The P&WV Hi-Line

[PWVJer]

Three (3) new original accident/derailment reports have been posted
in our documents (PDF Files) page. Several more have been pulled and to be posted in the near future.
These are NKP/P&WV Pittsburgh Div. incidents, 1961-1963 dates.

Also posted, the
interesting Acme Wash/Cleaning-Plant color promo poster from 1942.
Have you spotted the "V" for Victory?

Enjoy.
JR/JZ.

[Rich_S]

[PWVJer]

Pic Link:
http://www.thepwvhiline.com/TheDaleElderCollection/Mine_With_PWV_Cars_2_Web.html

...most green coal came from the Eastern Ohio fields.
Avella area mines were almost all played out by
1940.

Interesting , a lot of coal shipments moved both
ways @ Hopedale Transfer. Lots of NYC inter-change.
Both P&WV & NKP worked loads & empties mine runs at this location.

We have a bunch of complete derailment reports @ this interchange switch/turn-outs, car failures,
and the scales.

[jayrod]

I wouldn't doubt there'd be a lot a accident reports. Lots of deferred maintenance on that stretch of NYC. There's no NYC track south of the Hopedale interchange and the switch has been taken out by the Wheeling. The track and the wye are still there, all but abandoned, north the the new CUOH interchange. May still be owned Ohi-Rail/state - shows on their map - but the portion from CUOH to Apex mine was rebuilt and operated by CUOH. Unlikely the interchange to the Wheeling will ever open again.
_________________
Eric Schlentner
Aka, jayrod

[PWVJer]

....Jayrod your right.
So far I have looked over in some detail about 200 or so,
accident/derailment reports (1959-1964. Very, very few,
were cause(s)-related under direct P&WV-ROW Control.

A bunch of reports dealing with mishaps(mostly minor in nature)
at both Hopedale Transfer & the Betsy Mine @ Smithfied Ohio.
About a dozen or so incidents at these two locations. Almost
all, track-rail-tie & switch failures due in great part to poor MOW.
In fairness, during this period(59'-63') there seems to have been a
spike in coal shipments & hopper traffic.

ROW Maintained by busy private concerns, The Mining Company's, Vancoram Plant,
Rohobeth's Fox Grocery, and of course Wheeling-Pitt works at Mingo Jct.
seems these folks did only the minimum(if any) ROW care as well.

Interesting thing, none, not one, derailment/incident report was found
at the ACME Cleaning & Prep-Plant @ Avella. Hmmmm????.
In general, biggest derailment/mishap issues on the P&WV were Earth & Rock slides
on both the C'vlle & Pgh. divisions.
...and still continue today.

[Rich_S]

PWVJer,
I finally had a chance to read through the Sygan bridge derailment report. Thank you for posting that report. Very interesting that the derailment actually started at the east gladden passing siding switch. Did they move that switch after that derailment? I seem to remember someone telling me that switch was moved increasing the length of the Gladden siding. Was that before or after the derailment?

I also though it was a very nice gesture of the railroad to send the South Fayette Fire Department a check for their services during the derailment cleanup.
_________________
Regards,
Rich S.

[PWVJer]

.... some time after the 61'derailment? Maybe GPS has more info., some
siding changes/work were made. We still have a pile of AFE/AFR's
from 1945' , 46', 47' 48' , and a bunch from 1961-1964 to
look-thru. Might include report(s) for Gladden ?

[PWVJer]

Coal Age Report February 14, 1934.
__________________________________

"Last year witnessed a pronounced
revival of interest in the central-cleaning
-plant idea, with three installations
of that type.

The Acme Coal Cleaning­
Co. erected such a plant at Avella,
Pa., equipped to receive either slack or
mine-run in railroad cars and to ship
six primary sizes.
Over-all capacity of
this plant is 550 to 600 tons per hour.

Recent practice in the use of vibrating
screens equipped with wedge-wire slieves
for drying washed fine coal is illustrated
in the Acme plant, where mixing pea-size
from the de-sanding and sizing shakers
is passed over a “Gyrex” vibrator
equipped with wedge-wire slieves with
1-mm. opening.

The Acme installation
parallels facilities installed at the Ohio
plant of the Powhatan Mining Co.,
where size of coal de-watered and
screening facilities are similar."
____________________________________

... a very modern plant for it's day!

[tomw]

A good friend of mine is modeling the NYC branch and interchange at Hopedale Transfer. Does anyone know how the coal traffic was handled. Was the "green coal dumped and the empty hopper used to transport the coal back out to the NYC? Any information on the interchange would be helpful. Here is a link to Seth Gardner article on the Branch. Some prototype pictures of the mines are in the article. The article is the Piney Fork Branch by Seth Gardner. I am know going to put in a interchange with the NYC on my railroad at Hopedale Transfer.
Thanks in advance.
Tom Wilson


http://nycshs.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/nycentralmodelerfinal1st142.pdf

[PWVJer]

The Archives Collection includes a fair amount of materials/info
on the Hopedale operations. A large (32" X 60") detailed
Engineering Diagram/Drawing of this Harris County( Green Township Ohio)
operations. Including the complete Blue-Print Diagram Nov.20, 1943 of the 50,000 gal.
water tank, the new pumping/treatment station.

Includes track layout for the
P&WV/NKP, NYC/L.E.A.&.W ca. 1944, in general this gives a good overview of the entire
Hopedale Situation Plan.

It appears that coal loads moved mostly out @ Hopedale.
We have a few operation reports 1960'-63' dates for both NKP - P&WV
power in two and three unit sets working the transfer. Long blocks of both MTY's/Loads,
PWV/NKP/PRR and of course NYC hoppers.
Looks like a lot of traffic going west (Mingo Jct. and Brewster.)
A few going east(Rook) and a much lessor degree the ACME Prep Plant.

It's a big task to gather up these materials. Then over to JR's to set-up the very large flat-bed scanner.

[Rich_S]