33 Comments

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.

Expand full comment

Thank you, Dave, for the kind comment. More like this is in the works.!

Expand full comment

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.

Expand full comment

Wendy, I appreciate the kind words. With exception of Southern Railway and Rio Grande, Amtrak began operations of the intercity passenger trains on May 1, 1971. Initially the only trains staffed by Amtrak was on the Northeast Cordier between Washington DC and Boston MA. So, most of the trains were staffed by the freight lines. Amtrak reimbursed the freight railroads for those employees. In time, employees transferred to Amtrak. Santa Fe merged with Southern Pacific in 1982 (SFSP). So, it sounds like your father worked for SP in the glory days before nationalization (1971) then in time transferred to Amtrak. Great story, thanks for sharing. Oh, in time Southern and Rio Grande gave in and handed their passenger trains to Amtrak.

Expand full comment

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/

Expand full comment

Good history lesson. Not one they teach in HS. Probably not college either.

Expand full comment

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.

Expand full comment

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.

Expand full comment

Cool! Southern gave green light to inmovation!

Expand full comment

They reinvented railroading under the gentle tutelage of Bill Brosnan.

Expand full comment

Where do old locomotives go to die? Junk yard?

What is the major challenge in restoration?

Expand full comment

Good questions. Most were simply scrapped with the steel recycled. Many exist as static displays. To restore a stream locomotive is a challenge for many reasons. The primary obsticle are the fact that replacement parts usually need to be fabricated from scratch. There are few shops capable of handling restorations. The Strasberg Railroad in Lancaster County Pennsylvania has such a shop. They do work for railways making parts for customers around the world and have a backlog years long.

Expand full comment

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.

Expand full comment

Thanks much Jim and yes these beasts have a personality!

Expand full comment

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.

Expand full comment

Oh my! I am lost for words …

Expand full comment

Thanks Paul Harvey, now we know… the rest of the story. Request more articles just like this one.

Expand full comment

Thanks. You ask, you shall get!

Expand full comment

Fantastic piece, I greatly enjoyed this.

Thank you.

Expand full comment

My pleasure

Expand full comment

Wow, a 45 year career. I guess you like visiting the Strasburg Railroad there in Lancaster.

Expand full comment

Of course - rode it many times!

Expand full comment

Sorry, hand flinched & I screwed up the last word “GOD”

Expand full comment

You can edit your comments at any time. See the three dots trailing the comment, click on these and you will have the ability to "edit" you comment. It used to work occasionally, but now is reliable.

Expand full comment

Doesn't work for me. Would be a nice feature to have.

Expand full comment

I find it is hit or miss when trying this on the smart phone app. Works fine when using a computer browser.

Expand full comment

I've never used a browser, only the app.

Thanks

Expand full comment

It works on a MAC by not an iPhone! At least not today.

Expand full comment

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

Expand full comment

Wonderfully expressed.

Expand full comment

Thank you.

Expand full comment

I found the source by happenstance. These words jump out the most as it applies to today - "...have no doubt that God is here, and therein we rest content."

Expand full comment
Error