Railroaders' Nostalgia > My Dumb Luck: the AFT years 39

39 Baltimore, MD Sept. 17-20/ Hagerstown, MD Sept. 21-23

We arrived in Baltimore in a truly drenching rain! The whole site was awash under an inch or two of water (this was not an entirely bad thing for those with imagination, as we shall see). We sloshed into action unloading the flats and building the entrance/exit ramps. It was crazy! Somehow the electricians managed to drag their cable without lighting themselves Sun. I'm not kidding, it was bad. I'll bet they woke up screaming for weeks! By dusk we had everything pretty much squared away.

Photo 1. Notice the cable tied off on the end of the 201 Car (with a bucket over the connector). Eventually that will have to be plugged into the Bunk/Generator car from where I shot this. The electricians are off somewhere drawing straws or calling their next of kin ...

The site was the old Martin Plant in Middle River, north of Baltimore. Fun Fact: Part of this plant was built with French money in the early part of WWII – the French wanted Martin Maryland bombers ASAP! (Talk about too little too late. Sigh.) Anyway, there were acres of pavement, now somewhat underwater, and those with vision came up with a new version of late night golf cart entertainment: Golf Cart Boat Racing! If I recall, this pavement actually rolled all the way into the Chesapeake Bay. (Martin built Mariner & Mars flying boats here too) It's a small wonder we didn't have a repeat of the St Louis misadventure!

I visited the B&O RR Museum while we were there. A few Faves:

Photo 2. C&O 614. Why 611 in my photo? Towards the end of steam, C&O leased some RF&P locomotives, including RF&P #614. To avoid a numbering conflict, C&O renumbered its own 614 to 611. And it still carried that number when it eventually came to the B&O Museum. In four years Ross would have her up and running, but of course no one knew this in 1976 – not even Ross. One can imagine the confusion today had Ross not restored her original number!
Photo 3. Another locomotive with another life to live: WM's “Big 6” shay. Cass would make her whole again in four years.   Again – who knew!
Photo 4. Still another! C&O 2-6-6-2 1309 will wait 38 years, but as I am writing this, she is in Cumberland, MD, undergoing the full treatment and will also live again.  In 1976 I'd have never guessed these three were only waiting!
Photo 5. C&O Hudson 490. Maybe beauty really is only skin deep:
Photo 6. (Oh dear..)

We left Baltimore at the usual 2 a.m., dawn came at about Gettysburg, and we were in Hagerstown spotting the train by mid-morning.  Chessie had added helpers twice during the night: A short pull to get us out of the Fulton Junction yard, and again from Camp to Highfield (a little over 35 miles). There was talk of Conrail using a helper through the tunnel under Baltimore, but I don't know if this happened or not.
Hagerstown was another idyllic setting. We were in the center of town in a park beside a tree-lined lake full of ducks, geese,and swans. Yeah, I could live here! It was a “Honey, be a dear and peel me another grape” kinda place. I liked it.

Photo 7. The display cars reflecting in the swan lake. Pretty nice place, Hagerstown!
Photo 8. The swans were actually a little bit scary – I think they'd just as soon bite you as look at you.

An amusing attraction in Hagerstown was their choice of local yard power, a pair of BL-2's. I'd seen one when we passed through back in July, and now had a chance for a better look. What odd beasts! The crews were friendly and I was invited aboard while they knocked cars around. The cab inside was every bit as odd as the carbody outside! It's hard to explain, but the rear facing windows are actually up over a stairwell that steps down into the engine room.  The same locomotive I rode that day (WM 81) is now in the B&O Museum, so you can check it out for yourself.

Photo 9. Western Maryland BL-2 #81. (The Chessie had renumbered it since the photo I'd taken 3 months before)

Definitely Different.
 
SR Bush
Dutch Flat



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/14 13:52 by BoilingMan.

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I think maybe you were mistaken in your comment, "The site was the old Martin Plant in Middle River..." Didn't you mean "Middle of the River?"
That's what it looks like. Thanks for sharing your stories.

John

No, we were in Middle River, MD. It's a place, not a description.
Funny you should mention this. When I wrote the 1st draft of this one, I called it Middle Harbor. Luckily I caught it when I fact-checked myself- Middle Harbor is the yard in Oakland CA where the WP launched the CZ every morning back in the day.
SR

Really enjoying your series, SR--especially the spirit of the AFT crew and how you worked hard to set up in flooded B'more, and then played hard, too--golf cart motorboat racing, anyone?!?
Then, there's your serendipitous adventures like being invited to ride along w/ a switching crew on a BL-2, no less. As always, looking forward to your next installment.
And... let's all head for Cumberland when 1309 steams again, too!