Vol. 17, No. 1 January / February 2001  Issue Select 
Issue Details
Cover Title: End of the Line ...for a famed Cincinnati bridge
Cover Subtitle: The Basics of Steam, Wandering Tuscan: An Update
On the Cover: N&W GP-18 #932 & #961, the latter still in blue paint, head across bridge 2092, pulling cars up out of the Mill Creek valley toward Berry Yard in Cincinnati on 8/8/1970. Rated at 1800HP when built, both units where downrated to 1750HP to reduce fuel consumption and wear.
Articles In This Issue
The End of the End / The Western end of the old N&W is no more - Gary Rolih
  Photo The National Salvage Company dismantles the steel truss section of bridge #2097 on 8/21/2000. We are looking compass north up the big four main. (Gary Rolih photo)
  Photo IN 1940, this bridge was a vital part of the N&W in Cincinnati. Here, Class Y3 #2033 is running light eastbound over the wood trestle portion of the bridge back to Berrys Yard. (Kenneth Cooke photo / Dan Finfrock negative collection)
  Photo A sweeping view of bridge #2097 taken from the old wood trestle looking north on 8/12/2000. In the distance is the steel truss bridge shown being dismantled on the opposite page. To the left of the truss bridge is the roof of the Stacy Manufacturing plant built in 1901. The water tank to the right of the steel bridge is the tank for the Tool Steel and Pinion plant, now XTEK, manufacturer of steel rolling mill gearing. (Gary Rolih photo)
  Map This 1914 N&W plan shows the N&W tracks into the heavily industrialized Ross Estate, the connection into the Big Four (NYC) and the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, which was purchased by the B&O in 1917. The N&W tracks start in the lower right hand corner and curve down grade from Berry's Yard to a connection to the Big Four at Murray Avenue to get into the Ross Estate, and across a long fill to Bridge #2097 across the Big Four main, then down a long wood trestle to the Big Four interchange tracks and the CH&D interchange tracks. The Ross Estate loop tracks are still in use today. Bridge #2097 was designated as A,B,C and D for the various portions that were either steel trusses or wood trestles. (Gary Rolih collection)
  Map The railroads in the greater Cincinnati metropolitan area around 1932. These routes would not change until the creation of Penn Central in 1972. (Gary Rolih drawing)
The Basics of Steam / First in a Series: "Cranking'em up" - Ed King
  Photo Built in 4/1923, Class Y3a #2068 is still hard at work in Maybeury, WV on 6/15/1950 (N&WHS archives photo)
  Photo Spanking new Class A #1200 on Roanoke shops' turntable before being coupled up to its tender. The "watermelon" firedoors are yet to be applied.The square shaft handing off the back of the engine is the transmission shaft from the stoker engine to the screw; round "pipe" to its right is the stoker trough, with the engine's part of the screw already applied; just below the trough is the rubbing face for the Franklin Radial buffer and below that the cavity in the bed casting for the drawbars. At the bottom is the rectangular vent for the blowdown "muffler". (N&W photo, VPI Colleciton)
  Photo The business end of Class A #1208 shows the Franklin firedoor used with the Standard BK stoker as the centerpiece; a shelf for oil cans and coffee bottles shows above it. To is left is the air cylinder to open and close it; the top of the foot pedal lever is at the bottom. The fireman's stoker valve shows at the left wit the handle for his blowdow valve sticking up through the floor. The five valves off the small manifold are for the stoker jets - they regulate the distribution of the coal to all parts of the firebox; just above them are the handles for the steam-operated grate shakers...... (N&W photo, VPI Colleciton)
  Photo Here is the backhead of the Class A #1217 after application of the schedule 24-RL brake. The Franklin "butterfly" firedoors are the centerpiece, with the Standard HT stoker elevator beneath with the four peepholes at the top. Otherwise, nearly everything is the same as on #1208. (N&W photo, VPI Colleciton)
Advice from a Dutch Uncle / A remarkable letter from N&W History - Robert Harvey
  Photo Fredrick J. Kimball, the great early president of the Norfolk & Western Railroad. He built for the future, but it led to a short-lived financial embarrassment in 1895.
  Photo A. A. H. Boissevain, the Dutch financier of Wall Street with the French name who gave instructions to N&W president Kimball on how to write the bad news to his company's security holders. The unusual style of beard was known as a "Dundreary".
  Photo Boissevain, VA, is seen here nearly in its entirety in this official N&W picture of around 1938. The Pocahontas Colliery Co. tipple, in deep shadows, is in the foreground; the company store and office is the two-story building. Pocahontas is about three miles down the creek to the left, and the upper end of the track is a mile to the right. There were at least two schemes between 1910 and 1930 to tie in this spur with and extension of the Dry Fork branch, but nothing came of them. (N&W photo, VPI&SU Collection)
Current News - Mason Y. Cooper
  Photo Caboose C31p #518600 at Payne VA, 10/25/2000
Wandering Tuscan / N&W coaches run again in Maine - Jack Sutton
  Photo Table car #1643 and coach #1642 are shown at Wiscasset, Maine, 10/14/2000. The cars have just returned from a Maine Coast Railroad fall foliage excursion to Warren. (Jack Sutton photo)
  Photo The interior of table car (former coach) #1643 during the Maine Coast Railroad fall foliage excursion, 10/14/2000. (Jack Sutton photo)
  Photo The interior of coach #1642. (Jack Sutton photo)
THIS was the N&W! / The Tadpole Christmas Train - R. F. Smith
N&W Freight Car Roster, 1937 / Third in a series - James F. Brewer
  Photo Class B1 #46335 was built by Ralston Steel Car Company in 2/1937. The round roof design allowed greater cubic capacity and was a characteristic it shared with boxcars of the B2 & B3 classes. (N&W photo / NWHS archival collection)
  Photo Class B2 #49200, built by Magor Car Corp, in 11/1936 is the "class" car". This class of 100 double door cars were equipped with automobile loading devices. Noe the stenciling on the right hand door indication auto racks. (N&W photo / NWHS archival collection)
  Photo Class B3 #52000 was a 50ft. version of its single door B1 cousin. Built by Greenville Steel Car Company, the extra lenght provided more room to move bulky, but not heavy, lading such as furniture. (N&W photo / NWHS archival collection)
The Tennessean / Passenger Cars, Part 3: The 30's - James Nichols
  Photo N&W Class PK #480 is one of the former Pennsy coaches. Their class MP54 became N&W Class PK in this series.The interior of the car is shown at right. (Jim Nichols Collection)
The Virginian Local / The return of George Ross, Bulldog Boss - Martin E. Swartz
In Scale / A new regular column on modeling - George Hughes
Model Review / H2/H2a/H3 Hoppers from Eastern Car Works - James Nichols
Vol. 17, No. 1 January / February 2001  Issue Select