Demolished several years ago after a bold attempt to save it. Nice photos from the 1970s though:

http://www.moosicmountainwild.com/railr ... ryland.htm

Thanks for the link to some great pictures. That place was almost like a second home to me as a kid. The yard was sort of a playgound. I had forgotten most of the faces until seeing them again in the photos. Now if I could only remember their names.

John Bohon

I still don't know how Bill B. got his Oldsmobile to sound like an ALCO 244.

I have so many great memories of the Hagerstown Roundhouse from the 70's and 80's. Like many, I was outreaged over its demolition in 2000, especially the way the politicians made it happen. CSX offered to donate the property for preservation, but asked to be relieved of the environmental cleanup costs. In the meantime, the city of Hagerstown wanted to put a road through there. At their insistence, the state refused the environmental waiver, and all that's left is history.

I have no idea how he got the Olds to sound like that. Bill was my father's boss and I am sure I would get thrown off this board if I repeated some of the things my father said about him! Those were fun days.

John Bohon

I drove around town with Bill on several occasions and the car gave a pretty decent audio rendition of an ALCO 244 at idle. It was very unique.

The way the story was told to me, CSX wanted the City of Hagerstown or the State of Maryland to indemnify CSX from any personal injury liability lawsuits in the event someone was struck by falling bricks or some other structurally related mishap. The indemnification never came and the result was the elimination of the liability risk.

As an environmental issue, the problem, if it existed then, will be reckoned with at some point in the future. CSX might have removed the barn, but they still own the rest of the farm.

Otto Perry photo, with a 4-8-4 on the table:

http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?00019841+OP-19841

What a shame WM did not find a way to save one of these locomotives. The 1400s were very similar in many ways to both the C&O J-3a and N&W J. They were even the same class J. Had the roundhouse and a locomotive been saved the scene could be repeated today.

Was WM 1412 the last Baldwin built 4-8-4 or did that distinction go to a RF&P engine?

John Bohon

The WM 1400's were built in 1947. The last RF&P 4-8-4 was built in 1945, IIRC, so the WM probably got the final BLW 4-8-4's. They were very similar to the N&W J in most principal dimensions, and larger than the C&O J3a's. Actually, they were pretty close to a "low pressure J". Remember one on display at the York (PA) Fair ca 1947-48, but never saw one run.

There's a photo in the Sept 1956 issue of Trains (pg59) that shows nine of the 1400's being shipped to the scrappers. The tenders and cabs look like they just went through the washer - no painted out numbers and letters, typically WM.

I have often called the WM 1400s a freight version of the N&W J. The 255 steam pressure and similar cylinder size should result in the WM engines being very close to the C&O J-3a in performance. Had WM found a way to save one we would have had an example of the last N&W, Lima, Coton Belt, and Baldwin 4-8-4. Does one of the last northrens built by Alco survive?

John Bohon