THE TRANSFER TABLE
The Wilmington Chapter NRHS Official Newsletter
Internet Edition
| VOLUME 22 NO. 1 | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2000 |
Back To Wilmington Chapter Web Site
NOTICE: IN CASE OF
BAD WEATHER
If our normal "THIRD THURSDAY" NRHS meeting is canceled due to
inclement weather, it will be postponed and held on the FOURTH THURSDAY.
If it must again be canceled, it will NOT be rescheduled. We will simply
wait for the next month's normal "third Thursday" meeting. If
the weather looks bad or is predicted to be bad, you may telephone the Claymont
Community Center to see if it will be open that evening for our meeting.
A LOOK BACK: December 1969 by
Historian Ron Cleaves
On December 14, (a Saturday) one of the Chapter's most
delightful (for a couple of years) traditions was started. A rolling
Christmas party aboard a Red Arrow trolley was chartered on December 14.
Brill car No. 78 operated over the Media and Sharon Hill lines.
Henry Dickinson decorated the trolley with tinsel, wreaths, and other holiday decorations, and there was punch, cookies, and cake. Note: during this trip they even stopped to pick up passengers waiting for the regular cars and gave them a free ride and holiday cheer.
This tradition continued in 1970 and 1971 with Septa center door trolley No. 73. Few knew at the time that Henry Dickinson paid most of the expenses of these trips himself; there was never a fare charged to Chapter members.
+ + IMPORTANT
"ROUNDUP" NOTICE ! ! !
Please consider a donation to the Wilmington &
Western to help them rebuild (see their flyer in this issue). If you would
like to donate $100 on your own, feel free to do so on your own.
BUT, if you would like to donate $10 or more, you can make your check out to the
"Historic Red Clay Valley" and give or send it to any of our Chapter
Offices and our Chapter will collect (>> only THRU JANUARY <<)
all of those checks and donate enough to "round up to the next
hundred" as a donation from the Chapter.
(Perhaps we can even convince other Chapters to provide the same service!)
From The Editor
Most folks probably never read the box below
(which appears in every issue), but you might want to check it out this time to
see the new slate of officers for our Chapter for Y2K. And be sure to come
to the next meeting for an interesting slide presentation, I've seen it twice
and thought it was excellent!
The Transfer Table
The Transfer Table is published six to ten times per year as the
newsletter of the Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
Items in this publication do not represent the official position of either
Officers or Members of the Wilmington Chapter or the Editor of this publication.
Permission to reprint articles and news items appearing herein is granted to NRHS Chapters and other newsletters provided appropriate credit is given.
Contributions are always welcome and should
be sent to the editor at SD40GMA@aol.com or
send to: P.O. Box 1136, Hockessin, DE 19707-5136.
Deadline for entries is the 25th of the month.
Chapter Officers
President Phil Snider
Vice President & Historian Ron Cleaves
Treasurer Ralph Stevens, Jr.
Secretary Walt Robbins
National Director Tom Posatko
Editor Greg Ajamian
Public Relations Frank Ferguson, Jr.
Event Photographer Bruce Barry
To the Wilmington NRHS,
[ REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ]
I located your web site in search of some
information on a company located in Wilmington, Delaware in the 1940s. If my
request is not an imposition, I was wondering if you are one of your members may
have any history on a company named Harlan and Hollingsworth. I am a railroad
freight car historian and found that there were a few orders for freight cars
built by this company in the 1946 and 1947 period. Based on freight car orders
listed in Railway Age, there were three orders for covered hopper cars from the
Nickel Plate and the Detroit and Toledo Shore Line. It appears that H&H only
built a very few freight cars during this period and disappeared. Would you
happen to know how and when H&H came into existence and why it seemingly
disappeared so quickly? Also, I'm aware that at one time American Car &
Foundry had a plant in Wilmington. Could H&H have used the ACF plant during
the short period of their existence? I would greatly appreciate any help you may
be able to offer. Thank you very much for your time.
Regards,
Ed Hawkins
644 Ridgewoods Manor Dr.
Glencoe, Missouri 63038
~ or ~ HAWK0621@aol.com
Donations Sought For Rail Camp
Scholarship Fund
Last summer, the Wilmington Chapter sponsored a student for
the NRHS Rail Camp Program. Ryan Robinson, 16 years old, successfully
completed the week long camp and continues to volunteer at the Wilmington &
Western Railroad. It is time, once again, to identify a candidate
for Rail Camp 2000. At this time, Tom Posatko, John Iwasyk, and Ed
Thornton are developing criteria to identify a student candidate. Letters
will go out to school counselors in the surrounding community alerting them of
this NRHS program. We now wish to solicit donations from our members and
friends to create a "Rail Camp Scholarship Fund". Approximately
$500 will be needed to send one student to camp. This amount covers
tuition, room and board. Transportation cost is usually borne by the
student. We feel that this is a worthy project. Make checks payable to
"Wilmington Chapter, NRHS" and let Ralph know that the donation is for
the "Rail Camp Scholarship Fund".. Please send donations to
Ralph Stevens, 8 Colony Blvd., Apartment #315, Wilmington, DE 19802-1459.
Make your gift count twice! You may be able to double the value of your
gift if you or your spouse are employed by one of the many area businesses that
generously match employee contributions. Please check with your employer
to see if they have such a program. We hope that you will want to support this
project and we much appreciate your kindness!
NEWS BITS
November 8, 1999 Norfolk Southern Upgrades Rating on
Delmarva Peninsula Routes
NORFOLK, VA -- Anticipating new markets and customer demands on the Delmarva Peninsula, Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) today announced that after an extensive inspection and evaluation, all Norfolk Southern-operated main and branch lines between Newark, Delaware, and Pocomoke, Maryland, will be authorized to handle individual rail car shipments up to 286,000 pounds. This is the standard elsewhere on the Norfolk Southern system.
The upgraded rating of the Norfolk Southern lines on the Delmarva will benefit customers shipping large volumes of heavy commodities, such as coal, grain, feed, fertilizer and construction materials, and should provide a boost to industrial development. Prior to the re-rating, the Delmarva routes were rated for 273,000 pound shipments.
Norfolk Southern Corporation, a Virginia-based holding company with headquarters in Norfolk, owns a major freight railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway Company, which operates approximately 21,600 miles of road in 22 states, the District of Columbia and the Province of Ontario. [from NS website]
The reason for this DOUBLE ISSUE and the assortment of goodies to follow is that some of the material was becoming "dated" in my files waiting for a chance to insert in an issue of The Transfer Table and the fact that my work schedule is going to make it very difficult to prepare another issue at the end of January.
SCHEDULE NOTES
Notices, announcements, schedules, etc. are provided here as a service to the
members. The Chapter has no affiliation with any commercial operation, museum,
or tourist line.
Sunday, January 9, 2000 Prime-Mover Train Show 9 AM - 2 PM, Hockessin Fire Hall , Rt. 41, Hockessin, DE for info call Tom @ 610-255-4785
SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 2000 - Super Saturday Streetcar Special VII over Philadelphia streetcar routes. Limited Capacity. [please do NOT send requests to the Chapter mailbox ] contact Steve Barry directly at 973-383-3355 (9 AM- 5 PM) or e-mail steve@daylightimages.com
Saturday, Feb. 19, 2000 - EASTRAIL 2000 - Warren Hills Regional High School in Washington, NJ $10 in advance, $12 at door, send SSAE and check to United Railroad Historical Society, P.O.Box 711, Clark, NJ 07066; for info 732-671-9644 (evenings)
March 3-5, 2000 - Texas State Railroad Railfan Weekend - including their first Steam Doubleheader, motorcar trips, night photo session, shop tour; for info: www.neosoft.com/gulfcoast
Sunday, March 19, 2000 NORDEL's Spring Train Show 10 AM - 3 PM, Cranston Heights Fire Co., Prices Corner, Wilmington, DE, $4, info 302-234-6901
Sunday, March 19, 2000 A RARE MILEAGE TRIP TO 30th STREET STATION "The West Chester RR, PRRT&HS, Railfan Magazine and SEPTA present... A RARE MILEAGE TRIP TO 30th STREET STATION. Sunday 19 March 2000. Food On Board. Take a Scenic Ride from West Chester to Glen Mills and then over rails that have not seen a passenger train since 1987. Join us with Double Headed Diesel Locomotives and Open Window Reading Coaches for a Special Ride at speed to 30th Street Station. Photo stop is planned at Clifton-Aldan. Food will be available on the TRAIN and a Stop Over at 30th Street Station will provide you with time to ride other SEPTA trains, photo opportunities, tour the station or get a meal. A NIGHT PHOTO SESSION is planned for Sunday night. Trip leaves Market Street Station in West Chester at 0900. ROUND TRIP FARE IS $40.00. Send check or money order payable to "WCRR" to: WCRR, P. O. Box 385, Yorklyn, DE 19736. For more information, call 610.430.2233"
July 12-16, 2000 - NRHS National Convention to be hosted by Western Connecticut Chapter
June 18-23, 2001 - NRHS National Convention to be hosted by St. Louis Chapter
Joe Reed's photo, taken in Memphis, TN, won a prize in our Chapter's 1999 Photo Contest
CHAPTER EVENTS
Thursday Jan. 20, 2000 7 PM
Chapter Meeting program by Greg Ajamian entitled "Hamlet Heat & the
Horseshoe Hundred"
Saturday Jan. 29, 2000 10 AM Chapter Trip Super Saturday Streetcar Special VII
Thursday Feb. 17, 2000 7 PM Chapter Meeting program not known at this time
Thursday March 16, 2000 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Bruce Barry
Thursday April 20, 2000 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Frank Ferguson, Jr. program postponed from October 1999 entitled "The Last of Big Blue: Memories of Conrail"
Saturday April 29, 2000 8 AM Chapter Trip to Gladstone, NJ exciting details to be available soon!
Thursday May 18, 2000
7 PM Chapter Meeting Annual Doug Weaver Memorial Photo Contest.
Y2K special category: photo of any rail-related vehicle, structure, or
equipment built 1899 or BEFORE.
Saturday June 10, 2000 10 AM Chapter Picnic Perryville / Havre de Grace, MD our annual do-it-yourself transport, bring your own food & chair, summer extravaganza!
Thursday June 15, 2000 7 PM Chapter Meeting program not known at this time
Thursday July 20, 2000 7 PM Chapter Meeting Do - It - Yourself Program
Thursday Aug. ??, 2000 ? ? Chapter Outing ? program not known at this time
The Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) meets at 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of each month [except August & December] in the Darley Room at the Claymont Community Center on Green Street in Claymont, Delaware. Visitors are always welcome. Admission to regular meetings is free.