Saw this interesting little critter yesterday outside the children's Museum in Wilmington, DE. anyone know its history?
thanks for any information.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I'll ask a guy that's involved with the Wilmington & Western RR. He may know. He's out of touch until Tuesday.
Found out on trainorders that it is ex-Navy!
It appears to be an Atlas 50-ton like this one:
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/usn16.jpg
According to this, it's ex-US Navy 65-00392, built May 1941. Its last owner was Trans Car Services Co. in Wilmington:
I have family in New Castle County and haven't been to the riverfront in some time. The building was originally a huge bar.
This is across from Joe's Crabshack?
I'll have to go check it out.
That is really an interesting locomotive.
Interesting that there are rods on the back truck and not the front. I've never seen noticed that on an engine before.
Originally Posted by Silver Lake:
Interesting that there are rods on the back truck and not the front. I've never seen noticed that on an engine before.
Back in the 1970s, when I used to see it shifting tank cars, it had side rods on both trucks. It was my understanding that near the end of its service life only one engine was operable. Don't know if that has anything to do with side rods.
"only one engine operable" implies more than one similar, and borrowing parts from one to keep others running. May be where parts such as truck drive rods went.
Operating with just one truck powered on that small an engine would seem to be a
waste of opportunity, and probably not likely for 1:1 scale real world.
Ok, I spoke with the gentleman. I didn't get dates as I was interrupting him, but may get more info today.
The Wilmington & Western RR was storing two Army 44 tonners for an individual that was restoring one of them. He recalled that one was definitely a parts donor. Time passed and the W & W could no longer store them.
The individual made no effort to relocate the engines. So, this gentleman hooked them together and pushed them out to a CSX siding somewhere in northern DE.
Time passed and he observed that they were still there. Then one day as he passed by in his auto, he noticed they were gone.
He thought CSX had just decided to move them for scrap, but he was not sure. The storage fees would have been astronomical.
This past weekend, he was attending a function, where he could talk to a few individuals that may fill in some more of the story of those engines and try to determine if the one in question at the Children's Museum is the donor engine from that pair or one of the pair of Army 44-tonners.
More to follow...
The Delaware Children's Museum used to be Kahunaville, a night club. The club went under in November or December of 2006, and say empty for some time. The Delaware Children's Museum with the help of State money as a non-profit organization, obtained the building space and renovated it into the museum. The main theme was science with the idea to allow kids a place to get hands on experience with different things. They even have a train room. They struggled for years and after 5 years the Riverfront Development Corp took over and now it it a taxpayer funded entity. It is slowly being upgraded and they are adding a mini-golf course out back where Kahunaville used to have concerts.
The little loco with the see through hood for kids to see the power plant if I recall used to be used on the riverfront shifting cars up and down the docks. A LONG time ago there used to be tracks all over the area and I recall seeing old wood box cars parked on the siding filled with old car parts. A quick email to the museum should get more details on where the loco came from, and who restored it.
I see it every other week when I dine at Joe's Crab Shack which is next door to the museum. Best crab pots on earth!
Here is the information you were seeking. Enjoy.
Hi Tin,
The Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC) acquired the abandoned green switch engine in the early 2000s (it used to sit along South Madison St where Joe's Crab Shack and Iron Hill are now). It was refurbished by the RDC in 2011. For a long time, it sat in the field between Big Fish Grill and the Shipyard Shops along the Riverwalk. In the summer of 2013, the RDC moved the locomotive to its current spot in front of the DCM where it could be on more prominent display and be enjoyed by more Riverfront visitors.
In terms of background/history on the locomotive, the RDC sent me the below information that was collected by a local train enthusiast:
“It's a 50-ton, 26-foot long (excluding couplers), 300 horsepower switch engine built in May of 1941 by the Atlas Car & Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio (a.k.a. Atlas Locomotive & Manufacturing Company).
Atlas was a minor locomotive builder from 1896 until the early 1950s. Atlas only built this type of engine from the early 1930s to the mid-1940s. Their real specialty was making industrial equipment such as electrical transfer cars for blast furnaces at steel plants and weighing cars for glass and chemical plants.
The engine’s original serial number was 2255. It was built for U.S Navy and identified as #65-00392. The engine was more than likely put into service at the Norfolk or Philadelphia Naval Yards. The engine was designed as a 45-ton unit, but the Navy specified 5 tons of extra ballast, probably to improve traction.
A part of the unique design of this engine are its radial couplers. These couplers allow for extended pivots enabling the engine to pull freight cars through extremely tight turns.
As its source of power this engine has two Detroit 671 diesels. Each diesel engine was connected to an electric generator for the traction motors on the truck at that end of the engine. Only one truck is still a powered truck. The other had been replaced by a standard freight truck late in its active service. The little engine does have side rods on its trucks (like a steam locomotive). Atlas usually used Cummings diesels.
The switch engine was operated by Trans Car Services Corporation from at least the 1970s until the early 1980s. The name Trans Car Services can still be seen on the side of the engine. Trans Car never renumbered the unit. There is some evidence of the letters “E” and “C” under the painted Trans Car name. These letters may be remnants of the engine’s military days. In its early days at Trans Car Services the engine was painted red. The green paint came later.
The engine has a cab that is unusually large for its type. The center cab has been stripped of all identifying markings including its manufacturer's plate. The one thing that is still in place is the remains of an electrical panel marked Westinghouse Redman.
Sometimes switchers of this size and smaller were referred to as "critters" because of their short length and their tendency to bounce around on poor quality industrial track.
The two men most responsible for providing data on this little switch engine are Joe Walder of Norfolk Southern Railway (former DTC Rail Specialist) and Tom Gears of the Delmarva Rail Passenger Association (DRPA).”
Hope that helps answer a few questions!
All the best,
-Nicole
Very interesting. I can tell my acquaintance that it isn't one of the Army 44-tonners.
Thank you, Lionel Tin.
