Wilmington & Western 98 returns to the rails.

Al Patterson · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:00 pm

This weekend, a number of familiar faces showed up at the W&W to chase (and hopefully ride) Number 98. I've put up a page of photos from the weekend. Click on the WWW link, and look for Wilmington & Western 2004.

To all the volunteers who worked on 98, you all did a great job!

Stephen Hussar · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:33 pm

Al, really nice to see, thanks for posting the pictures. Is this the only operable standard gauge 4-4-0 east of the Mississippi?

Congrats to all who had a hand in it -she looks great.

Steve Singer · **Posted:** Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:49 am

Looks beautiful. Congrats to all involved

Jim Robinson · **Posted:** Mon Oct 18, 2004 9:00 am

Great photos Al (thanks for the tip about getting better-lit shots at the Rt 62 crossing!!) Good to see you and Tom Gears again. Congraduations to all at the W&W for getting 98 back in service. She is one classy machine and a restoration job that all of you can be proud of! The W&W folks did a fine job keeping the two trains moving all afternoon without problem. The meets between 98 and 0-6-0 58 in front of the Greenbank station were something to see! I believe the last (and only other) time the railroad had two steam locomotives in service at the same time was back in the mid 1980's when 98 ran a few doubleheaders with now-gone 0-6-0T 3. The trip I rode on Sunday (12:30 behind 98) had very good ridership. I didn't notice how later runs fared in ridership, but there seemed to be quite a few people around. Hats off to the railroad's track crew for shoring up the ROW at Brandywine Springs Park from yet another (albeit comparatively minor) flood just a few weeks ago. With just a little more than two miles of servicable track, the railroad certainly made the best of what they had and put on a great show.

If you missed this weekend, they're going to do it again in two weeks, on Sat 10/30 and Sun 10/31.

Regards,
Jim Robinson

scrmcurator · **Posted:** Mon Oct 18, 2004 9:39 am

Maybe standard gauge, but there are a bunch of Crown park engines running around the East in 15", 24", and 36" gauge. Don't tell any of the guys who run those things that they aren't "real" trains, either! I'm especially fond of the 36" engines at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA.

ontracked · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:00 am **Posts:** 88

The "William Mason" is operable (but stored of course) in Baltimore...luckilly, it wasn't in the museum when it collapsed. Not only an operable standard-gauge 4-4-0, but the oldest operable steam locomotive in the country? The John Bull hasn't operated since the 80s.

-Ed Kelley