Whitewater Valley Railroad
P. O. Box 406
Connersville, Indiana 47331
(765) 825-2054
www.whitewatervalleyrr.org


STEAM RETURNS TO THE WHITEWATER VALLEY

RAILROAD ENTHUSIASTS AND HISTORY BUFFS GATHER FOR THE RETURN OF THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE FLAGG COAL # 75.


For Immediate Release – Tuesday, July 24, 2007


Contact:
William W. Gray, Superintendent of Operations
Whitewater Valley Railroad
(765) 825-2054
Superintendent@WhitewaterValleyRR.org


Connersville, Indiana - The Whitewater Valley Railroad is proud to announce that after a successful visit in September 2006, steam locomotive # 75 will once again move along the historic ex-New York Central Railroad’s Whitewater Branch Line under its own brute power.

The Whitewater Valley Railroad will be hosting Flagg Coal Company #75 for the first two weekends in September 2007. The first weekend’s activities are being held in Connersville, Indiana with the following weekend’s activities being held in Historic Metamora, Indiana. This will be the first stop on a five month long tour of different rail operations. After the WVRR stop, the locomotive will visit the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in Bryson City, North Carolina, before heading off for two more stops in the Carolina’s and two additional stops in Florida.

Connersville, Indiana Schedule

Friday August 31, 2007 will kick off the first weekend with Flagg Coal # 75 on display under steam at Connersville’s Grand Central Station most of the day. At 4:00 PM the first public excursion will depart for an hour long trip along remnants of the Whitewater Canal as well as the West Fork of the Whitewater River. Fares for the hour long six mile round trip excursion pulled by Flagg Coal # 75 are $16 per person and children ages 2-12 ride for half price.

Saturday September 1, Sunday September 2, and Labor Day - Monday September 3, Festivities start at 9:30 AM at Connersville’s Grand Central Station with five departures of Flagg Coal # 75 at 9:30 AM, 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM, 3:00 PM, and 4:45 PM along remnants of the Whitewater Canal as well as the West Fork of the Whitewater River. Fares for the hour long six mile round trip excursion pulled by Flagg Coal # 75 are $16 per person and children ages 2-12 ride for half price.



Metamora, Indiana Schedule

Friday September 7, 2006 will kick off the second weekend with Flagg Coal # 75 making five one hour excursions from Historic Downtown Metamora, Indiana along remnants of the Whitewater Canal as well as the West Fork of the Whitewater River. Departure times are 10:00 AM, 11:45 AM, 1:30 PM, 3:15 PM, and 5:00 PM. Fares for the hour long six mile round trip excursion pulled by Flagg Coal # 75 are $16 per person and children ages 2-12 ride for half price.

Saturday September 8, and Sunday September 9, Festivities start at 9:30 AM at Historic Downtown Metamora, Indiana with five departures of Flagg Coal # 75 at 9:30 AM, 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM, 3:00 PM, and 4:45 PM along remnants of the Whitewater Canal as well as the West Fork of the Whitewater River. Fares for the hour long six mile round trip excursion pulled by Flagg Coal # 75 are $16 per person and children ages 2-12 ride for half price.

In addition to #75, our regularly scheduled excursions will also operate each weekend. These include the very popular Laurel Hotel “Train to Dinner” and the traditional Connersville – Metamora Excursion.

Metamora is Indiana's treasured 1838 canal town. Nestled in southeastern Indiana's beautiful countryside, Metamora is steeped in history and famous for its preservation of Indiana's oldest and still operating water-powered grist mill. Located 60 miles east of Indianapolis and 35 miles west of Cincinnati, A must see town that retains all of its traditional charm and languid atmosphere. Shop in stores housed in buildings dated back to the early 1800s, eat and above all else... Enjoy the slow relaxing pace of the past!

Flagg Coal Company # 75 is a 40 ton saddle tank locomotive built by the Vulcan Iron Works of Wilkes Barre, PA in 1930. # 75 went into service in December of 1930 as # 2 for the Flagg Coal Company of Avoca, PA where it was used as a switch engine. In 1935 it was sold to the Solvay Process Co. in Jamesville, NY and renumbered 75. There, it was used to push 4-wheel hopper cars from the steam shovel to the crusher at the rock quarry. In the early 1950s the Solvay Process Co. disbanded their railroad operation in favor of trucking and in 1953, # 75 and twelve other locomotives were sold to Dr. Groman and his planned Rail City Museum in Sandy Pond, NY. There, the locomotive sat untouched until 1991 when John and Byron Gramling purchased it with the intent to restore it to operating condition. The father son duo painstakingly disassembled the locomotive, moved it to their shop in Ashley, Indiana and over the course of the following ten years returned it to service. For more information on # 75 visit the locomotive online at www.FlaggCoalCompany75.com.

Established in 1972, the Whitewater Valley Railroad is a non profit railroad history organization. It is an operating railroad museum dedicated to the preservation of a historic branch line railroad, the restoration of railroad equipment, and to the conduct of railroad educational programs. The railroad is operated by volunteers and all proceeds from this event will be used to further the organization’s mission.

Come to Connersville or Historic Metamora for this spectacular railroading event, and return to a time when the railroad moved the nation and the short line railroad was a small town’s best friend. Call (765) 825-2054 for more information and reservations. Visit the Whitewater Valley Railroad’s web site at www.whitewatervalleyrr.org

Here are a few shots from over the weekend. These were posted over at railpictures.net.

#75 and SD10 #532 pass
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 929&nseq=1

#75 and Dearborn (XN) Tower
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 930&nseq=0

I made it to one of their events last year when I was working in the Dayton Ohio area. Both the Whitewater Valley crews and the Flagg Coal group are class acts. I wish I could get back there this year, but my current work schedule doesn't allow for it.

In these photos you can see the new switches we installed earlier this year.
The one that ends in a pile of dirt / weeds will eventually lead to a diamond behind the tower as will the one that ends abruptly in the second photo. These two switches are candidates for rod activation from the tower assuming we can come up with the hardware to do this (cranks, rollers, and switch locks).

In fact all of the switches and most of the rail, ties and ballast visible in these photos was replaced this year. Three of the switches are 132# with the one under #75 (in the passing photo) being a 105#. We also replaced the road crossing that is just out of the photo with the state installing a new crossing signal package. You don't want to know what the total cost of this project was...

David Farlow, CMO
Whitewater Valley Railroad

For those who hadn't seen our SD10 before the repaint, here is what it looked like at the start of the season.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 996&nseq=5

David Farlow, CMO
Whitewater Valley Railroad

I'm really sorry to hear that the WWV doesn't have steam on a regular basis. I haven't kept up with the operation. I was there once, in '79, while I was working on the railroad at Cedar Point. I received a warm welcome from the guys working there, and got to ride the cabbage stacked 2-6-2 in the yard before and after the trip. I also experienced what must now be an unheard of maneuver just about anywhere - a running, or flying switch - with a steam loco, no less! I'll tell you, that little 2-6-2 could really accelerate! I know they parted with the EBT 0-6-0 several years ago, but what became of the Prairie type?

Fond memories of a great day. If anyone from that era is still around, thanks again.

Dave- correct me if I have my details are off center.

The EBT #6 is still on the property, although I do not know what the status of ownership is. I believe the WVRR has been trying to find a suitable home for it for several years.

The #100 (2-6-2) is no longer on the property. It was sold to a group in Florida, where the locomotive originally worked. I believe it left the WVRR about two months ago??

Here is a link for the new owners.

www.algersullivan.org

Kudos to the WVRR for all the work well done!!

Ryan

I managed to drive down to Metamora and ride behind Flagg Coal #75 on the 1:30 run this past Friday (9/7). Sat in the ex-Rock Island commuter coach next to the saddletanker on the pushing run out of Metamora. But on the return trip, the crew was gracious enough to let myself, and another passenger, work our way back to the B&O caboose where we caught the train from the cupola windows. This other gentleman stated that the engine was too small to be seen from back there for his camera. And he was right. But I liked the view of the train as it swung around the curves of the line with the smoke from the mostly unseen little engine shooting toward the sky. Someone recently voiced the opinion in another thread, that the visual memory sometimes outdid the vision seen through a camera's lens. And this was certainly one of those times!

Well done 75! Well done WV!

Les

Yes Ryan, the engine that left earlier this year for home was #100, the 2-6-2 mentioned. I wrote a brief about the move that is here on RYPN. It has all of the details.

EBT #6 is still here in Connersville and arrangements are in progress with another group. Of course we also gained #6894 recently and I'm hoping to have the State Register / National Register application completed this year to have our SHPO make a determination on eligibility for the register. Still missing some details on its history that would be useful, such as anything on the Wyandotte Southern and Nicholson Terminal & Dock ownership.

I hate to disappoint everyone, but the flying switch era has been gone on the Whitewater for some time, I think many groups did things in the 1970's that they probably wouldn't do now! This was once the only way to get the engine on the other end of the train on the south end of the line. The siding they used once served a canning plant and it is no longer in place. We now use a full passing siding in Metamora now, around 800 feet long.

David Farlow
Whitewater Valley Railroad

More Photos

SD-10 532
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 853&nseq=1

#75 and Tower
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 854&nseq=0

Question; when the 532 is used on the Connersville-Metamora train, is she turned at Metamora? Or is she run long hood forward one way?

Les

With the absence of turning facilities in Metamora or Connersville, all of our locomotives must run reverse at some point during the trip.