I would like to hear suggestions for an event that celebrates the completion of the rebuild of Engine 98 on the Wilmington & Western Railroad.

Premises:

Celebration would be held after the line is completely restored to Hockessin.

All trestles would support doubling heading steam engines 98 and 58.

Only fans who purchased a ticket would be able to take photographs. (LetÂ’s not have a long drawn out discussion about how to enforce this)

Event could be held Friday evening thru Sunday

The yard at Yorklyn would be in service

NOW:
What activities should we hold?
How much would you pay for a ticket?
How many tickets would we sell?

You can post your replies here and/or send them to me at clayfoster@comcast.net



clayfoster@comcast.net

Interesting to note, with W&W's No.98 back in service, how many other standard gauge 4-4-0 "Americans" are servicible in the country. B&0's William Mason comes to mind. In 3'gauge there's the "Eureka". There are the "replicas" in Utah's Golden Spike Park and a good number of park engines running out there. Are any of the V&T 4-4-0's operating currently?

Seems unique to have a "true" American 4-4-0 back in service.

Looking forward seeing 98 in steam again.
Congradulations to the W&W.

cagney9@att.net

Nice to have #98 back. Well done!

What are the estimates of when the line will be back in service to Hockessin?

-Alan Levy

AlanL759@aol.com

It sounds like you're looking at serious railfanning here.
If you're doing run-bys out on the line then the number of people you can put on the bank of the stream pretty much limits the number of tickets, doesn't it? Some of the folks who organize photo trains like to set limits in the vicinity of 50 tickets. Is your strategy to sell tickets for each train, all day tickets each day, or a single ticket for the weekend.
Let the unpaid masses take all the pictures they want at the station and wherever else they can get to easily. Aren't the run-bys going to be in relatively inaccessible spots?
Sell cab rides?
Survey the line with some good photographers thinking of early morning and evening light, which most of us like better than full noon light. (I'm assuming the line isn't so woodsy that it would be all shade shooting anyway.) You could run the railfan trips early and late and get the general public to ride in the middle of the day.
I'm sure you could get over $100 a ticket for a day's riding and shooting, but you will have to start publicizing it early enough that we can all get it on our schedules. And that means knowing pretty well when the line's going to be open.
However you do it, it will be an excellent event. Make sure you keep us all posted here.

richards@redrose.net

V&T #22 is operational, the "Inyo", an 1875 Baldwin. D&R/Short Line Enterprises #8 is also operable, an oil-burner, built by Cooke in 1888 I believe. Not to mention WDW #4, a 1916 Baldwin 4-4-0...and the countless replica 4-4-0s in 36" gauge. The V&T #12, "Genoa", last operated in the 1970s. The #8 and #22 are both at the Nevada State Railroad Museum, Carson City. Inyo is a wood burner.

Better yet, organize a John Craft photo special with 98 and a mixed freight--that would be a first class affair!

> I would like to hear suggestions for an
> event that celebrates the completion of the
> rebuild of Engine 98 on the Wilmington &
> Western Railroad.

> Premises:

> Celebration would be held after the line is
> completely restored to Hockessin.

> All trestles would support doubling heading
> steam engines 98 and 58.

> Only fans who purchased a ticket would be
> able to take photographs. (LetÂ’s not have a
> long drawn out discussion about how to
> enforce this)

> Event could be held Friday evening thru
> Sunday

> The yard at Yorklyn would be in service

> NOW:
> What activities should we hold?
> How much would you pay for a ticket?
> How many tickets would we sell?

> You can post your replies here and/or send
> them to me at clayfoster@comcast.net

Clay,

What about a night photo session in Marshallton Shop Yards with 58 and 98 lined up, and steamed up?

Dave

> I would like to hear suggestions for an
> event that celebrates the completion of the
> rebuild of Engine 98 on the Wilmington &
> Western Railroad.

> Premises:

> Celebration would be held after the line is
> completely restored to Hockessin.

> All trestles would support doubling heading
> steam engines 98 and 58.

> Only fans who purchased a ticket would be
> able to take photographs. (LetÂ’s not have a
> long drawn out discussion about how to
> enforce this)

> Event could be held Friday evening thru
> Sunday

> The yard at Yorklyn would be in service

> NOW:
> What activities should we hold?
> How much would you pay for a ticket?
> How many tickets would we sell?

> You can post your replies here and/or send
> them to me at clayfoster@comcast.net


The Wilmington and Western Railroad
SteamTrain84@aol.com

> Clay,

> What about a night photo session in
> Marshallton Shop Yards with 58 and 98 lined
> up, and steamed up?

> Dave

These are all good ideas but lets step out of the box and brainstorm. What have you always wanted to see, smell, or feel but no one ever seems to get around to it, short of a collision between two engines of course.

There is no estimate at this time when the railroad will be restored to Hockessin.

Clay


clayfoster@comcast.net

> Better yet, organize a John Craft photo
> special with 98 and a mixed freight--that
> would be a first class affair!

The W&W in many ways has (or at least had) a terrific opportunity for photo charters. One "beautiful fantasy" I had for decades was to redecorate 98 as Ma & Pa 6 (yes, I know, the details aren't right--Alco versus Baldwin), and bring in a Ma & Pa freight car and coach 20 from Strasburg, and baggage/mail 35 from the B&O Museum, and park them all on wooden trestles--the W&W passed perfectly for the old Ma & Pa in terrain, leaves, trestles, etc.

However, even better, AB&A 58 just happens, by lucky coincidence, to pass almost perfectly for a Baltimore & Ohio 0-6-0 of the exact same number! And it's on a B&O branch, which happens to have anong other things a B&O wagontop boxcar on the line......

The down side of all of this, however, is the very serious liability that the line has had from an operational standpoint, photographically: the steamers have all faced north (timetable west) on the line. This typically makes nearly every good photo location on the railroad backlit or "wrong side" during daylight runs. Moreover, the locations where sunlight would theoretically be favorable during the afternoon (operating southwest on Hockessin Hill) is a long grade filled with a vegetative canyon, one location possibly conducive to a good photo op, and private ownership of the land where brush-cutting would have to occur. In several years of regularly photographing and chasing trains on that line, I could count the times when I had photo-special-style "perfect lighting" on the fingers of one or two hands, and many of those were along Rt. 52 between Ashland and Yorklyn, not part of the regular schedule.

The serious analysis of all the "pros" (for example, Steve Barry, a former Wilmington-area resident and big Carl Franz patron) all have said the exact same thing when it came to a potential photo charter on the W&W: "TURN THE %#@*&)^! ENGINE!!!!!!" And since the nearest wye available to the W&W is at the other end of CSX's Wilsmere Yard from the junction with CSX, that measure alone would add perhaps five figures to the cost of the trips.

Now, if the W&W ever gets anywhere with its embryonic (stillborn?) plans to acquire and install turntables on the railroad, then we'll talk...........


LNER4472@bcpl.net

> These are all good ideas but lets step out
> of the box and brainstorm. What have you
> always wanted to see, smell, or feel but no
> one ever seems to get around to it, short of
> a collision between two engines of course.

- A tug of war between two locos coupled tender-to-tender (lots of slipping and spinning)
- Attacking a grade with 5lbs on the trainline
- A steam-powered snowplow train
- Helper operation up a steep hill with a loco shoving hard on the back of a long freight
- Two opposing photo freights meeting at a siding
- A passenger train overtaking a photo freight at a siding
- A photo freight overtaking a work train at a siding

The South Carolina Railroad Museum
mconrad@msmgmt.com

While it is good to think outside the box, the first idea below bothers me. Why would you want to intentionally beat up your machinery? I know that the wear would most likely be miniscule, unless you really broke something, but it all adds up.

> - A tug of war between two locos coupled
> tender-to-tender (lots of slipping and
> spinning)
> - Attacking a grade with 5lbs on the
> trainline
> - A steam-powered snowplow train
> - Helper operation up a steep hill with a
> loco shoving hard on the back of a long
> freight
> - Two opposing photo freights meeting at a
> siding
> - A passenger train overtaking a photo
> freight at a siding
> - A photo freight overtaking a work train at
> a siding


edm5970@earthlink.net

Okay, let's see what works here......

> - A tug of war between two locos coupled
> tender-to-tender (lots of slipping and
> spinning)

I share the concerns about "beating up the machinery"......

> - Attacking a grade with 5lbs on the
> trainline

*The W&W's big grade is Hockessin Hill between Yorklyn and Hockessin, and the leaves in the summer and fall make that rail slippery enough without adding 5 lbs.......

> - A steam-powered snowplow train

*Got snowplow? Being Delaware, got enough snow to bother plowing?

> - Helper operation up a steep hill with a
> loco shoving hard on the back of a long
> freight

*The W&W has done helper service up Hockessin Hill with SW1 8408 in the past. As for a long freight, where is the W&W going to find enough freight cars? Last I counted, W&W had one short ballast hopper rebuilt from a covered hopper, one flat car used as an open car, and three boxcars (one vintage B&O wagontop), as well as two beautiful B&O wooden cabooses.
On the other hand, I did see 98 struggling almost in vain one time to shove the two Chessie System boxcars further behind the enginehouse.... at a point when they were on not-so-great track and each reportedly loaded with over 100 tons of parts and machine tools........

> - Two opposing photo freights meeting at a
> siding

*The only siding where that's an option might be Yorklyn. Or maybe something at Marshallton engine house. And you still have to come up with a second freight train. Maybe a classic 98/combine/coach train meeting 58 and freight?

> - A passenger train overtaking a photo
> freight at a siding

*Lack of sidings again, dude. You might be able to "fake it" at Hercules Siding, but other than that Yorklyn's your only chance.

> - A photo freight overtaking a work train at
> a siding

*Just where in heck are you getting all these trains, dude? we're assuming two operable steamers, two operable SW1 diesels (the old Plymouth is now at the Walkersville Southern), three-plus crews, and a dispatching nightmare.

All of these are at least useful ideas welcomed for "thinking outside the box". I planned a photo special that would have occurred shortly after the big flood of 1999 and got a very tepid response at best. However, I would like to think that if we got a good show of commitment (and $$) to go to the W&W with, a terrific Craft/Franz-style special might be in the offering. But first they have to get the line rebuilt.

Ideas I have bandied about:
*actually picking up at least one car en route out, and re-depositing it en route home, to add variety to the consist and photos.....
*Lettering the 58 for B&O and/or AB&A on the other, and the 98 for Mississippi Central on one side and W&W on the other.......
*Temporary-paint relettering of the W&W cars for MC or whoever......


LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

> *Just where in heck are you getting all
> these trains, dude?

Same place I'm getting the ideas. :o) He said think outside the box, so I'm thinking outside the box! I never said any of my ideas were practical.

As for beating up the machinery with a tug-of-war... of course it would, and it probably wouldn't do them track much good, either. But you have to admit that it's be a spectacular sight. Again, I never said my ideas were practical.

The South Carolina Railroad Museum
mconrad@msmgmt.com

> As for beating up the machinery with a
> tug-of-war... of course it would, and it
> probably wouldn't do them track much good,
> either. But you have to admit that it's be a
> spectacular sight. Again, I never said my
> ideas were practical.

and why not? we do it with old Lionels all the time :)

jwc


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