We'd like to know if any archives-- photos, plans, documents, etc.--- survive from this railroad passenger car builder. Their Wilmington, Del. plant was closed about 1940-45 (office building exists and is now on the National Register). Did any of the documentation get transferred to any other Beth Steel railcar plants (such as Johnstown, Pa.)? Or maybe it's in a library basement in Wilmington?

While I suspect it was all pitched decades ago, it never hurts to ask.

Reason we're interested? Our New Haven 60-foot RPO-baggage car built 1930 by Beth-Harlan. It's coming up close to the head of the line for restoration.

The photo shows the car on March 30, 2008, just after arrival at RMNE's Chase Yard in Waterbury, from Old Saybrook, CT. The car was built as NH 2789 and was at one time the actual assigned RPO car covering the Winsted-New York RPO route, over the line we operate today. Became a work service car in 1967 (on the NH's Maybrook Tool Train), as NH W-221.

Howard P.
MP 6, NAUG

Howard,

As a first step, try contacting the Hagley Museum & Library in Wilmington DE as they have a variety of Harlan & Hollingsworth corporate records, much of it part of their extensive Bethlehem Steel collection. They may not have much in the way of engineering drawings of railroad cars, but might provide other local leads. Hagley's on-line catalogue is here:

http://www.hagley.org/library/collectio ... guide.html


Also, since the Reading RR was a long-time loyal H&H customer, the archives of the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society has drawings of the H&H-built cars, including a HUGE collection of components drawings. Its possible that many components used on your RPO were the same as those used on RDG cars. The RCT&HS Archives are currently in storage while we transition to a new climate-controlled facility, but in 6 to 12 months, we hope to have some portion of the drawings sorted and accessible.

-- Rick Bates
RCT&HS
http://www.readingrailroad.org

Howard,

It's funny you ask because I've been wondering the same thing. Bethlehem Shipbuilding built heavyweight cars for the Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain in the early 1920s and I'm trying to scare up information on their order.

A friend says that he thinks that Shipbuilding's archives are at the National Canal Museum in Easton. I'm going to contact them this week and will also ask them about Beth-Harlan.

Keith Burkey

Hi Howard. Another option may be to check in with the Delaware Historical Society. Below is a link to info about their library, and below that a link to contact info. Hope this helps. God bless. Seth

http://www.hsd.org/library.htm

http://www.hsd.org/NewIndex/ContactUs/ContactUs.htm

Like mentioned earlier I would check with Hagley first, HSD second, and a third option would be the State Archives.
http://archives.delaware.gov/

Within Delaware those are your best options. Hagley is simply amazing, if you go there and start looking you will find yourself getting sidetracked over and over because as you pour through information you will see one thing after another that might not be what you want but will be really interesting.

I am working on and off on a list of existing Wilmington build equipment. Recently it's been mostly off but maybe I'll get back on track.

Howard - Good luck to you in the restoration of NH #2789. We are interested in any piece of railroad equipment that carries that particular historic number.

Les Beckman,
Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, Indiana,
Home of Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 #2789

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. We will start with Hagley and Easton; hopefully, they will have something useful.

Howard P.

Yes, the Bethlehem steel Company did a lot of good historic preservation as they would down their shipyard operations.

In New York they gave the plans of the Fletcher Engine Company to the South Street Seaport Museum. They gave various plans to the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware and the Sparrows Point shipyard to the Maryland Historical Society at Baltimore, Maryland.

Here in San Francisco, they gave the plans to the Union Works/Bethlehem Steel Shipyard to the maritime park. It was the first sheel shipyard on the whole Pacific Rim.

No doubt they did the same with the rail car building facilities across the country. Look to a local historical society for the plans and records.

Ted Miles

Regarding the presence of Beth-Harlan/Bethlehem Shipbuilding passenger car info at the Hagley...

I emailed them to ask if they had anything on file, and Chris Baer kindly responded to state that they don't have such information in their archives.

I've not heard anything from the National Canal Museum at Easton.

Keith Burkey