Chapter
4
Table of Contents
The Railroad
Previous to the building of the B&O Railroad and the C&O Canal, the only east-west trade route of this region was the old National Road (later U.S. 40) to and from Baltimore. As the condition of the road deteriorated and east-west trade grew, it became apparent that a better trade route must be developed. The first answer to this was the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company, which set out to construct a canal along the Potomac River from Georgetown to the Ohio River. (In fact, the canal never reached beyond Cumberland.) Fearing the canal would divert to Washington the trade which formerly went by the National Road to Baltimore, interests there saw this as a great threat, and ideas to prevent such a loss were sought. Some wanted to build a branch of the C&O Canal to Baltimore, but were convinced by engineers that such a plan was impractical. As Baltimore needed a new land route, a charter was granted on February 28,1827, and on April 24 of that year, a group of bankers and merchants formally incorporated the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company to build a line of railroad from Baltimore to an unspecified point on the Ohio River. The building of a railroad, particularly over the rocky terrain the B&O covers, was a novel idea. It was a precedent; therefore all facets of its development were truly created by the B&O, the only available help being bits of information from England.
The B&O Railroad and the C&O Canal started construction on the same day. On July 4, 1828, the cornerstone of the B&O was laid at Mount Clare, christened by Charles Carrol of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence; in Georgetown, President John Quincy Adams turned the first shovel of ground for the C&O Canal.
The B&O's first stretch of track, running thirteen miles along the Patapsco River to Ellicott's Mills, was open in two years. The first railroad consisted of cars drawn by horses; steam came into use in 1830, with the purchase of Peter Cooper's "Tom Thumb," so named due to its size. The Tom Thumb was put to work on the Ellicott's Mills line, pulling a car of 24 passengers at twelve miles per hour. Fearing competition from this mode of transportation, a stagecoach line challenged the Tom Thumb to a race to Ellicott's Mills and back. The first trip it broke a leather strap and the horse won. This, however, did little harm to the B&O's business. The design of locomotives improved rapidly.
The B&O Railroad and the C&O Canal were fiercely competitive from the beginning, and when the two finally met at Point of Rocks (C&O reaching there in 1831, B&O in 1832), this competition brought about a lawsuit which stopped the progress of both for a year. At Point of Rocks, there was only enough land between the river and the cliffs for one right-of-way. The C&O had claimed this strip of land, but the B&O took it. The lawsuit resulted in the giving of the land to the C&O, and the B&O was forced to bore tunnels through the cliffs at Point of Rocks and Catoctin, further delaying its progress.
When the B&O got to Berlin, it simply passed through, leaving only a tool shed and a small section gang, and went on to Martinsburg, West Virginia, where it built major yards. The C&O had much greater effect on Berlin than the B&O for the first fifty-five years of their existence here. Berlin became a small trade center for the canal, and its population tripled (to 300) due to the canal.
The B&O and the canal continued on their courses, the B&O reaching Cumberland in 1842, the C&O following in 1850. The service of the railroad, haphazard at first, continued to improve.
The Civil War, though, interrupted the growth of the B&O due to Maryland's location, as the military placed an embargo on trade in Baltimore and the Confederate Army repeatedly cut the B&O lines. John W. Garrett, president of the B&O, was an important figure in the Civil War, as head of the major means of transportation and communication between the Capital and the west and north. Due to this prominent position, Garrett later became nationally powerful.
Post Civil War depression, too, created problems on the B&O. Because of decreased business, the company decided to cut employee's wages by 10 percent in July 1877. Riots ensued in the B&O's major yards along the entire line, and were quelled only when army troops were brought in.
Becoming too crowded at its freight yards in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the B&O started searching for a new site for its yards. The Maryland Legislature offered land tax exemption if the yards would be moved to Maryland.
One day, sometime in 1889, a poor farmer (possibly more than one) came to Berlin looking for land near the river to settle on. He was sold what was then the Potomac Farm. It later turned out that this man in poor farmer's clothing was an executive of the B&O. In a surprise move, without the town's knowledge or consent, the B&O major yards would then be built right in Berlin.
In 1890, the advent of the new freight yards turned the formerly clean, peaceful little village of Berlin into a railroad boomtown covered with coal soot. Until 1890, Berlin (since the canal arrived) had had a consistent population of approximately three hundred. In six years, that figure multiplied tenfold, and in 1896 Berlin had a population of three thousand and was still growing.
The seven mile long yards at Berlin were the longest owned by a single company. All during B&O's history, the yards here handled all passenger and freight service on the roads east-west main line. As the yards expanded in the town, the residents moved up the hill, away from the danger, noise, and soot. What was once the town of Berlin is now all railroad yard. The new town of Brunswick thrived because of the railroad.
During World War II, the Brunswick yards handled a record capacity of 101,000 cars per month. Because of the massive amounts of goods, including war materials, going through Brunswick, it was a strategic point. Due to this, the government put anti-aircraft guns on the hills surrounding Brunswick, and a local club took the task of watching for German planes.
In December 1953, the last steam locomotive was retired locally, and Brunswick became considerably cleaner. In 1957, the railroad listed 1,182 employees on its local payroll of $6,000,000 per year. Later, in 1959, the B&O, in a consolidation move shifted its yard operations elsewhere, taking the jobs with it. The main shops were moved away, with only minor repairs being done at the Brunswick roundhouse.
The facility for repairing, dismantling, and rebuilding freight cars was instituted in October 1961 and helped Brunswick climb back out of its slump for a while, but eventually that activity too would cease.
Extending lines beyond Cumberland, the B&O arrived at Wheeling, West Virginia, on the Ohio River on December 24,1856. It ultimately reached to Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis and Louisville on the west. Eastward, its own tracks were extended to Philadelphia, and it served New York via track age rights over the Reading Company and the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It developed into a major provider of freight and passenger transport in the vital northeastern quadrant of the United States. Throughout its corporate history, there were some very good years and others which were not so good. Always known for its well maintained cars, engines, and right-of-way, and enjoying a fine reputation as a friendly railroad providing excellent service, the B&O had everything a prosperous company should have,— except the ability to maintain a healthy financial stature over a prolonged period. It suffered along with all the railroads, particularly those in the northeast, during the 1950's. In 1960, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, solidly based in Pocahontas coal, started buying B&O stock, and eventually acquired an amount sufficient for the I.C.C. to approve control of the B&O by the C&O on May 1,1962. The two railroads continued to operate separately at first, but followed a design of increasingly coordinating operations and sharing management.
Subsequently, on June 15,1973, a new corporation— Chessie System— embraced as subsidiaries the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway.
On November 1,1980, Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coastline Industries to form CSX Corporation, the present owner and operator of the railroad through Brunswick.
S - Data extracted from an undated manuscript in BHC files, entitled "A Short History of the BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD," author unknown, plus personal research and knowledge. History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, John F. Stover.
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Brunswick's first newspaper editor, Edward Shafer, was a proud man when the freight yards formally opened. His Brunswick Herald of May 15, 1891, issue number eleven, carried banner headlines and six pictures over half the front page - and his newspaper was almost the dimensions of modern city papers.
His headlines cried out—
"THE GREAT FREIGHT YARD FORMALLY OPENED AT BRUNSWICK, MARYLAND, ON SUNDAY MAY 10,1891. BRUNSWICK NOW THE END OF THE FIRST DIVISION."
He further proclaimed
"BOOM BEGINS. FROM TINY VILLAGE TO A BUSY IMPORTANT CITY . . . THE HOME OF WORKMEN. . . MANY NEW BUILDINGS."
Mr. Shafer went on to promote Brunswick as a summer resort. He was ahead of his time. In 1969 a committee of the Chessie Railroad urged Brunswick, 78 years later, to do the same thing.
Since 1969, the Brunswick Potomac Foundation, joined several years later by Leona Sauser, then with the Revitalization Committee, and the City Government have been encouraging tourists to enjoy history and recreation in Brunswick and its natural environs.
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The B&O RR had been chuffing through the little way station of Berlin for more than 55 years when the company decided to locate extensive freight classification yards and locomotive maintenance shops here. The location was a natural choice as trains between all east and west points could conveniently be reclassified in either direction in addition to being able to handle local traffic to and from the Hagerstown and Shenandoah Valley branches. It was also a good spot for changing to the heavier locomotives needed in the mountainous territory to the west.
With the new facilities came the new name— Brunswick, which became well-known to B&O people and customers of the railroad. It continued to be important to Chessie System and CSX, although that importance seemed to diminish at each step in the merger process. Everything the B&O ran between east and west went through Brunswick. Now, only traffic to certain areas rolls through here and other business moves via alternate parts of the far flung system.
By briefly explaining the railroad's local layout as it existed in the 1920's and 30's, one may better understand what actually went on in our backyard. Moving westward from Catoctin Station (Lander) and crossing Catoctin Creek, one would encounter a "Yard Limit" sign and notice that as the east- and westbound main tracks separated, a series of other tracks would diverge. This was the Westbound Receiving Yard where freight trains from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and Potomac Yard terminated and the road locomotives detached. As the cars were shoved over the Westbound Hump, they were reclassified by destination and preference for such points as Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cumberland, and others. Beyond the hump was the Westbound Classification Yard from which the newly made trains would be dispatched. Much of this area is visible from the sharp turn in Potomac Street at Tenth Avenue. In the area opposite Brunswick City Park the view would include the long-gone "transfer shed" where less than a carload (LCL) freight shipments were "transferred" from one car to another, an operation similar to the car reclassification at the hump. Here was also the steep trestle carrying tracks up to the top of the coaling station where steam locomotives were refueled. This was called the "Coal Chute" or "Coal Tipple." Alongside the coal chute was the Ash Track where engine fires were cleaned or knocked out. A lot of cinder was generated here and many of Brunswick's early streets were made from it.
Immediately opposite Third Avenue was the Turntable and Round House, where engines were serviced or repaired. Also here was a pair of wooden water tanks, used to replenish engine supply, and the shop building. Between Second and First Avenues beyond the westbound main track was the "Caller's Office;" and between the track and Potomac Street was the B&O Annex, or Emergency Room, and the Y.M.C.A. Of all these facilities, only the round house and turntable remain.
Opposite the foot of First Avenue is "WB" Tower, the control center for gates, switches, and relaying orders to train crews. The tower continues in use. Looking beyond WB tower, one could see the Brunswick "Wreck Train" with its "big hook," parked on the "North Fire Track" near the eastbound main track.
Immediately east of the South Maple Avenue crossing was an overhead steel signal bridge which spanned three tracks and controlled all westward train and engine movements. It has been removed.
The passenger station at South Maple Avenue still functions, but one on the opposite side of the tracks for eastbound boarding is no more. Immediately in front of the westbound station are the switches, or "crossovers," which freight trains coming out of the yard behind the round house would thread through to get back onto the Westbound Main track. In the area under the Route 17 highway bridge was the icing platforms where refrigerator cars for perishables were pre-iced or re-iced. Somewhat to the west were pens where carloads of livestock would be unloaded for feed, water, and rest while in transit. Moving on westward one would again encounter a yard layout just opposite to that at the east end of town. In turn, the Eastbound Classification Yard, Eastbound Hump, and Eastbound Receiving Yard. Here trains from the west were yarded, and dispatched. Much of this area later became the Brunswick Car Yard where rail cars were repaired, rebuilt, or dismantled.
While that operation has ceased, the tracks contain strings of out-of-service rolling stock. The tracks taper down to four at Knoxville and then to two at Weverton, where, just west beyond the junction of the Washington County Branch to Hagerstown, was another "Yard Limit" sign marking the western end of Brunswick Yard.
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While passenger service was important to Brunswick, freight was its real reason for being. The movement was constant— 24 hours a day— seven days a week— with freight trains arriving and departing, switchers working on the flats, and the roundhouse always a beehive of activity as engines were readied for the next run.
One of the reasons for locating the yards at Brunswick was so that freight could be delivered quickly to the major eastern markets which B&O served— Washington/Potomac Yard, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, and New York. Trains departing here in late afternoon or early evening could easily reach those points, assuring customer delivery the following morning. In the reverse direction, freight from those cities moving westward would arrive in Brunswick during late night or early morning. After humping and reclassification, movement would continue with traffic from the several origin areas being combined here to move out to a new group of destinations.
Trains are given odd numbers when traveling north and west, and even numbers moving east and south. B&O's regular eastbounds were 94's and 96's, with one or more sections being forwarded to each of the terminals, so that there would be a New York 96 and a Pot Yard 96, for example. Westbound freights were 93's and 97's. Local freight trains fanned out from Brunswick to Hagerstown, Frederick, Washington, Old Main line, and the "Valley." No one had to say Shenandoah Valley, it was simply the Valley. Other jobs frequently handled solid stone trains from Millville, West Virginia. At one time, B&O had a branch line from Engle, West Virginia, into Bakerton which also generated stone traffic. Crews from Brunswick would be called for the "Bakerton Digger," as the job was known, alluding to the mineral nature of the commodity.
There was also a local operating between Brunswick and Cumberland. At some time it had been given the unusual name of "The Dirty Shirt."
B&O was an aggressive and competitive freight hauler. In the 1940's they fostered a program known as "Sentinel Service" which watched over cars in transit and advised shipper and consignee of any trouble enroute. A group of box cars painted blue and gray advertised this service. B&O also initiated an expedited freight schedule, calling the fast trains "Timesavers." As the intermodal movement got underway, B&O provided their "TOFCEE" (TrailerOn-Flat-Car) Service.
Its logo carried the legend— "Linking 13 Great States With The Nation"— and B&O did that job very well.
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A timetable issued by the B&O on April 25, 1948, lists seven trains from Washington to Brunswick. Two were weekday commuter locals terminating here and the other five could be boarded for points west, such as Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Parkersburg. There were also seven eastbounds, two of them the locals. Other passenger trains then originated in Brunswick for Hagerstown and Frederick, Maryland, and Strasburg, Virginia. While this was still fairly decent service, it was just a shadow of that provided here years earlier.
There were also numerous trains operating through Brunswick which did not stop here. Between Washington and Chicago, the flagship of B&O's east-west passenger fleet was "The Capitol Limited" (Numbers 5 and 6), offering the best rail service between those points. It was an all-Pullman train with blue and gray streamlined equipment in its later years. Other trains on the Chicago run were "The Columbian" (Numbers 25 and 26), all-coach streamlined counterpart to "The Capitol Limited," and the "Shenandoah" (Numbers 7 and 8).
Between Washington and St. Louis the deluxe train was the streamlined "National Limited" (Numbers 1 and 2), and "The Diplomat" (Numbers 3 and 4). Trains 19 and 20, "The Ambassador," worked between Washington and Detroit and the Cleveland run saw two trains each way— "The Cleveland Night Express" (Numbers 17 and 18), and "The Washingtonian" (Numbers 21 and 22).
Also carried on that 1948 timetable were trains 75 and 76, "The Cincinnatian." Trainsets of five streamlined coaches were matched with streamlined President-class Pacific-type engines, all painted B&O royal blue with chrome trim. Introduced in January 1947, the train drew a large Brunswick crowd for its maiden run. It was moved to the Detroit-Cincinnati corridor inl950 after the expected traffic between Baltimore/Washington and Cincinnati did not materialize, but during the time it did run through our town, it was just about the prettiest thing on any railroad, anywhere.
Despite all the efforts to attract passengers with new services and equipment, the number of passenger trains in America steadily declined, and the railroads themselves generally regarded passenger service as a money-losing proposition. American's love affair with their automobile, enhanced even further by the Interstate highway system, finally put an end to most passenger service offered by individual railroads.
In 1970 Congress created the National Railroad Passenger Corporation to provide inter-city passenger service on a skeletonized network under the operating name of Amtrak. The only Amtrak operation through Brunswick is a run between Washington and Chicago. While still carrying the name "Capitol Limited," it uses former B&O trackage only east of Pittsburgh. It is combined with "The Broadway" on the old PRR and uses Conrail between Pittsburgh and Chicago. That may change, however, as alternate routes west of Pittsburgh, some including old B&O trackage, are being considered. Commuter service has become the province of state and local jurisdictions, and on that score Brunswick comes out okay. Now operated by MARC Train Service, there are six morning and one mid-afternoon departures to Washington, coupled with one morning and six afternoon-early evening westbound returns. This excellent service is a valuable asset to our community.
Brunswick people developed a pattern of shopping in Hagerstown, most availing themselves of the free transportation offered to railroad employees and their families. Relatively lightweight power was used on the single-track rural branch line from Weverton, with early trains of one to three cars pulled by small Atlantic or Ten-Wheeler engines. One of the trains was a "Mixed," handling both freight and passenger cars on the same run. At some point long past, one of the trains was dubbed "The Snuff Train." In trying to learn the origin of that name, Harry Allgire, long-time conductor who had once worked the job, said it was because the engineer (name no longer recalled) used a lot of snuff and expectorated abundantly. Any crewman or passenger unlucky enough to have a hand or arm outside a window while the train was in motion was likely to get bespattered. Whatever its roots, the name stuck among local people. Always looking for ways to cut costs, the B&O assigned a self-propelled gas-electric car to the run. The unit was about the size of an ordinary passenger coach with its front area devoted to a gasoline engine which powered electric traction motors, and a place for the engineer. It seated about fifty and produced sufficient tractive effort to pull itself and one car. For many years an old swayback wooden baggage car handled the mail, express, and baggage chores while clanking along behind. Black and white zebra stripes adorning the front end and a distinctive air horn made it easy to identify the train which gathered a flock of nicknames, such as - "Motor Bus," "Jitney," "Toonerville," and "Doodlebug."
Passenger service had long been reduced to one-a-day, and that April 1948 timetable had the remaining train departing Brunswick as Number 73 at 9:10 AM and arriving Hagerstown 10:10 AM— that is 26.9 miles in one hour! The train left Hagerstown as Number 74 at 12:45 PM, returning to Brunswick at 1:45; then departed for Frederick at 2:10, arriving at 2:45— that is 45 minutes for 21 rail miles. On its final leg as Number 71, the train left Frederick at 3:55 PM, arriving Brunswick at 4:45.
B&O passenger service to Hagerstown and Frederick ended in November 1949. The Hagerstown Branch was abandoned in the late 1970's and was then torn up.
S - Harry Allgire, Fred Wegenroth
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B&0 Motive Power
Part I - Steam
It would be wonderful, had the movie or video camera been in use then, to have a moving picture of the first train to Berlin— or some shots of everyday operations in those days 155 years ago. One must also speculate what type of engine would be pulling the train.
The first B&O locomotives were tiny things— little steam engines like the Tom Thumb, York, and Atlantic. But they developed quickly, with the driving forces at each step being BIGGER and FASTER. The steam engine was with us for only about 120 years— not really an especially long time to develop from a machine smaller than a pickup truck to one weighing more than 300 tons and to foster the exploration and settlement of our country while doing it.
In trying to demonstrate the railroad's role in Brunswick's past, a brief consideration of B&O engines must be a part.
By the time there was a Brunswick, steam locomotives had gone through several progressions from vertical-boiler "Grasshoppers," through the 44-0 American Standards, the 44-2 Atlantics, and the 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler, along with the 2-8-0 Consolidation for freight. Around the turn of the century, a pair of wheels was placed under the Ten Wheeler's cab and it became the 4-6-2 Pacific.
This was B&O's system-wide passenger locomotive. Carrying numbers from 5000 to 5319, and given B&O Class "P", there were many subclasses and even further subclasses. P-1-C's and P-1-D's were examples of the heavy duty workhorse passenger engine. Most of the 5100 and 5200 engines were lighter and used primarily on branchlines or local trains. B&O's biggest, best, and best- looking Pacifics were the P-7 5300's, The President series. Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works beginning in 1927 and named for U. S. presidents, these 20 engines with 80-inch drivers and first painted olive green with gold leaf lettering, were simply elegant, as well as effective. Four of them were streamlined later for service on the Cincinnatian.
The trim 2-8-0 Consolidation (B&O "E" Class) continued to be an important part of the freight motive power picture. They were plentiful and were seen everywhere, but particularly in yards and on branch line freights. Again adding a 2-wheel trailing truck under the firebox, the Consolidation expanded into the 2-8-2 Mikado (B&O "Q" Class). Both classes continued in their respective work assignments through the end of B&O steam. The "Q" was seen everywhere on the system. Numbered in 4000-series, they handled just about every freight train between Brunswick on the west and all of the eastern terminals. B&O had more 2-8-2's, called "Mikes," than any other type, with the 2-8-0's a close second. Some Mikados used the conventional rectangular tender while others had a round Vanderbilt-type tender, all with four-wheel trucks.
West of Brunswick the freight power was Class "S" 6100's of the Santa Fe type with a 2-10-2 wheel arrangement, known far and wide as "Big Sixes." B&O had some larger engines working the mountains around Cumberland at the time, but one had to see this engine to appreciate the picture of power it created, even when standing still. It featured a straight boiler and a very short stack, matched to a round Vanderbilt-type tender on six-wheel trucks. Getting a heavy westbound underway, a "Big Six" working its way out of the yard past the roundhouse to the main line would send an exhaust plume of smoke and steam more than a hundred feet straight up as it labored to gain momentum. They were in and out of Brunswick 20 to 30 times a day until the early 1950's.
B&O had a few 4-8-2 Class "T" Mountain-type engines numbered in the 5500-series. First built in 1930, they were almost identical to the "S" class except for the wheel arrangement and driver diameter. Intended for used on passenger trains, the "T" had a 74-inch driver as compared to 64 inches on the "S." B&O bought some used engines of this type from the Boston & Maine Railroad, and during and after World War II, they used boilers from B&O Pacifics and Mikados to rebuild 4-8-2's at Mount Clare shops into dual-service locomotives as Class "T" to be used in either freight or passenger service.
A Frenchman by the name of Anatole Mallet (Mal'-lay') developed the concept that went on to carry his name in locomotives and opened the way for even larger engines. His idea actually combined two locomotives into one, whereby a single firebox and boiler provided steam to two sets of cylinders, thereby powering two sets of driving wheels.
In 1904 the B&O built the first Mallet in the U. S., 0-6-6-0 numbered 2400 and called "Old Maude." B&O had several series of Mallets in service, some before World War I. These engines were normally used in the mountains and were not generally seen around Brunswick unless passing through on their way to or from Mount Clare Shop. During World War II, scrambling for power to meet the heavy demand of the war effort and unable to buy diesels, B&O ordered 30 big new Mallets from Baldwin. Delivered in 1944-45, the EM-I 2-8-8-4 with 64-inch drivers was the biggest and best steam locomotive ever to operate on the B&O according to engineers who ran them as well as company officials. They were numbered 7600-29.
Still feeling the power pinch, ten used Mallets were purchased from the Seaboard Air Line. Having a 2-6-6-4 wheel arrangement, they were given B&O Class "KB" and numbered in the 7700's. As the reporting marks of the original owner, Seaboard Air Line, were SAL, these Mallets were quickly called "Sally Malleys." With their 69-inch drivers, they were good running engines, well received among the crews. Aside from their operational assets, one of their most outstanding features was a deep melodious steamboat whistle which filled the Potomac River valley with a glorious sound unlike anything heard on the B&O around here - before or since.
The change from steam to diesel was delayed about ten years by World War II. During the 1950's steam engines gradually disappeared on the B&O and most American railroads, supplanted by the diesel which had proven itself economically with its ability to make longer runs without the frequent stops for water and coal required by steam engines. Pete Harper has a copy of the B&O's Summary of Equipment No.33, dated January 1,1934. A page from that Summary indicates the Class, Type, Symbol, Wheel Arrangement, Series, and Total Locos for Locomotive Equipment then rostered. It is included in this book.
S - The Locomotives That Baldwin Built, by Fred Weshng. - The American Steam Locomotive, Vol. 1, by Frank M. Swengel.
- Pete Harper
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B&O Motive Power
Part 2 - Diesel
The diesel engine was invented by Rudolph Diesel, a German engineer with the first model built and patented in 1892. In a diesel engine, air is compressed to a temperature high enough to ignite fuel that is injected directly into the cylinder, whereas in a gasoline engine, fuel is mixed with air and then ignited by a spark. An immediate advantage of the diesel is that it burns cheaper fuel, a blend that is slightly heavier than kerosene.
America's first diesel locomotive was a 300-hp switcher placed in service by the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1925, about twelve years before B&O got its first streamlined passenger diesels from ElectroMotive Corporation, later Electro-Motive Division of General Motors Corporation.
Diesels began appearing on the Capitol Limited and then on other passenger trains. The "E"-series units had a slanted front end, sometimes referred to as a "shovel nose," which was straightened up in later editors. Wearing the traditional B&O blue and gray paint scheme that would become standard, they were generally operated in "A-B" pairs on passenger trains, consisting of one "A" unit (with cab), and one cabless "B" unit. Almost all B&O passenger diesels were EMC-EMD-GM products.
In 1989 GM celebrated the 50th anniversary of their "FT" line of road freight diesels, dispelling doubts of early skeptics that they would last when first introduced in 1939. B&O made wide use of the FT and its succeeding generations, usually in 4-unit A-B-B-A sets. The F units were generally called "Covered Wagons." American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and Baldwin Locomotive works (later, Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation) also produced road freight diesels for B&O. Both were good looking units, but the Baldwins, called "Sharks" due to their angular nose, were particularly attractive in their B&O livery.
Although Baldwin, ALCo, and Fairbanks-Morse, along with GM, furnished diesel switchers to B&O, the first three eventually passed from the scene, leaving General Motors the survivor.
Just like the steam engine before it, the diesel has undergone constant change and improvement throughout its relatively short lifetime, and again the impetus is for faster, larger, and more powerful locomotives.
General Motors also developed a new series of units for all-around service beginning with the GP7. The "GP" indicated "General Purpose" and the units were quickly called "Geeps." The latest in that line is the GP-60 with several dozen intervening models and variations. At the same time, GM also brought along another line of larger units designated "SD" for "Special Duty." They feature six axles versus four axles on the GPs.
The other major American diesel locomotive manufacturer today is General Electric. Although not in the business as long as General Motors, they have developed a full line of power units and now run in a virtual tie with GM in supplying the national market. GM and GE units in the great variety of their many models operate in good numbers throughout this terminal every day.
The B&O blue and gray locomotive paint scheme gave way to solid blue, then to Chessie yellow and blue, and now to CSX gray, blue and yellow. It is common to see units from any one of the various roads that later became CSX still in the paint schemes of its predecessor roads.
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While at first glance it may appear that putting together a piece of railroad track is a simple task, it actually is a precise science that at one time was crafted into an art.
The construction and maintenance of a railroad's track and right of way was handled by "section gangs," so called because a group of workers under a foreman would have responsibility for a specific section of the line, ranging to five or more miles. These were the people who, with their hand tools and handcars, insured safe passage over the railroad for people and goods.
Railroad folklore says such workers were called "gandy dancers" and that the term derived from the gyrations of two men swinging spike mauls in a full circle to drive a spike with coordinated alternate blows. Among the many jobs of the track people, one was to insure that the gauge was correct. Gauge is the distance between the two rails, the standard in this country being 4 feet 8-1 /2 inches. That dimension traces back to England and, the story goes, it also went all the way back to the distance between the wheels of Roman chariots. When railroads were first built in the U. S., different gauges were used by different companies, but this proved impractical as cars could not be interchanged between carriers with different gauges, necessitating transloading of the cargo.
The rail now used is a product of long development in its composition and size. Most of B&O's early track consisted of strap iron affixed directly to wooden stringers resting on embedded stones, the type originally used through here. Elsewhere in this book, the article on "The American Legion Home" cites use of this type of track, and its replacement with iron rail in 1845. One of the problems with the strap-iron-on-wood type of track was that the strap iron had a tendency to work loose, creating a "snakehead" that could puncture the wooden floor of railway cars causing damage, injury, or death. Railroads soon realized they needed better track structure to support increasingly larger and heavier equipment moving at higher speeds. After trying cast iron and several configurations of steel rail, the present rail became widely adopted.
The standard rail length is 39 feet, and the weight of rail is measured in pounds per yard. It got progressively stronger and heavier, now ranging up to 119 to 130 pounds, and some heavy-duty mainlines using 152-pound rail. The rail itself rests upon a tie plate which has holes through which spikes are driven into the crosstie. Amtrak has used concrete crossties with steel rail anchors on some sections of the Northeast Corridor. Use of continuous welded rail or ribbon rail is a fairly recent development which has helped reduce maintenance costs. It also eliminated the familiar clickety-click of wheels over rail joints. Roller bearing cars moving on welded rail hardly make any sound at all.
There are no section gangs anymore. The work is totally automated and mechanized.
W-BRH
It is unlikely that a book such as this could begin to do justice to the subject of railway labor relations and union development in view of the innumerable complexities and long history of the subject. It is, however, an important topic deserving mention, and to that end a manuscript in our files has proven to be a valuable resource. John P. Hankey, Curator of the B&O Museum, wrote an article entitled "MAKING UNION MEN IN A COMPANY TOWN: The Brotherhood Railway Carmen of American in Brunswick, 1900-1915," which details the development of the Carmen's lodge here. We have used Mr. Hankey's work as the basis for the following extremely abbreviated story.
Up through 1890, carmen's work primarily embraced the skills of carpenter, painter, and blacksmith, with carmen generally working in pairs or gangs, or individually as "car inspectors" checking the mechanical condition of every car entering or leaving the yard. The replacement of wooden railway cars with steel equipment, together with several improved mechanical features caused a wide diversification in the carmen's tasks. The Westinghouse air brake created a need for an "air man;" and automatic couplers, electric lights and steam heat in passenger cars, welding and cutting all dramatically widened the technical skills embraced in the carmen's trade. By the turn of the century, the jurisdiction of the BRCA included some 42 distinct work classifications. With intensified train schedules came greatly increased work loads for car inspectors and car repairmen. Car work was hazardous in itself, and aggravated by actual working conditions.
Organized labor transferred into Brunswick from Martinsburg with the train and engine service employees. By the time Brunswick's East Yard was completed in 1893, engineers, firemen, conductors and trainmen were represented by the "big four" operating craft unions, and the non-operating crafts were recruiting in the shops and offices. Although the BRCA was formed in 1888, a local lodge was not finalized until 1910.
The BRCA prospered in Brunswick for half a century, but fell on hard times in the 1960's due to the realignment of the railroad industry. In 1986 it merged with Transport Communications Union, formerly Brotherhood of Railway, Steamship, and Air Line Clerks. In 1988 the car repair shop at Brunswick was permanently closed leaving only a dozen carmen in a terminal that employed almost 300 in the 1920's.
Just like railroad industry itself, railroad unions have undergone radical changes over the past 30 or 40 years. While some thirteen crafts are presently recognized on CSX, some of the names have changed. In addition to the carmen joining the clerks in the Transport Communications Union as mentioned earlier, a major combination developed in the formation of the United Transportation Union (UTU). This union now includes conductors, trainmen, firemen, and yard masters. Even some engineers who belonged to the former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers are UTU members. While there can be exceptions in almost all cases, some of the other unions now operating include Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, and the International Brotherhood of Fireman and Oilers.
S - Office of J. F. Sturgill, CSX, Baltimore.
- Homer Parker, Paul Keller, Norman Thompson, Larry Baker, and
Fred Wengenroth
W- BRH
The B&O Relief Department helped many a railroader own his home. All employees of the company had to pass a physical examination to qualify for a job and to belong to the Relief Department. Employees bought two or more shares at 50 cents each, and every month the company withheld the amount due from the employee's check.
To buy a home, one could borrow the money from the Relief Department. The company would regularly withhold an amount of payment, eventually replacing the total with interest. Meanwhile, the Relief Department made payments on the home; it also held the property title until the mortgage was paid.
This fund also paid an employee when he was sick or hurt... from the day he was off, according to the number of shares he owned.
The Relief Department held annual conventions that served the usual purpose of conventions; to update the members' knowledge, to learn new trends, and to hear about other programs.
The relief plan was turned over to Monument General Insurance Company in the 1970's. Periodic changes were made that gradually reduced the benefits and divorced the railroad of all obligations of this plan. Everything is under Monumental General, and new employees do not come under this plan.
The caboose is an endangered species. As it becomes more and more scarce, much to the dismay of railroad lovers, many can recall that this favored piece of rolling stock had been a home away from home to at least a part of the freight train crew. Compactly embraced within its walls - were bunks; a small, pot-bellied coal stove for heating and with a flat top for cooking; benches; tank for drinking water; an ice box with ice on one side of a small partition and food on the other; a coal box; and much food. It was always the last car on the train and had a variety of names. On the PRR they were "cabin cars," other crews called them the "Shack" or "Crummy," but on the B&O, they were "cabooses." B&O was an early proponent of the bay-window caboose.
With reductions in crew size and other cost cutting measures, continuing use of this piece of equipment could not be economically justified, particularly after the walkie-talkie came into accepted usage.
Many remember when a freight train crew consisted of an engineer, fireman, brakeman, flagman, and conductor. When the front-end brakeman was eliminated, the flagman worked both ends of the train. The conductor has always been in charge of the crew.
The caboose was used mainly by the brakeman, fireman, and conductor, because they might have had to lay over at a certain place since another turn (or train) would be taking the caboose a day or two later to another destination. Example: It goes from Brunswick to Cumberland; has a layover, then is called for Keyser; is then called back to Cumberland; then perhaps a "turn" comes for Brunswick. Hence, a "home away from home." You may remember the old song which says "I'm the little red caboose behind the train." Red was the standard caboose color on the B&O but that eventually gave way to solid blue; Chessie System cabooses were blue and yellow.
For the most part freight trains are now protected by electronic "end-of-train" devices, and are usually called 'RED" for Rear End Device, or "FRED" for Flashing Rear End Device.
S - Dutch Burns
W -MMM -BRH
The B&O Roundhouse At Brunswick
The first B&O Roundhouse in Brunswick was built in June 1891, an ironclad framed, semicircular building of iron.
A brick 12-stall roundhouse was built in 1907, and an extension in 1916-17 added the second half of the semicircle.
In 1927, jets were built out from the second semicircle.
The "house," as some railroaders refer to the Roundhouse, contains 16 pits, with rails that enable engines to be worked on from underneath.
A few changes were made in the original construction. The metal doors pulled up by chains were replaced by wooden doors. There once were 19 pits; three were appropriated for offices and the "power house." Prior to this, the offices were outside in front of the roundhouse. The "power house" is no longer active.
Future engineers start their training as hostlers at the Roundhouse.
W -MMM
Every steam engine, immediately after each trip, would be inspected and readied for its next run. Bill Young spent 46 years and three months— from age 19— performing a part of this procedure. Dutch Burns was in this service 22 years.
After being detached from the train, the engine was driven to the inspection pit by the engineer. He immediately went into the nearby shanty and filled out a work report for any repairs he knew were necessary for the engine. Then the inspector examined the engine and made out a work report.
Next the hostler took the locomotive to the fire track and stopped over the ash pit, where the grate bars were opened and the fire was either cleaned or knocked out. To "clean" was to remove the clinkers; to knock the fire out meant to remove all the fire and the ashes and wash out the ash pan completely. This was done when internal work was ordered.
The engine was then taken under the coal chute (unless the tender needed to be worked on), and filled with coal. Then the hostler drove on to the sand house where the sand boxes on top of the engine were filled. If further work was indicated by the report, the engine would be taken into the Roundhouse. The boilermaker fixed the grates and pans, inspected the front end, blew out the flues if they were stopped up, and repaired leaks in the fire box. The shop men would tighten up or replace brass fittings or connections on the driving rods if there was too much lost motion, and do other repair work.
Fire was maintained in the engine unless internal work had been ordered, in which case, the corrections were made. After the repairs, then the light-off man would coal the firebox down, throw in a ball of burning waste, spray oil inside, and the fire was thus rebuilt in the engine. An engine watcher would take over as the steam was rebuilt and keep adding water until the steam was built up adequately. The engines were kept in the Roundhouse until called. After being called, the engines were put on the ready track, set up for a wait of from 30 minutes to six or eight hours before being taken out on the road again. Twenty to 30 engines were kept fired up all the time, some as long as eight hours before they went back out.
When steam engines reigned, there were 1500 to 1600 men working three shifts; they were boilermakers and helpers, machinists and helpers, laborers (firemen and oilers) to watch the engines, pipefitters and helpers, and carmen and helpers.
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) thirty-day inspection, or "boiler wash," as it was called, was a much more intensive search for possible flaws that develop in an engine after a month's use. This inspection covered everything in very fine detail. Wheels were tested for wear on the bearings.
Air hose and air brakes were tested. Plugs were removed from the engine and cleaned. Hand railings were tested. The interior of the boiler was washed during this visit to the shop. Safety appliances were inspected.
The locomotive would be in for four days to two weeks, depending on the severity of the train's damage. After the repair, one man who was in charge had to sign that every item was tended to. After this inspection, the engine went out for 30 more days, receiving, of course, after each run, the careful attention described in the foregoing. These inspections applied to both steam and diesel engines.
S - Bill Young - Dutch Burns
W- MMM
During the early 1920's local B&O engineers had "their own" locomotives. That is, they were assigned to one specific engine for the short runs between Frederick and Brunswick, Hagerstown and Brunswick, Strasburg and Brunswick, and other short runs that carried mail, baggage, and milk, as well as passengers on the system; most of these made two or more trips a day.
One particularly memorable engine was that assigned to "Punch" Shewbridge. As with others, it was decorated with brass trimmings (made in the local shops); each engineer tried to outdo the others. Some men even bought brass eagles to display.
"Punch" paid someone $1.00 a day to wipe off his engine and keep the brass and the boiler jacket shining. "The engines were beautiful,- recalls Dutch Burns. Some were so bright one could eat off them.
The company removed the brass, used some for bearings and sold the rest when it stopped the practice of assigning locomotives to a single engineer; this change came about when more engines were needed for the increased business that railroading enjoyed during the latter 1920's.
S - Dutch Burns W -MMM
Clarence Shewbridge, Eugene Harrison, a Mr. Mortimer, and Blair Harrington were some of the telegraphers who worked at WB Tower, which was south of the old YMCA and still stands. Their work was of special consequence. They threw the switches to redirect all trains entering and leaving Brunswick yard.
They separated the passenger from the freight trains by routing each to its proper track. They "threw" switches from the tower redirecting work trains, wreck trains, and protection engines coming into and departing the yard, and to make sure all trains were cleared for their run.
They "protected" the engines and the trains on the road. If an engine, for example, encountered problems at Gaithersburg, or Harper's Ferry, a message would be telegraphed to WB Tower in Brunswick to have a protective engine ready to replace the one in trouble. A protective engine was always kept ready at the shop in the "hallway" with a head of steam and ready for any emergency run. Passenger trains especially were "protected" in this manner at all times, since passengers and mail were hauled on the same train and both had priority over freight.
The "WB" stands for "West Brunswick." There was also an East Brunswick Tower but that has long passed from the scene.
S- Dutch Burns W - M M M
The Transfer Shed was a giant of a building contrasted with others in the yard. It was located in the east side of the yard beginning opposite City Park and the old football field. From here freight cars went either east or west.
There were five tracks on each side of the Transfer Shed, which was long enough to accommodate an estimated 40 cars on each track. A two-story office building formed the middle of the immense structure.
The box cars were always arranged so that workers could go through the doorways of as many cars as necessary to load the correct car. LCLs (less than carload lots) were moved to different cars according to their destination. The workers used two-wheel hand cars to move smaller loads, while a crane was available for heavier items.
S - Dutch Burns W-MMM
Sometimes cattle came to Brunswick and had no place to go! When there was no car designated yet for their destination, they had to lay over— just as railroad workers sometimes had to do.
The men would transfer the cattle to cattle "holding" pens along the canal, west of the eastbound hump, which was opposite New Addition. They would feed and water the stock until a train was made up that could include them, at which time they would be returned to cattle cars and sent on their way.
Prize bulls were given special treatment; each was given a car for himself alone and was carefully strapped in so he would not be hurt in anyway.
S - Dutch Burns W-MMM
A pattern has developed for the protection of railroad crossings. When a road was built over an existing track, the B&O would install a bell that would sound as a train approached to cross the road. This saved the expense of a watchman at the crossing, as the bell rang well before the train reached the crossing.
However, when the railroad crossed an existing road, the company assumed a greater responsibility and immediately put up a shanty with a stove to keep the watchman warm. The watchman would remain inside the shanty and wait for his signal, the ringing of a bell within the building; then he would step outside with a red stop sign with white letters to stop motor traffic at the crossing. At night he would go outside with a lantern to halt traffic.
Other crossing-protection systems included crossing gates which were first manually controlled and then later automated, as well as flasher lights tied into automatic track circuits. These are used where auto and truck traffic is heavy, such as in cities and where principal highways encounter grade crossings. The X-shaped "crossbuck" sign, probably the most familiar of all crossing devices, was used at rural and other lightly-used crossings.
S - Dutch Burns
W -MMM
-BRH
Shipping perishable cargoes placed a great responsibility on the carrier. Like the old home cooler, the railroad had to rely on ice for cooling meats, fruits, and vegetables before the days of the mechanical refrigerator car.
When the Potomac River was frozen, the B&O would cut ice from the river. An "ice plow" was pulled on top of the river to cut uniform blocks. These were brought in for storage at Number 6, which was in the lower (eastern) yard, where the yard office now stands. This unreliable source was given up years ago. Later the B&O had a contract with the Charles Town Ice Company to supply railroad needs.
The Fruit Growers Express Company played a role in Brunswick's ice supply as they were the contractor for providing perishable protective service in this area. That company, known familiarly as "Fruit Growers," was owned by the B&O and several other northeastern railroads. They restocked refrigerator cars with ice in Brunswick. There was an ice bunker at each end of the car into which ice was dropped through a top hatch to protect the perishable lading. The B&O kept one insulated car that held nothing but ice on the ready track to supply its own local needs: train crews and engine crews. Otherwise, FGE had the contract for refrigeration.
There was a complement of perhaps 20 men doing piecework in the Brunswick yards; they cleaned refrigerator cars ridding them of any debris or even usable wares that remained after a trip. The cars were actually brought empty from various places to Brunswick to be cleaned then returned to the west for new loads. They were made ready for re-icing and loading at any point needed. For example, some were sent to Winchester for shipment of apples.
The railroads could bring produce in five or six days from California to Baltimore or New York by way of Chicago. Bananas coming from Florida through the port of Baltimore would be loaded with these iced cars for distribution.
For storage, the B&O had an ice house between the two main lines, between Delaware and Dayton Avenues. There was an inclined conveyor platform with a level length at the top; this enabled men to shovel the ice over into the bunkers to replenish for preserving food that had not yet reached its destination.
The Fruit Growers Express, independent of the B&O, used a refrigerator car like the one just described. Their workers were not B&O employees, but FGE employees.
When a refrigerator car was emptied of its cargo of meat and/or vegetables, the cars were cleaned locally, then the ice was removed. A man got into the bunker with the ice. When he hand picked the ice to a suitable size, a second man, above, used tongs with a rope on it to remove the ice.
If the car were not cleaned ready to return to the point of origin within a certain time limit, a fine would be imposed by the railroad company. If all the food were not removed, there was a problem: pay the fine or dispose of the food. Many a FGE worker went home with a couple hams, bushel of potatoes, or crate of grapes, if the value of the food was less than the amount of the fine.
Some of the cleaners had almost a second career of selling what they could; the company just wanted the cars clean and ready to pick up and deliver the next load.
In addition, these men were responsible for icing cars in transit. To prevent spoilage, they secured ice from the B&O icehouse.
"Lots of trellises in Brunswick were made from wooden laths taken from Fruit Grower cars," says one railroad employee.
Fruit Growers and its ice house were important parts of the railroad system in Brunswick until about the end of World War II when mechanically refrigerated cars began making an appearance, and the need for icing facilities disappeared.
S - Dutch Burns W-MMM
A picture in our files was immediately recognized by Wendell Stewart as the "Bunkhouse on the Tow Path."
A group of men who had to have a place to live in Brunswick while working on the railroad found it economical to unite their resources in order to provide a home. Six to ten men would build a house, make payments, and eventually own it. Once moved in, they paid someone to keep it clean and to cook for them.
Two bunkhouses were humorously known as the "Italian Hotel" and the "Irish Hotel." They were located on a county road east of Tenth Avenue. That road followed the present westbound main track where it paralleled East Potomac Street at Ten Row, curved north well beyond the great curve of East Potomac Street, continued toward the present radio station, and eventually took a course on what is now Route 464. Somewhere out there, well east of Tenth Avenue, these bunkhouses were located.
A covered passageway between the YMCA and the second floor of the Emergency Room led to "Y" bedrooms. This was also called a "bunkhouse." The last bunkhouse was the apartment over the Laundromat at Second Avenue and East Potomac Street.
Just as men from miles away came to Brunswick for work, some local men had to take turns that kept them in distant cities for varying periods. Contributors to this book say the bunkhouse that the Brunswick men used in Philadelphia was playfully called "Murphy's Flophouse."
S - H. Austin Cooper
W-MMM
The railroad ran "by the clock." As in most businesses, just about everyone on the railroad was governed by the limitations of time. Engineers and conductors compared watches at the start of a run just like military men would synchronize theirs before a mission. Yardmasters gauged their work and track men had to be keenly aware of the clock so as to accomplish their tasks between passing trains. Some wag once remarked "You can always tell a railroad man— Gold watch chain, dirty overalls, and no money." Although that is somewhat facetious, time was so important to the railroad that employees had to have their timepieces checked regularly by authorized watch inspectors. While the pocket watch, carried by so many workers, was the most obvious means of telling time in Brunswick, there were others.
A stationary steam whistle was located near the roundhouse and shops
and it blew throughout the day, imparting various signals to the workers
and the community. Powered by the boiler room, the whistle had been crafted
by Howard Cooper, a local B&O machinist. The usual schedule was as
follows:
| 7:00 AM | 1 Short | End 3rd trick, start 1st trick. |
| 11:00 AM | 1 Long | Wildcat whistle (siren effect); lunch time. |
| 11:20 AM | 1 Short | lunch over |
| 12 Noon | 1 Short | |
| 3:00 PM | 1 Short | End 1st trick; start 2nd. |
| 7:00 PM | 1 Short | lunch time, 2nd trick. |
| 7:20 PM | 1 Short | lunch over |
| 11:00 PM | 1 Short | End 2nd trick; start 3rd |
While the shop whistle was always a good means for employees and residents alike to keep track of time, there was also another type of whistle offering that information— the locomotive whistle. After living with all these whistles for years, many people could tell time by the comings and goings of passenger trains. Yard engines had their own sounds and freight trains always stopped in Brunswick, so there was no confusing them with an express passenger train which would roar through town with its whistle screaming, or a through passenger train which made a station stop here. If you were working in the garden or fishing on the river in the afternoon and heard a westbound train come to a stop, blow in his flag, and start up, you would know that No. 9 had just left for Chicago and could figure it was just a few minutes after 2:00 PM. Or, a little later, if you heard a speeding eastbound limited whistling for the Brunswick crossings, you could be pretty sure it was around 3:30 PM as No. 8 headed to Washington. This same procedure could be followed throughout the 24 hours of the day. Those familiar with the train schedules, and that was just about everyone in town, could tell time fairly accurately by the passenger trains. People in Brunswick always knew "what time it was."
W-BRH
When gasoline was thirteen cents a gallon but most families did not own a car, the major employer of Brunswick's men provided railroad transportation to places most of today's Brunswickians wouldn't suspect.
Mothers returning from Frederick or Hagerstown were greeted with "Where are the fig newtons?" (or other special treats from the endless choices in the " big" city stores). Better still, "What
a beautiful gown!" for a young lady's junior prom. (Mother had just returned from a train trip to Frederick or Hagerstown or Baltimore or Washington.)
Sixty years later, a sister recalls her anxiety when her inquisitive brother became caught with his neck between the iron railing and the stone station at Hagerstown. The B&O crews and other workers were always helpful in emergencies because they were innately good and because they knew these travelers as families of their co-workers. In this case, the boy was extricated by being walked several feet away from where he was imprisoned; the round iron rail at this point was a bit farther away from the wall, so his head slipped below the pipe and he was freed!
Such "loyal" customers traveled with free annual railroad passes, if they were wives of railroad men. Trip passes were granted by request for minor children.
Housewives, teachers and students made ample use of the trains from Brunswick to Frederick and Hagerstown. Before the public high school system was firmly entrenched, students went to the town of their choice for high schooling. Later schedules sometimes worked out for college students. Enroute to Frederick, shoppers and teenagers boarded and disembarked at Brunswick, Point of Rocks, Doubs, Adamstown, Buckeystown, Lime Kiln, Frederick Junction and Frederick. In the other direction, passengers would be accommodated at Knoxville, Weverton, Gapland, Trego, Rohrersville, Keedysville, Security Junction and Hagerstown.
Before automobile mania, teachers commuted to work at many of the one-room schools throughout the area. Rose Copeland Barton traveled to Lime Kiln at one time, for example, and Catherine Reed taught at Point of Rocks. She met her future husband, Eugene Bowers, Sr., through her commute. He was ticket agent at the Brunswick station.
The steam locomotives used to deliver Brunswick young people— free of charge, and on special trains to various events.
Many people remember participating during the 1920's in Apple Blossom Parades in Winchester, Va., the first week-end in May. The train was always full. Mothers would spend weeks in advance at the elementary school making costumes for the children. Brunswick always won top prizes, thanks to the originality and creativity of the teachers and mothers.
A four or five-car train carried several hundred passengers to a baseball game in Washington in 1927 - all for free!
Before buses brought students from Washington County to our schools, many came by train from Sandy Hook, Weverton, and Knoxville: Charlie Shewbridge, Carroll Powers, and Ray Reynolds, to name a few recalled by T. Yale Robertson. He explained that five or six trains a day went to Strasburg Junction, Virginia, on a schedule compatible with the school hours.
More recently, the Santa Claus Train, although not a steam engine, has brought much enjoyment on a Saturday before Christmas. The local fire truck brings Santa to the station, where two or three Budd cars are waiting for him and his friends. Santa distributes free fruit and candy to the children, as well as coffee, donuts and hot cocoa to visitors from all around. The train runs from Brunswick to Harper's Ferry and back five or six times that day. The crewmen donate their time for this merry occasion.
The people who lived through this era deride bumper to bumper traffic on interstate highways in a crowded bus. It is no comparison to the romance of the rails experienced by kids who were lucky enough to grow up in Brunswick the first half of the twentieth century.
S - Dutch Burns
- T. Yale Robertson
W - M M M
The nuts and bolts of railroading keep products moving, but are not always referred to in recounting the history of the B&O Railroad. For example, the improvement in coupling procedures has resulted in fewer accidental injuries and deaths, according to James Francis McMurry, who retired as a conductor in 1977 after 30 years of service.
In the early part of the 1900's, with the old link and pin procedure, the trainman had to get in between the cars to join them, and there was nothing to keep the cars from running flush against each other, killing the worker. He had the link and pin on one car and had to hold it and slide it into a little slot on the other car. If the connection was not made, the worker could lose a limb or even his life, it was that dangerous. There was a time when two or three times a day they were hauling somebody "up the hill" on an engine; the injured would come out minus a leg or an arm.
The railroad unions, among them the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and the Order of Railway Conductors (predecessors of the United Transportation Union), militated against such dangers. Consequently, the automatic knuckle coupler involves a lever behind and clear of the car. The brakeman stands on that, releasing the knuckle. This makes a cut (uncoupling). When the engine pulls away, the cars part. If one wants to couple two cars he has the knuckles open, waits for the engine to push the cars together, the lever falls by gravity and the coupler holds. This came about early in the twentieth century. "Seniority" was and is an interesting idea stringently adhered to by the railroad system. It was measured from when an employee was hired. A person who hired on or took his first turn just one hour ahead of another had seniority, therefore a job ahead of the other person. When the company was furloughing or laying off workers in a dull season, this too was done by seniority.
Railroad work was not seasonal, but pulsated with the well-being and setbacks of the country's general economy. After working regularly for six months or so, an employee could be laid off in the direct order of his hiring— or seniority. His choices were to find another job or be jobless and without income until called back to the railroad.
His chances of finding a good replacement job were slim. The prospective interim employer knew that by the time he "broke in" a former railroad worker, that employee would be recalled to the railroad and choose to return. This system made for a lot of uncertainty for all involved— except the railroads.
Still, considering the advantages of the railroad job, many would sweat out the furlough with little or no income and rejoice when called back to work.
John Anderson had worked for 12 years with the B&O as a machinist when he was furloughed. Being a good manager, he lived well enough in his apartment on his railroad unemployment pay. But he was furloughed every year— about a month before Christmas, sometimes twice a year. He decided to change employment. He worked with Allied Science in experimental work in biological warfare for 17 years until that type of experimentation was terminated nationwide. Fortunately, he was able to transfer to a position as stationery engineer, which he held another 13 years. After 30 years, he retired from Detrick, and although he enjoyed the railroad job, he preferred the steady employment at Detrick to the stop-and-go kind with the railroad.
Regardless of which "service" one was in, "engine service" or "train service," if the railroader was top man, he had no worries. For example, the engineer and fireman were in "engine service," and the engineer had a leg up regarding furloughs.
This writer's father was a engineer; when he was cut back, he took over a fireman's job, having his choice of jobs.
A younger worker would lose out when the engineer "bumped" him. When the engineer's job reopened, he reclaimed his job, and the fireman reclaimed his position in seniority. If the engineer did not return to his last position, the fireman lost seniority. The conductors, brakemen, and flagmen were in "train service," and they were all "trainmen." A furloughed conductor could take a job as brakeman, but couldn't cross over to being a fire-man, which was a different service— a separate entity. Of course, one had to qualify for advancement. A brakeman had to pass a written examination to become a conductor, then take an oral examination on the physical characteristics of the railroad for the division he would be covering, usually a 100-mile limit. Next, he would have to pass a further examination to become a passenger conductor and qualify for an additional division. Only then was he allowed to be in charge of a train on the B&O Railroad. He had to qualify for his entire seniority district. (The government's Dictionary of Occupational Titles classified— and rightly so— a railroad conductor as managerial, even though he was unionized.) To show the meaning of a seniority district, let's follow a train. It came into Brunswick from the west on the main track. A fresh crew was there to relieve the incoming crew, got on, and took it to Philadelphia. The Brunswick crew got off in Philadelphia and a Reading Company crew took it from Philadelphia to New York— or wherever. The crews did not live at both ends of their district, so there was a bunkhouse at the end. A crew could be gone from home 24 hours or more. After working a trip, they could have a long layover at home before working another trip. As an illustration of seniority, Jim McMurry's brother-in-law was about ten years younger than Jim, but was three or four "times" (or steps) older than he— on the railroad. They went to apply for work together: Jim was sent to Washington and his brother-in-law, to Baltimore. Osborne was called a day ahead of Jim. Since seniority started on your first time card, therefore, Osborne was "older" than Jim. Jim later took his promotion to conductor; W - M M M Osborne did not. So Jim never had to go back to braking to get his turn back. The yardmaster would have a crew move cars destined for the same classification (direction) placed on one track, another destination together on another track. The yardmaster would give information needed to classify the cars to the "hump master" or "yardmaster," who in turn would call out the information needed to the working crew.
Freight cars in the car yard opposite New Addition, at the west end of Brunswick, made up all the trains working east; this was called the "Eastbound Hump."
This was a busy place, because freight destined for all of the Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and in-between stations came into Eastbound Hump and was reclassified and made into other trains, then dispatched to proper destinations.
The Westbound Hump was closed during the Depression. About 1941, the railroad reopened the Westbound Hump, located in the east end of the yards. During World War II, business got brisk, so the B&O reopened it, but once again it was closed. All of the reclassification work previously performed at Brunswick is now done at Cumberland.
Brunswick was an ideal location for steam engine transportation because locomotives could travel only from Washington to Brunswick before needing inspection and repair, along with water and coal. The diesel, however, is able to make the 150-mile run from Washington to Cumberland without requiring inspection. This resulted in an immense savings for the railroad company, but was the death knell for railroad activity in Brunswick. Diesel engines came in gradually. The first road diesels on the B&O were used in passenger service on the "Capitol Limited" around 1937. Freight units began appearing in 1939 and were first used on the preference trains to New York and other long runs. Diesels did not have to stop to replenish water and coal supplies before completing a run, as did the steam engine. "There was something about the old steam engine that was appealing— that was lovable, let's say that," said Jim McMurry. Why are railroads superior to trucks? Jim answered that question with a twinkle in his eyes: "You can't haul a railroad train on a truck, but you can haul a truck on the railroad! And they can make a snowplow out of the railroad engine and open up the railway, whereas there are too many highways and too few snow plows."
S - Jim McMurry— taped interview
Thomas Marcum
John Anderson
Occasionally, freight cars were wrecked at the hump. One time it was a cattle car that wrecked. To make up a freight train— or reclassify the cars according to their destination, a brakeman would ride one or several cars at a time down the hump. These cars would hit standing cars and couple up with them. The car that was to be joined to had a light hanging on it to help the brakeman judge his distance as he approached, so he could adjust his speed. This light was called a "bug."
Once the new set of cars joined those standing, the brakeman would remove the lantern and place it on the end of the cars just added; this indicated to the next brakeman when to slow down and hook up. One night while making up a cattle train, a brakeman did not retrieve the lantern and put it on the back of the NEW last car.
Two men were riding the next batch of six or eight cars, and were really rolling downhill, having been misled by the absence of the "bug" on the car ahead! They assumed that the train was quite a distance away. It wasn't, and the moving cars crashed into the standing cattle car, and both were broken up.
Hogs, cattle, and sheep were running around town. Some had boards run through them and nails driven into them. One pig was recovered on C Street, Wenners Hill. The railroad called the abattoir in Frederick, whose representatives shot the wounded animals, then took them to Frederick to dress them.
The railroad called all the men they could find to round up the surviving animals and entice them to the cattle pens. Next day, those were on their way.
One brakeman was moved to the hospital in Frederick and the other was treated locally at the B&O Emergency Hospital, being not too seriously injured.
This was all caused because someone didn't bring the "bug" back.
S - Dutch Burns
W-MMM
Brunswick has appropriately been called a "company town". In cases such as ours where a single employer provides the economic base to the community, the influences of that employer are pervasive. Aside from the obvious role of providing jobs, there is an intricate interweaving of the policies and actions of the "company" with every facet of the inhabitant's daily lives. Here are three diverse instances of the interaction with the B&O RR on some unrelated and obscure subjects.
Shovels
B&O used a lot of shovels; locomotive firemen stoked their fires with them, track gangs used them daily, as did those at the roundhouse, ash pits, car yard, and many others. Brunswick people also used shovels to put coal into home furnaces through the 1940's until oil heat became more prevalent. In the basements of the majority of local homes one could find a very sturdy scoop shovel which somehow found its way there and bore the branded imprint "B&O RR."
Sinkers
When a train made an unscheduled stop along the railroad, the flagmen would go back a way to stop any following train. Before returning to the train, he would place two torpedoes on the track to alert the next train that one ahead had stopped and to look out for movement on the same track. Torpedoes sounded like a cannon shot and were loud enough for an engineer to hear them over the noise of his locomotive. They were a small explosive charge wrapped in heavy waxed brown paper measuring about two inches square, and were held to the track by lead ribbons about four inches long and 3/8 of an inch wide. Upon detonation, all of the torpedo, except the lead, would disintegrate. Brunswick fishermen would walk along the track to retrieve the lead pieces and use them as fishing-line sinkers when trying their luck in the Potomac. Brake shoes from the B&O also made excellent boat anchors.
Sandlot Baseball
Brunswick never had a "sandlot" as such, but baseball was played by its youngsters at just about every place imaginable. Any vacant lot or field school playground, or even a city street, was the scene of scrub games in all the neighborhoods. During the lean times, when money for such nonessentials as baseball bats was tough to come by, a railroad brake club made an excellent substitute. Widely used by brakemen on the local humps and out on the road, this wooden club found much favor among Brunswick boys for their ball games. Not exactly circular like a store-bought bat, but slightly oval, it was just about the same weight and length as a regular bat. It did the job very well, as many can attest. Besides, there was a good supply, and the price was right. The common denominator in the
source of the shovels, the torpedo lead, and the brake clubs, was the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. They didn't care about the lead from the torpedoes, other than it was risky walking along the tracks to get it. And they probably knew, but turned their head, about the shovels and brake clubs; after all, these things broke or wore out and needed replacement now and then. These are but a few of the seemingly insignificant connections between the B&O and Brunswick's people which made up the more complex relationship between the "Company" and its "Town."
W-BRH
5/21/07