Delaware Valley gives testament to rich history and industrial innovation. It has an enduring legacy of the Baldwin Locomotive Works that lives on to this day.
That was a great and interesting post. A history lesson with some personal history thrown in. Thanks Frederick. Trains have always interested me. We lived above the Penn Central rail yards. We also saw the Freedom Train when it came through Pittsburgh. That was the first time I saw an actual steam engine.
What a beautiful piece of train work!!! My Dad worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad before it became Amtrak. He was a Switchman. I have fond memories of riding the rails as a kid, with a family Pass, up and down the West coast. Rough-hewn fabric on the seats, a “lounge car”, a viewing Dome car, and the fabulous dining car with starched white linen tablecloths and wonderful porters who were so kind and gracious. Memories, amazing things.
Great piece of history. 40 year railroader here. Not a foamer but I have a deep appreciation for the history of the industry. Started with Southern Railway, an early adopter of diesel. Continued with Norfolk Southern after the merger with Norfolk Western, the last major to use steam built in their own shops.
I saw 1218 and 611 dead in the yard at Roanoke, watched them dragged to Birmingham and saw them return under steam. Truly remarkable.
What a great post... I am a hopeless fan of steam engines! Thank you for the wonderful history lesson. One of our relatives, since passed, worked on them during World War II. I loved to hear his stories.
Bravo! Yet again Frederick on another glowing historical commentary. I echo Ron Haave's comment that I might fail to do justice to what you have written.
Thank you for keeping the history of our nation alive and most importantly, in my most humble opinion, giving honor to the God that made it all possible.
Waiting for your next adventure in history to hit the internet.
I hesitate to respond for fear of not being able to do justice to what you’ve written nor being able to sufficiently set down my own feelings after having read your history of Baldwin Locomotive works and the Delaware Valley and, by extension, the City of Philadelphia.
I am obsessing on the sermon and its simple meaning that in the absence of a person with his lived accomplishments (no matter how grand or humble) you shall know God. I spent 10 years of my life in the early 1970’s researching the liens and indentures of the various railroads of the Delaware and adjacent valleys and could not take my mind off the people who built and maintained this complex structure that allowed the rest of us to thrive and prosper. Who installed the interlocking on the East Pennsylvania RR at its connection with the B&O? Is the Reading track to Bound Brook, NJ capable of hauling fast freight? Who pounded the rail onto the ties? Whose eye pronounced the installation plumb and true? The absence of all these people today has left an unseen magnificent symphony of accomplishment and history that can only be attributed to the existence of “g
That was a great and interesting post. A history lesson with some personal history thrown in. Thanks Frederick. Trains have always interested me. We lived above the Penn Central rail yards. We also saw the Freedom Train when it came through Pittsburgh. That was the first time I saw an actual steam engine.
What a beautiful piece of train work!!! My Dad worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad before it became Amtrak. He was a Switchman. I have fond memories of riding the rails as a kid, with a family Pass, up and down the West coast. Rough-hewn fabric on the seats, a “lounge car”, a viewing Dome car, and the fabulous dining car with starched white linen tablecloths and wonderful porters who were so kind and gracious. Memories, amazing things.
I was in the Baldwin Tower during the 2011 earthquake. The building swayed and I evacuated and went home. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/5-8-earthquake-rattle-east-coast/
Good history lesson. Not one they teach in HS. Probably not college either.
On a much smaller scale, the Glover Works lives on in a museum in Kennesaw, Ga. Wonderful display of the original foundry and machine shop.
Great piece of history. 40 year railroader here. Not a foamer but I have a deep appreciation for the history of the industry. Started with Southern Railway, an early adopter of diesel. Continued with Norfolk Southern after the merger with Norfolk Western, the last major to use steam built in their own shops.
I saw 1218 and 611 dead in the yard at Roanoke, watched them dragged to Birmingham and saw them return under steam. Truly remarkable.
Where do old locomotives go to die? Junk yard?
What is the major challenge in restoration?
What a great post... I am a hopeless fan of steam engines! Thank you for the wonderful history lesson. One of our relatives, since passed, worked on them during World War II. I loved to hear his stories.
Bravo! Yet again Frederick on another glowing historical commentary. I echo Ron Haave's comment that I might fail to do justice to what you have written.
Thank you for keeping the history of our nation alive and most importantly, in my most humble opinion, giving honor to the God that made it all possible.
Waiting for your next adventure in history to hit the internet.
Thanks Paul Harvey, now we know… the rest of the story. Request more articles just like this one.
Fantastic piece, I greatly enjoyed this.
Thank you.
Wow, a 45 year career. I guess you like visiting the Strasburg Railroad there in Lancaster.
Sorry, hand flinched & I screwed up the last word “GOD”
I hesitate to respond for fear of not being able to do justice to what you’ve written nor being able to sufficiently set down my own feelings after having read your history of Baldwin Locomotive works and the Delaware Valley and, by extension, the City of Philadelphia.
I am obsessing on the sermon and its simple meaning that in the absence of a person with his lived accomplishments (no matter how grand or humble) you shall know God. I spent 10 years of my life in the early 1970’s researching the liens and indentures of the various railroads of the Delaware and adjacent valleys and could not take my mind off the people who built and maintained this complex structure that allowed the rest of us to thrive and prosper. Who installed the interlocking on the East Pennsylvania RR at its connection with the B&O? Is the Reading track to Bound Brook, NJ capable of hauling fast freight? Who pounded the rail onto the ties? Whose eye pronounced the installation plumb and true? The absence of all these people today has left an unseen magnificent symphony of accomplishment and history that can only be attributed to the existence of “g