The P&WV Hi-Line

[PWVJer]

Well, another Historical update is complete. This is one that we really enjoyed working on. Tim's way of telling stories are just great.

I was 10 or 11 yrs. of age before I knew "McCready" was a last name. The ole' Man would always say... " McCready, that son-of -a- bitch". He(Tim) referred to the ole' man as "Cold-Deck" and me as little "Cold Deck". I thought for a long time that they did not like each other very much.
Later as I grew older, it became clear they were really good friends, card-playing and sometimes drinking buddies. When Tim left the N&W in 65', he wanted my Dad to go with him as head yardmaster on the Monessen Southwestern Railway. We would have had to move near the Mon-Valley or he would have an 1Hr. drive each way to work(we lived in Scott Twp.).

Dad stayed with the N&W , working 2nd. and 3rd. trick yardmaster untill he retired in 73'
Hope you enjoy the stories & Pics
JZ.

[Longview Station]

Tim McCready...
A fine tribute about a fine gentleman.
I first met "Tim" in the mid 1980's shortly after he retired from Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel.
Tim was living in Steubenville, Ohio in a home once owned by a former President of the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway.
Tim had contacted me at home and was in the process of selling his Braybarton Circle residence and moving to New England where he would live with his daughter, Timi.
Tim learned of me through his brother C.A. McCready.
I had known C. A (Red) McCready since the early 1970's when he was on the Belt Local out of Rook.
In the early 1970's, the Belt Local went to work at Rook in the late afternoon.
The Local would stop at Salida on the Mifflin Branch and set off "Mifflin" cars, then go work Bruceton and Clairton before going into Mifflin Junction.
Often "C.A. McCready" would drop off the locomotives as they pulled up the Mifflin Branch, hand me his switch keys and switch list.
I would then swing down on the head end, make a cut behind the Mifflins, set the Mifflins in Salida storage, then put the engines back on the train, and return the keys and switch list to a supervising C.A. McCready.
I was perhaps 14 or 15 years of age then.
When Tim McCready retired, he was looking for a home for his accumulated Pittsburgh & West Virginia memorbalia...
So through his brothers reccomendation, Tim passed down his P&WV, Western Maryland and NKP switch keys.
Tim also presented this historian with the excellent black & white photographs of the Black Rock Cut wreck that were used in the P&WV book.
Tim also presented this historian with 8x10 black & white portraits of himself standing in the cab of a Fairbanks Morse Diesel shortly after "Alertors" were installed in the locomotives.
Tim also handed down his remaining "Official" Pittsburgh & West Virginia business cards, some carrying the "Symbol of Service" and "The Alphabet Route" slogans. I found business cards from his ICC days along with his Western Maryland, NKP and Pittsburgh & West Virginia passes...all carrying his name. I had his business cards and passes mounted inside one dedicated picture frame.
Tim also handed down to me his employment resume and letter of resignation to Dunlap.
Unfortunately, the N&W lost a dedicated operating man.
I believe this tribute from Bill's collection was made possible by myself asking Tim if Bill and I could visit with him before he moved from Ohio.
Bill and I spent a wonderful evening with Tim as we heard tales about the days on the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway.
Bill recorded this event on cassette tape.
In the early 1990's, Tim and his wife came back to Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Transportation Museum sponsered some excursions on the W&LE from Rook to Connellsville...then Rook to Brewster.
Tim and his wife rode both...First Class...
I again visited with Tim about 1994-1995 when C.A. McCready had a family gathering at his home in Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania.
During that visit, I again interviewed Tim...one on one this time using a video camera...
What wonderful stories about the Pittsburgh & West Virginia...
In the years following the Sandy Lake gathering, former Rook Train Dispatcher Eddie Sturgess had yearly summer get togethers at his Swallow Hill Drive residence.
Both McCreadys were present...
I was present...
Train Dispatcher Paul Robinson...
Former Superintendent Ralph Beltz...
Engineer Charley Dempster...
Bill Poellot...
Howard Worley...
Group photos were often recorded of these events.
Today as in years past, Tim may live hundreds of miles from his dearly loved Pittsburgh & West Viginia...but there is one historian of the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway that corresponds weekly and monthly with Tim, keeping him updated on current events along the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway...
Tim is a living encyclopedia of Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway information.
And it has been my pleasure in having the opportunity to know him.
I'll see if I can find the photos of his walking cane...
Neatly carved into the handle is "P&WV"...

Tim McCready...your a Legend.
Thank You for sharing your legacy with me...

Gene P. Schaeffer
Pittsburgh
"Longview Station"...

[PWV101]

Gene,
Thanks for your post and great story about Tim. I am sure everyone agrees with you. He is a fine gentleman.

JR/JZ

[BillK]

Great Story, thanks for posting.

BillK