from theState of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania R.R. Co. in1857. The Company abandoned use of these planesthe following year when its own line across themountains was constructed.

STAR SPANGLED RAILSCONVENTION

The joint NRHS/R&LHS convention to be heldJune 30-July 6, 2003, in Baltimore, Maryland, concur-rently with the B&O Railroad Museum’s Fair of theIron Horse is coming soon. The Fair of the Iron Horse,like B&O Railroad’s 1927 fete, presents railroad his-tory from first horse-drawn railroad cars to powerfulpresent day locomotives as a musical pageant along thehistoric first mile of railroading in the United States.Locomotives are coming to Baltimore from all overAmerica to participate, including several steam loco-motives present at the 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse.The festival village of pavilions will feature exhibitionsof railroads, technology, travel, collectibles, model andtoy trains, entertainment, demonstrations and greatfood. Convention attendees will be able to purchase aspecial five-day Fair pass or a one-day ticket to the Fair;both include a grandstand ticket to the locomotive pag-eant on Friday, July 4th, with the convention group.

Plans are made for other convention events fea-turing vintage and current day equipment, includingtraction/transit, various regional tourist railroads, andseveral mainline excursions with coach and first classaccommodations. A night photo session, a series of sta-tionary and roving educational seminars, a banquet witha noted railroad speaker, and a fabulouse IndependenceDay fireworks show over Baltimore’s Inner Harborround out a full week’s worth of convention events.Sightseeing tours to some of the area’s non-rail attrac-tions are planned.

Preregistrations were accepted through January2003. Theywill receive priority for tickets to the con-vention events. After January 31, 2003, the registra-tion fee is $45. To obtain a registration form, send aself-addressed, stamped envelope to Star SpangledRails, PO Box 441668, Ft. Washington MD 20749-1668, or visit <www.starspangledrails.org>. Don’t missthis once in a lifetime railroading celebration!

There will be many volunteer opportunities tomake the Convention successful. Volunteers must be amember of the R&LHS or the DC/NRHS. If you areinterested in volunteering, please contact<[email protected]>. ^


New RR BooksPress releases for new railroad oriented booksappear here. They are not paid advertisementsand carry no endorsement by the R&LHS.All items subject to available space and edi-torial decisions as to content. Photographs arelimited to 7/8 inches high.

Uncle Sam's Locomo-tives: The USRA and theNation's Railroads by Eu-gene L. Huddleston givesan in depth report of theproblems and successes of

the US Railroad Administration. Thestandardization had little effect on the war,but the railroads kept the engines and or-dered more. 232 pages, 231 b&w photos, 8tables, bibl., index. 8½ x 11 clothbound.$49.95. Indiana University Press, 601North Morton Street, Bloomington IN47404-3797. (812) 855-8817.Web: iupress.indiana.edu.

How We Got to Coney Islandby Brian J. Cudahy is a dif-ferent kind of story, one abouthow just getting to the amuse-ments on the far shore ofBrooklyn gave birth to the

modern transportation network that mademodern Brooklyn and New York City pos-sible. 272 pages, b&w photos, maps,endnotes, bibliography, index. 6 x 9clothbound $45.00, paper $25.00. Ford-ham University Press, University Box L,Bronx NY 10458.

In History of the Louisville &Nashville Railroad, eminentrailroad historian MauryKlein provides a fascinatinglook at the L&N's responsi-bility in creating the South-

ern metropolises we know today. The bookcovers the L&N's role in establishingtravel, manufacturing, industry, and busi-nesses to develop whereever the companylaid down rails. Updated for the last 30years. 572 pages, b&w photos, maps,endnotes, bibliography, index, 6 x 9,clothbound $45.00. The University Pressof Kentucky, 663 S. Limestone St., Lex-ington KY 45508-4008. ^

TRADING POSTSubmissions should be made to the Newslet-ter editor to arrive by April 1,2002, for in-clusion in the next issue. All items subject toavailable space and editorial decisions as tocontent. Logos and photographs are limitedto 7/8 inches high if space permits. New Trad-ing Post items are posted every week on ourWebSite. <http://www.RLHS.ORG>

SELLING - New book, Santa Fe’s East-ern Oklahoma Railway Company: BookOne — The Stillwater District. 200 pho-tos, maps and charts. $49.95 + $3.95 s/h,Hardbound. Written by Joseph A. Cam-malleri, 1177 Monte Sereno Drive,Thousand Oaks CA 91360-2408.<[email protected]>

WANTED - builders side elevation of theEMD locomotive DD-40X that theUnion Pacific used during the 1960s. EdRock, 2215 Avian Place, Jacksonville, FL,32224, 904-633-5972<[email protected]>

NEEDED - A list of all narrow gaugerailroads built and operated in the UnitedStates, Canada, and Mexico. See my listso far on <www.ngrrlines.com>. For otherrailroads, I would appreciate all names un-der which the railroad operated and bibli-ography. Norman F. Clarke, retired Pro-fessor and Business Librarian, St. Cloud(MN) State University, 13406 W. Copper-stone Dr., Sun City West AZ 85375.<[email protected]>

WANTED - An original Alco Rogersbuilders plate for my collection, will paytop $ for an original in excellent condition.Also looking for pre- alco`s / transitionals,and pre 1900 Baldwins. Jerry W. Groves,5714 Woodbine Drive, Zephyrhills Fl33543-4475. <[email protected]>

FOR SALE - SP locomotive headlight inoriginal black paint. Size: L24-W28-H18.Indicator light stencils are 4285. Nameplate on top 2x3 shows “NATIONAL

Company” under the paint. $300. Weight:60+ lbs. A. C. Perkins, 3062 Lunada Ln,Alamo CA 94507. (925) 820-7145.

NEEDED - The Bangor and AroostookRailroad is ending 111 years of businesson 12/31/02. I have agreed with manyformer BAR presidents and employees toauthor a second edition of my BAR bookthat was published in 1986. To do a nicejob with the second edition I need colorphotos and slides. Jerry Angier, Suite 406,120 Exchange Street, Portland ME 04101.(207) 772-2333.

CONVENTION Excursion - Los Ange-les June 25th to Baltimore via New Or-leans, return July 8 via Chicago and Oak-land. Private cars. Ask for brochure. Bar-bara Siebert, 777 E Valley Blvd #70,Alhambra CA 91801-0770, (626) 570-8651, or Rod Fishburn at (877) 224-1150.

Thomas T. TABER504 S. Main Street Muncy PA 17756

Copies of his crowning achieve-ment and critically acclaimed, Rail-road Periodicals Index, 1831-1999,are still available for $75. It con-tains 80 periodicals, 300,000 en-tries, and where to find them. Amust for anyone doing thoroughrailroad research or just browsing.

FOR SALE - The Philadelphia and ErieRailway by Rosenberger. Long out ofprint, it is available again in limited quan-tity. The original 1975 printing, 748 pages,hardcover with dust jacket. Mint condi-tion. Anyone interested in this company,the PRR or Pennsylvania railroad historyin general will be interested in this wellresearched reference work. Price is $36 andthat price includes postage. Dan Allen,PO Box 917, Marlton, NJ 08053-0917.(609) 953 1387. <[email protected]>.


TRADING POST ExtraBaldwin Locomotive Works’ erecting card number 74 was drawnfor a 4-4-0, class 8-16 C, and the same card was used for a consid-erable number of engines of this class. This card shows the frontwindow on the engineer’s side of the cab as an odd shape; verticalsides with the top and bottom being 180 degree arcs. This draw-ing is unusual as it seems to indicate that the depiction was awindow, showing multiple concentric lines, with a cross memberat the middle. If we are to believe the Class sheet it may havebeen for Camden, Gloucester and Mount Ephraim, 8-16 C I listedas delivered June 1974. Can any member verify that this enginewas built with the curious and probably quite expensive window,and the identity of any others that may have had cabs of thisstyle? Wayne Lincoln, 1871 Park Drive, Los Angeles CA 90026.

Midwest Railroader and Locomotive Roster Journal: Publicationrights for sale, along with inventory of 1,000 copies of 94 issuespublished between 1957 and 1974, including cumulative index.All offers will be considered. Clayton Hallmark, 610 NW LymanRd. #310, Topeka KS 66608, (785) 357-7824. <[email protected]>.

Newly-restored Santa Fe RPO car #74 (Pullman, 1927) had itsinaugural run and 75th “birthday” on November 23, 2002, on aspecial excursion from Campo, California, to Tecate, Mexico,sponsored by the San Diego Railroad Museum. Sacks of mailwere caught “on the fly” from a mail crane installed at the Campodepot. The RPO catcher arm was artfully wielded by retired RPOclerk Herbert G. Kehr, who purchased the car for the Museum adozen years ago, and helped fund its restoration. It took nearlyten years to lovingly restore the car. This effort was spearheadedby Museum restoration superintendent (and R&LHS member)Ted Komweibel. Photos of the car and its historic run may beseen on the Museum’s web site: <www.sdrm.org>.Two different souvenir cachets were created for the inaugural run.One design features a photo of mail being caught on the fly; thesecond features a line drawing of an RPO car. For each design,there is a choice of five stamps from the classic locomotives se-ries: Daylight; Hiawatha; Super Chief; Congressional; and 20th Cen-tury Limited. Each cachet is canceled with a unique and authenticRPO cancellation specially created by the USPS for this event.Cachets may be ordered from the San Diego Railroad Museum,1050 Kettner Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101. Cost is $3.24 for one,$5.39 for two cachets. Specify your choices; order one or all ten.Please include a LSAE. Proceeds support future restorationprojects. ^

R&LHS is starting up an E-mail mailing list topass news to members via that medium. If you have E-mail, and are not on the list, and would like to be, pleasesend your E-mail address to the webmaster,<[email protected]>. There is also a list towhich members can post messages to be sent to theother members on the list. This is for R&LHS mem-bers only, and you cannot join up on your own; thewebmaster must either add you directly or invite you.We are expecting this to become an exciting new wayto participate in R&LHS activity.

Progress Report as of Jan. 1, 2003

The Internet Discussion Group which was startedin December, 2002, began to be actively used on De-cember 13. Through January 1, a total of 129 mes-sages had been posted by participants. While many ofthese were queries or comments about the group it-self, a total of 68 can be said to be substantive aboutrailroad, research, or technical questions. Signs aregood that this is going to become a very useful resourcefor those members who wish to participate. So far, mostinquiries have received helpful replies from knowledge-able people.

It is planned and hoped that in the future, one ofthe fruits of this endeavor will be the creation of a majoron-line research database to be added to our websitethrough the cooperative efforts of the membership.This was, in fact, the major initial purpose for which itwas established. Such a feature, when added to thewebsite, will be accessible on a “members only” basis.Another thought is the possible creation of some In-ternet-based “Special Interest Groups”, from amongthe membership. One such group, currently in the dis-cussion stage, would relate to Preservation.

There are approximately 650 subscribers to thelist at present. If you wish to subscribe, send your re-quest to <[email protected]> the “groupowner.” This facility is not open to the general public,and you can join only if added or invited by the“owner.” The mailing list is managed as a “YahooGroup.” ^

The R&LHS Internet Forumby Adrian Ettlinger

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

TIME VALUE MATERIAL!

The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc.P. O. Box 292927Sacramento, CA 95829-2927

Non-Profit Org.U. S. POSTAGE

PAIDJacksonville, FLPermit No. 1111

*GREAT CENTRAL AMERICAN RAIL ADVENTURE - January 12-25. Double headed narrow gauge steam in ElSalvador. Six workshop visits. 18 charters in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

*CUBAN RAIL HISTORIAN ADVENTURE - February 22-March 8, March 8-22. Two trips to the last stronghold ofAmerican steam. 14 Sugar plantations with 15 charter rides.

*GREAT CANADIAN RAIL ADVENTURE - May 17-25. Grand tour by rail, ship and bus through British Columbia andAlberta. Includes Vancouver Island, Inside Passage, Prince Rupert, Jasper, Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise,Spiral Tunnels, Banff, Kamloops, Lillooet and Vancouver using Amtrak, Via Rail, Rocky Mountaineer and theBritish Columbia Railroad.

*ALASKAN RAILFAN ADVENTURE - June 4-14. The White Pass & Yukon and The Alaska Railroad combinationrailfan tour.

*WHITE PASS STEAM SPECTACULAR - June 5-8. Steam to Carcross. Four charter trains. Three foot narrowgauge at its best.

*ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRAIN SPLENDORS - July 12-27. By rail and bus in Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utahand Colorado.

*STEAM IN THE ANDES - July 20-27. Charter steam-diesel-railcars in Ecuador.*GREAT BRAZILIAN RAILFAN ADVENTURE - August 16-September 2. 18 Charter trains using steam-diesel-

railcars-streetcars-interurbans. Visit 21 different rail lines.*NEW ENGLAND FALL COLORS RAIL ADVENTURE - October 5-11. 9 Spectacular train rides in New England.*RIO GRANDE PHOTO FREIGHT - October 7-8. Charter steam photo freight on Cumbres & Toltec Scenic.*DURANGO PHOTO FREIGHT - October 9. Charter steam photo freight on Durango & Silverton.*FALL COLORS EXPRESS - October 11-14. Private rail cars LA-Oakland-Reno round trip including domes and

an observation car.*CHINA STEAM SPECTACULAR - October 18-November 2. Tour will feature our own charter train with steam on

Jingping Pass with doubleheaded QJ 2-10-2s. Call for special China brochure.*SACRAMENTO RAIL & RIVERBOAT CRUISE - April 19, May 3, June 7. Charter train & steamboat excursion .*McCloud STEAM SPECTACULAR - May 10-13. A great family outing with steam near Mt. Shasta.

2003 RAILROAD TOURS

P.O. Box 1997 • Portola, California 96122 USAUSA 1-800-359-4870 (530) 836-1745 Fax (530) 836-1748

CAN 1-800-752-1836 UK 0161 928-9410 UK FAX 0161 941-6101http://www.trainsunltdtours.com

E-mail: [email protected]

19th YEAR

LLC

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