C&O Power Shortage 1954-55

I would venture a guess that the flooding caused by Hurricanes Carol and Hazel in 1954 had something to do with equipment loss. many lines and bridges were washed out and they were the cause of the demise of a few RR's.

The big recall of steam locomotives on many railroads began in mid-1955, and for C&O continued through a fair amount of 1956. The economy was booming then, and it was a subsequent recession in 1958 that killed off some major remaining "steam pockets", those being the Nickel Plate and Baltimore & Ohio. A major steel worker strike in 1959 brought back a number of steam locomotives as railroads worked feverishly to help major steel users, such as the auto industry, to stock-pile, prior to the on-set of the strike.

Thanks.

@Mark s - I seem to recall somewhere that as freight traffic demand was exploding new diesel orders were backed up as demand outpaced production.  The RR needed motive power NOW not 18-24 months from now.

Here's the famous #614 Greenbrier in freight service in 1955 (photo from C&O Historical Society archive)

Ralph, I know 2 old gentleman who qualified as engineers on the C&O way back in the middle forties. One of them worked as a road engineer for 50 years, and received a hand shake and a 50 year pin from a guy he trained, and signed off on, to get his engineers qualifications, in the middle fourties. The 2nd gentleman moved up through supervision, and was Super of the Russel Yard for a number of years, until retirement. Did the majority of his engineering on freight and passenger on the PM after C&O bought them.

Both of these gentleman will be very well versed, on the 54-55 C&O Power Shortage....Brandy

@Brandy: you should interview them and record it. An oral history of those times.

BTW, although they were sometimes double-headed, most of the photos I come across of the J-3A Greenbriers hauling freight during this period show one locomotive handling an entire train. Even some coal drags.  They weren't short on power.  

That is because the J-3a locomotives had a booster on the trailing truck in order to assist when starting heavy trains.

Ralph - Couple of books that document the C&O steam activity of 1955 and 1956 are "The Last of Steam", by Joe G. Collias. In it he notes that Greenbriers #610 and 614 were fired up for coal train service along with 2-6-6-2's, 2-8-4's and 2-6-6-6's. Another recent book entitled "The Twilight of Steam" has a segment by photographer Phil Weibler following and riding on Allegheney #1624 in May 1956.  He noted that the engineer had been working regularly on branchlines of late, showed up in a white shirt, thinking he would be running a string of diesels and who had pretty much forgotten how to run a steam locomotive. Some ginger operation of the throttle of 1624, since it seemed to be "like an elephant on roller skates" (slipping), some counsel from the fireman and even uncoupling 1624 to move forward and lay down sand, then recoupling, all was required for this "amateur" to get his 160 coal loads over the road. Great stuff! Also some superb photographs of an Allegheney at work would be found in Morgan and Hastings' seminal work "The Mohawk that refused to Abdicate", again in that 1955 period.

Ralph Brandy here, since I added to your post I called Lon"Junior" Ventors. He has taken a very bad fall at his home, and recouping well, so he told me. I asked about his 1st cousin Hargis Harris, that's the other gentleman that I referred to. They both in their middle 80's, and health dropping fast.

I asked Junior about the C&O Power Shortage that you referred to around that time. He said that it was due to manifacture's not being able to supply the new diesels fast enough. He also said that everytime they had a problem with one of the engines, they would pull all 3 from from service until repairs were made.  He told me that it took a-b-a to do the same tonnage job that the old 2700's as they call them or 2-8-4 Kanawah's. Junior also said, the C&O hadn't replaced the steam engine repair crews (boilermakers/machinists/blacksmiths with "Diesel Locomotive Mechanics", as quick as they should have, and he said that EMD had the place crawling with Mechanics training the C&O guys.

I remember my step dad who was a Southern Railroad Engineer talking about those goings on way back when I was a kid!

Ralph if you send me an email, I'll send you Junior Ventors Home phone number, and you can talk with him, as you probably know more what to ask him, than I would. I remember taking him to the Cinder Sniffers Live Steam Club meeting back in the late 80's, and when introduced him to the crowd of membership, and what equipment he ran for the C&O. The Beatles couldn't have gotten anymore response from that crowd of railroader Wanna Bee's. I know that his stories a very true, because I've met too, too many guys that he's trained, and some were part of those railroading stories...........Brandy      

@Mark S - #1624 in 1955

I grew up in Russell, Kentucky and visited the mothballed steam locomotives near the roundhouse often (late 60s to early 70s). I was told that the 614 was renumbered to 611 when it was put back into service for freight use. I'm not sure if this is true and I have always wondered why the C&O would renumber it?

Guys,

If you need some information on C&O history, try the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society.  They have a lot of information on hand and will take requests for research information.  You can reach the Society by this email link.   http://www.cohs.org  They have a fantastic magazine that they publish.  It is the only magazine I actually keep as each issue is filled with incredible historical articles, facts and photo's.   It's probably the best RR Historical Society out there.

The reason why the C&O had to renumber the 614 to 611 was that they had leased some RF&P 4-8-4's, which were also numbered in the 600 series.  One of the RF&P locos was numbered 614, and since it belonged to the RF&P the C&O couldn't renumber it, so they had to renumber their own 614 instead.

Stuart

Thank you!

So that's who leased the RF&P 4-8-4's. I have often wondered why the Western Maryland 4-8-4's did not get leased in the big business surge of 1955. They were practically brand new (built 1947) and low drivered for 4-8-4's, so they could dig in on tonnage. They were withdrawn from service by the WM in mid-1954.