THE TRANSFER TABLE
The Wilmington Chapter NRHS Official Newsletter
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NOVEMBER 15, 2001 MEETING NOTES
    The meeting was called to order at 7 PM and the Treasurer's report approved as read. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as corrected. National Director Tom Posatko reported on the recent Director's Meeting in Chambersburg, PA. The good news was that national membership was holding steady now. The Election Committee presented the slate of existing officers without any changes or additions.

    The ten slide pre-show was provided by Frank Ferguson with slides of Sand Patch. That was followed by the evening's main program by Kermit Geary. We saw the East Broad Top (including night photos), Altoona Railfest, and a Baldwin AS-616 on the SMS Lines. We saw an S-12 start up for the first time in 30 years. There was a Jersey Central F-3 at Jim Thorpe and the Reading's 3640 operating for the first time in 15 years. We saw the Valley Forge Scenic with an engine that became Blue Mountain & Reading's #425. We also got to see BM&R #2102. We saw the PRR with prior rights on the Reading. Then there was Norfolk and Western steam locomotive #611 in operation in 1982, 83, 84, 87, and 89. N&W's #1218 was seen on its first run in 1986, in 1987 with a coal train, 1988, and 1991. We also caught glimpses of #4501 and Southern's high nose GP-30. Kermit noted the extra arm on the NW telegraph poles while showing scenes of Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. It was an outstanding show enjoyed by all.

DECEMBER 9, 2001 MEETING NOTES
    We dispensed with the normal business meeting at the Chapter Holiday Dinner which was held at the Coach House starting at 5 PM. The 30 members and guests were treated to an excellent slide show by Steve Barry = the first of our three Barry-of-the-Month presentations.

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.

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.

Until Feb. 24, 2002. The High Line - A City Divided, A City United; The Construction of Elmira's Railroad Elevations, 1932 - 1937 an exhibit at the Crossroads Gallery in the New York State Museum

Saturday, March 23, 2002 EastRAIL 2002
10 AM - 6 PM, Warren Hills Regional High School, Jackson Valley Rd., Washington, NJ, $10 advance, $15 at door, tickets www.urhs.org, info call 7 PM- 9 PM only 732-671-9644 , E-Mail RPnews@worldnet.att.net

Saturday & Sunday, May 11-12, 2002 Cass Spring Photo Special
8 AM Sat Cass > Spruce, Big Cut, & Beaver Creek, Sun. Cass > Bald Knob, Fare $195 for adults,
Call Carl Franz for info evenings and weekends only at 301-942-6197

August 18 - 26, 2002 2002 NRHS Convention
Williams, Arizona (near Grand Canyon) with inbound and outbound steam powered trains planned from Los Angeles. Host Chapter(s) - Grand Canyon Chapter   Web Site is www.canyonrails2002.com

 CRANES AND HOIST, SLEW, OOPS!  By Richard E. Hall

This copyrighted article was written for the "Transfer Table", the newsletter of the Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society by Chapter Member Richard E. Hall  © Richard E. Hall 2001

    As you probably are well aware, two words of the title apply to movements of a crane, hoist being to raise the load and slew being rotation of the cab, or in this case, the boom. I don't think the last word needs an explanation, I believe "oops!" is rather universally understood. This was actually intended as a very brief tale of an incident on the old Philadelphia & Baltimore Central Railroad after the line had become the Central Division of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad. But because of the era, it was decided to first take a quick look into the background of railroad cranes, derricks and related equipment.

   The steam powered crane, or derrick, was indeed a wonderful invention. They became indispensable to the railroads for many types of work. The steam crane was actually invented in England in the 1830 era, but they did little in making advances in the design. Like many good English ideas, this one found it's way across the Atlantic, although we don't know how much of the original ideas were known here. It may be no surprise to learn much of the English application was marine related and some of the early terms related to cranes came from the language of sailors. Those included boom, jib, capstan (rare), whin or whim, crab, winch and windlass. By the definitions dating back to their early years, cranes and derricks were two different types of hoisting devices.

   A derrick was described as having a boom stayed with a central post or mast, which could be anchored or stayed by guys. A derrick was further described as having one leg, a shears having two and a gin as having three legs. A crane was a mast fitted with a rigid jib, not a movable boom. The mast or the jib could be rotated, but the jib was fastened in a fixed horizontal plane, it could not be moved vertically.

   Using early definitions from the 1880's, derricks were more commonly used in America than in Europe. An opinion published in 1888 also stated the development of the derrick in America had attained it's maximum effectiveness for handling a given weight. The premature statement was followed by a period of unparalleled progress in crane development. By the late 1800's era, there was also reference to there being machines utilizing features of both a derrick and crane, called a "derrick-crane". Their adaptation to railroad use was recognized by the records showing steam powered derrick cars being used on the railroads in addition to the hand and locomotive powered derrick cars by the end of the 1880 era.   

   The steam powered derricks that were built to the 1883 design were single ended machines, it took the development of a rotating deck for the boiler and machinery for crane development to make great strides. Some such rotating decks were already in use on small hand powered wreckers, most were four wheel types. By 1890, the B&O had a larger 10 ton hand powered wrecker with a rotating machinery deck mounted on a short flat car with two four wheel trucks. The machinery deck was rotated by a hand crank behind the boom pilar. There was also provision for a larger rope from the boom, down through the pilar and under the rear of the deck to the locomotive for more hoisting power to raise heavier loads.

   Developments in steam powered railroad shovels and cranes led to the development of off track types for contractors, quarries, open pit mines and industrial use. Some of the early steam shovels were available with a "tractor", powered crawler treads, under one end and wagon type wheels under the other. The Industrial Works Model "D" four wheel steam locomotive was also available mounted on a crawler "tractor" or on wagon wheels.

   The contractor's crawler cranes and shovels allowed great strides in the building industry, and supplemented locomotive cranes on the railroads. Gasoline engines or electric motors were soon offered as an alternative to steam power. How many Chapter members remember the gasoline engine powered, four wheel locomotive crane, PRR number 376, Industrial Works Model "A", built in 1919, builders number 3980, five ton capacity with the original 25 foot channel boom replaced with a 27_ foot boom, used with a clam bucket at the Lancaster engine house during the later steam years?   

   Like much of the early American railroad technology, cranes and derricks were to some extent reinvented in America. As an example, a man named Otis, of Boston, invented a new machine based on the derrick. He built the first known steam shovel in 1837, mounted on four flanged railroad type wheels. Mr. Otis insisted on operating the steam shovel himself in order to discover any flaws or defects in the original design and operation. Apparently there were few problems with the original design because some of the features are still in use. Otis's first steam shovel had a dipper bucket capacity of 1.5 cubic yards.

   Unfortunately, Mr. Otis was killed in the operation of his first steam shovel. The shovel was taken over and development of the design was continued by a Mr. O. S. Chapman, a contractor friend of Mr. Otis. As might be expected in that era, most of the car body and shovel framing was wood. Although it was mounted on flanged railroad wheels, it was built to a non-standard wide gauge and could not be moved on the railroads. The machine had to be disassembled to be moved between working locations.

   Other developments with steam powered machinery through the 1800's had paralleled the development of the steam shovel. By the mid 1800's, pile drivers were developed as a steam powered unit mounted on skids. Borrowing an ancient idea from the building of the Egyptian Pyramids, planks were put down, rollers placed across the planks and the pile driver skid placed on the rollers, it was easily moved. The date is uncertain, but such units were being produced by Hittenger, Cook & Company, among others, and used by the railroads. The skid carried a small vertical boiler, engine and hoist drum, wooden leads and a drop hammer. The steam powered hammer was a later invention.

   In true railroad fashion, the railroad pile driver car was invented when some now forgotten railroader placed a skid mounted pile driver on a flat car. A center pivot was added and the revolving pile driver was created. As late as the 1920 era, the PRR still had one pile driver dating back to 1885, PCC&StL number 999481, and three others dating from 1886, TC&OR number 998316, CR&C number 998107 and Penna. Co. number 999481. For those who remember the old PRSL pile driver number 109, it was not really all that old, having previously been PRR/WJ&S number 498200, built by the Industrial Works in 1908.

   Railroad derricks date to about the 1840's, but for some reason, the actual development of steam power applied to derricks and cranes seems to have lagged somewhat behind the specialized application to steam shovels and pile drivers. The early four, eight, ten and twelve wheel derrick cars and wreckers remained hand operated, although most had provision for a rope to be attached to a locomotive for more hoisting power on the main block. The next step was the placing of a steam hoisting engine and drum on the opposite end of a derrick car from the derrick pillar, with steam piped from the locomotive.

   They were still primarily single ended machines with two hoist drums; one for the hoist cable and the second for the cable around the large ring that rotated the boom on the larger cars. Some had a second drum added for an auxiliary hoist, but the boom was still held in position by a tension chain or bar. The boom was raised or lowered by the main or auxiliary hoist line being wrapped around the end of the boom, raised to the desired angle for operation, then held in place by a pin through the tension bar and secured to the hoist frame or mast. The procedure was reversed to lower the boom for traveling.

   It may have been one of the larger type steam derrick involved in the incident on the P&BC to be told here. But they were not the only steam derricks in use by the railroads. Many were created by the railroads using their existing hand derrick cars by adding a steam hoisting engine and drums on the car deck. Such converted steam derricks used steam piped from the wreck train locomotive. Some railroads took the extra step and added a boiler on the derrick car, creating a true steam derrick.
There were still a very few steam operated derricks from the 1888 era on the PRR roster in the 1920 era. Unfortunately, the descriptions are not always detailed enough to determine which ones are the type described here and which are the PRR's class WB hand derrick wrecking cars with a hoisting engine and drum installed on the car deck. With all of the cranes known to have been on the PRR, one crane that I have not found as used on the PRR is a 1890 era Yale & Towne four wheel locomotive crane. The small cranes ranged from two to ten tons capacity and were cabless, the boiler and machinery were on an open, rotating deck. The PRR did have some four wheel steam cranes produced by both the Industrial Works and by Bucyrus. Steam cranes could last a long time when they were properly maintained and serviced.
The PB&W acquired a small Industrial Works type "D", four wheel, coal fired locomotive crane rated at 10 tons with a 38 foot boom, in July, 1904. It was PB&W/PRR number 497745, Industrial Works builders number 1174. There were several Industrial Works type "D" cranes ordered by the PRR in the early 1900 era, some with different boom lengths, but number 497745 was the only one known to have received a six digit MW number, the others all received four digit numbers. Most were assigned to use in locomotive service facilities or shops. Reference to number 497745 in both the 1918 and 1941 eras describe it as a "sand digger", but I have not found where it worked on the PB&W. Number 497745 was still listed as being in service in December, 1941, but so were some other steam cranes dating from the same era. That included one wreck derrick built in 1900.

   PRR Lines West wrecker number 999003 had been built by the Industrial Works in July, 1900, builders number 820, as PRR class WE, later changed to class W50. PRR/NCRY number 496318 was a 30 ton wrecker built by the Industrial Works in 1896, builders number 456, as class WD, later changed to class W30, but the last 30 ton wrecker only survived into the early 1930's. They were out done by PRR number 999018, a crane with an old Lines West MW number, probably originally for the PFtW&C, judging from the number series. It had originally been listed as a 20 ton hand derrick car, but was listed in 1941 as a coal fired, steam powered crane. Number 999018 had a built date of November 1895, and was still on the PRR roster in December 1941.

   The Industrial Works 12, 20, 25, 30, 40 and the very earliest 50 ton wreckers did not have a drum for an auxiliary hoist line, only the main hoist. A drum for the auxiliary hoist line was added early in the production of 50 ton wreckers. The PRR converted a couple of the rare 40 ton wreckers to 50 ton, with only one hoist drum, and converted some 50 ton to 60 ton wreckers. Two of the PRR's 50 ton wreckers were listed as built by the PRR Juniata Works, which may reflect a rebuilding from 40 to 50 ton capacity, but at this point, there is nothing to document that thought.

   Trying to establish any definite history on the PRR's early wreckers is very frustrating. There were some 30, 40, 50 and 60 ton wreckers on the PRR for which little or no information has been found. Many of them were soon disposed of after the 100 ton wreckers became available in 1904 and the 120 ton in 1909. There have not been any records found of the PRR having any early wreckers of less than 30 ton capacity, but it is possible they could have had such for only a very short time before being sold and replaced with a new and larger machine.

   Rebuilding produced some rather interesting machines, such as Reading Company number 90635, as it appeared in later years. It had a 9/24/38 repack date stenciled in the available photo. It was listed as 20 ton capacity, no built date. The Industrial Works had introduced 12 ton capacity wreckers of the same basic design starting around 1890 and rapidly developed higher capacities. The very early wreckers used chain for both the boom tension lines and the main block, which was reeved with a three part line. The Reading Co. machine had a two part auxiliary line, but it was something added by the Reading because the end of the short, curved boom was modified and the auxiliary line sheave was mounted above the boom. In the photo, the main block was reeved with a four part line, a three part line was typical on 20, 25 and 30 ton wreckers. The first 12 ton type Industrial Works wrecker had used a three part chain for the hoist block.

   The main block looked like something a blacksmith might have produced as a hurry-up job. The boom was not supported in the typical manner, but with the tension cables reeved to sheaves located inside the boom sides, at the curve. The normal tension lines were run to sheaves placed in long clevis bars mounted where the Reading machine had the sheaves in the boom. The two boom tension cables were normally anchored to a brace between the two sheave clevis bars on the early Industrial Works wreckers.

   The Reading Co. had enclosed the entire cab, some steel, some wood and rather crude looking. The open space between the top of the coal bunker and water tank and the narrow roof was enclosed with sheet metal. The space being open on the sides and rear was typical for all of the early 12 to 30 ton capacity Industrial Works wrecker cabs. The side sheets were tapered in from the overall width at the top of the fuel bunker and water tank to the width of the roof, which was several inches less. Small doors in the tapered sides permitted access for loading coal and filling the water tank. The narrow, low operator's door was crudely made, the three cab windows were of two different sizes and looked like they were from a locomotive cab, as did the sheet metal below then. Above the windows was wood trimmed with narrow wood boards.

   The car body had only the end outriggers, no center outrigger, as was typical for the 25 ton and lighter wreckers. The bolster wedge blocks were hanging from chains under the side sill channel. As was typical of the older wreckers in later years, the outrigger screw jacks were no longer carried under the car's side sill.
Some brief mention of another wrecker on the Reading might be in order. It was a long steel car body with two full rotating wrecker cabs. One cab was mounted at each end of the car body. There was space for carrying spare car trucks between the two cabs. Both cabs were normally rotated with the booms inboard above the spare trucks.

   The P&BC had become part of the PW&B in 1881 when it was acquired by the PRR. Although today we think of the line, the PRR's Octoraro Branch, as an unimportant branch line, it was not so in that era. It served an important function for the PW&B by being used as a freight relief route for some of the increasing freight traffic on the double track main line. Because of serving as a relief route, the branch line was upgraded and well maintained in the late 1800 through the early 1900 era.
Late in 1889, the PW&B was upgrading the bridges on the Central Division and had just replaced one crossing the White Clay Creek between West Grove and Avondale. It was not specified which one, there were six listed as such between the two towns, with a seventh west of West Grove. The crew then started working on a bridge identified only as being "across the West Branch of Big Elk Creek, this side of Lincoln University". The Big Elk was crossed by U.G.Br. 46.99 and U.G.Br 47.29 on the Oxford side of Lincoln University, U.G.Br. 47.79 and U.G.Br. 48.05 were closer to Oxford. Although I have crossed all of the bridges on the branch years ago, I was not familiar enough with the ones in the area to even guess which of those first three the following this applies to.

   Because of the number of week day passenger trains and extra freight trains, some work was done on Sunday's to reduce the interference with traffic. One Sunday morning in July, 1889, a locomotive pushing a steam derrick and pulling a car of workmen, passed through Oxford. They were to place new iron girders on one of the West Branch, Big Elk Creek, bridges near Lincoln University on that day. The girders weighed 23,000 lb. each and were 72 feet long, a fair sized chunk of iron.
If I have it figured correctly, the girder would have been about the size of a Bethlehem Steel number B36a bridge girder, the nominal size was given as being 36 x 16.5 inches, weighing 300 Lb. per linear foot. That size girder actually measured 36.72 inches high and had a flange width of 16.655 inches, with a web thickness of 0.945 inch. The Bethlehem Steel bridge girders listed under number B36a were rolled in six weights and sizes, 230 lb., 240 lb., 250 lb., 260 lb., 280 lb. and 300 lb. per linear foot. The size varied with the weight, with only the 240 lb. measuring exactly 36 x 16.5 inches.

   The steam derrick was in position, with the body blocked and clamped to the rails. Bolster wedges were probably in use by that time, but I can't document they were. The riggers had done their job and one of the iron girders had been hoisted up and swung into position to be lowered to it's final position, resting on the bridge abutments. They were ready to lower the girder, but at this point, I will refer to the newspaper account.

   Even though newspapers then, as now, were seldom very accurate in their descriptions of things, I will quote from the newspaper report as to what occurred next. "The workmen had one of the girders attached to the machine which was lifting it over the desired resting place, when the mast of the steam derrick broke and the heavy iron beam fell down, crashing its way through the timbers and falling on the bank". A great big OOPS! Although, as the paper put it, "many men were standing around at the time", not one person was hurt by the mishap.

   The accident with the derrick on the P&BC was reported to have been caused by a flaw in the iron mast of the derrick. It is not known if the steam derrick was railroad owned, as was implied by the newspaper. If it was railroad owned, was it on the books as owned by the PW&B, P&BC or the PRR? Railroad derricks in the era were mostly combination machines, steam shovel and wrecker. They were made so the dipper bucket and stick could be removed to use the machine as a wrecker. The derrick also may nave been owned by a contractor doing the bridge rebuilding. Drake & Stratton was one large company doing a great deal of work for the PRR and PW&B in the late 1800 and early 1900 era, but the A.& P. Roberts & Company seemed to have contracted more of the bridge work.

   It could also have been the P&BC's own steam derrick. The PW&B had transferred a derrick car which had been "altered with hoisting engine and boiler" to the P&BC in 1888. Apparently the derrick being used on the West Branch, Big Elk Creek job was the type with a cast iron pillar, not the two leg "A" frame shears type. It was unfortunate, and the rail traffic was interrupted.

   Accidents with cranes are not too common today, but they do happen and the consequences are often severe when they do occur. Fortunately there are not many now caused by the failure of a major part of the machine. The hoisting and tension cables do require proper lubrication and attention, for a breaking cable is extremely dangerous. Although there are many safety rules for the operation of cranes, most accidents are caused by human error.

   Such was the case back in 1932, when a locomotive crane at the Pyrites Co. in South Wilmington, kicked over backwards while on a ramp to a trestle. One side of the car body was up in the air, the rear of the cab was in the dirt and the boom was buckled. A young inexperienced operator slewing too fast with an empty 0.5 cubic yard clam bucket put Strasburg's five ton capacity Model 15 Burro crane on it's right side several years ago. It happened on Monday morning, July 14, 1971. Fortunately the crane went over on it's right side. Had it gone over on the left side, the operator would surely have fallen out of the open door with the cab landing on top of him.

   We all remember too well what happened just a few years ago with the 250 ton wrecker on the Blue Mountain. The young man who was killed under that big wrecker was generally considered to be a skilled crane operator. He was a good operator, except for the fact that he took too many chances and had already turned over two cranes owned by his family's business. The same thing had happened with Western Maryland's big Bucyrus-Erie wrecker, WM number 1674 under similar circumstance in December 1962, also killing the operator. Stationed in Hagerstown, number 1674 was the WM's only 250 ton wrecker, builders number 40664, steam powered when built in 1945, it was converted to diesel in 1955 by L.B.Smith Inc., the original solid journal bearings were later converted to Timken roller bearings.

   The workmen at the P&BC bridge on the Sunday morning in 1889 were indeed very lucky, none of them were injured when the mast on the steam derrick broke.
© Richard E. Hall, 2001

CHAPTER EVENTS  

Thursday Jan. 17, 2002 7 PM - Chapter Meeting program by Bruce Barry - program not known at this time.

Saturday Feb. 2, 2002 10 AM - Chapter Trip Super Saturday Streetcar Special VIII.

Thursday Feb. 21, 2002 7 PM - Chapter Meeting program by Ernie Barry - program not known at this time.

Thursday March 21, 2002 7 PM - Chapter Meeting program by Dan Frederick - program not known at this time.

Thursday April 18, 2002 7 PM - Chapter Meeting program by Frank Ferguson & Kermit Geary - program not known at this time.

Thursday May 16, 2002 7 PM - Chapter Meeting Annual Doug Weaver Memorial Photo Contest - 2002 special category: Railroad Personnel While They Are Working.

Saturday ? , 2002 11 AM - Chapter Picnic probably at Perryville, MD.

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. Check out our  >>NEW Website <<<, thanks to Russ Fox at:   http://www.WilmingtonNRHS.com

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 Snyder
    Vice President & Historian  Ron Cleaves
    Treasurer   Ralph Stevens, Jr.
    Secretary   Dan Frederick
    National Director   Tom Posatko
    Editor  Greg Ajamian
    Public Relations    Frank Ferguson, Jr.
    Event Photographer  Bruce Barry

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