| Railroad Name: | Wilmington and Western Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||
| Logo Filename: | WW Logo rollover.png | ||||||||||||||||||
| Marks: | WWRC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Locale: | New Castle County, Delaware, USA | ||||||||||||||||||
| Start Year: | 1872–1877 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||
| End Year: | present | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 10.2miles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hq City: | Marshallton, Delaware
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Website: | wwrr.com | ||||||||||||||||||
The Wilmington and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad in northern Delaware, operating over a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) branch line between Wilmington and Hockessin. The 10.2miles railroad operates both steam and diesel locomotives. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a national historic district in 1980. Wilmington & Western serves one customer for revenue service, and interchanges with CSX Transportation at Landenberg Junction, Delaware
Wilmington & Western's General Motors Diesel-Electric SW1 locomotive no. 114 is the oldest diesel locomotive in routine scheduled service, having been built in February 1940.[1]
The Delaware and Chester County Railroad was incorporated in February 1867 to build from Wilmington in the direction of Parkesburg or Atglen, Pennsylvania,[2] and was renamed the Wilmington and Western Railroad in March 1869,[3] opening the line to Landenberg on October 19, 1872.[4] A foreclosure sale in April 1877 produced the Delaware Western Railroad, which was incorporated in June 1877 and merged into the Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad, a B&O subsidiary, in February 1883.[3]
The B&O cut back the line to Southwood in the early 1940s and to Hockessin in the late 1950s. Historic Red Clay Valley, Inc. began operating steam tourist trains on weekends in 1966,[5] reusing the old W&W name, and in August 1982 the W&W bought the branch from the Chessie System for $25,000, which included Ex-B&O SW1 #8408 as a part of the purchase.[4] [6] Under the Historic Red Clay Valley Inc. the operations are managed by a Board of Directors, paid staff and a large number of volunteers.[7]
In 1999, the rains of Hurricane Floyd caused considerable damage to the railroad. Two trestles were entirely destroyed by the flooding of Red Clay Creek, which also caused track washouts and damaged several other trestles. The two destroyed bridges were replaced by steel trestles, but the other timber trestles were simply repaired.
In 2003, Tropical Storm Henri struck the valley and produced an even more catastrophic flood. While the two steel bridges (and an iron trestle at Ashland) survived the flood, the remaining bridges were swept away or irreparably damaged. Despite the damage caused by these storms, the Wilmington and Western continued to operate on the remaining track, and replaced all of the destroyed bridges with steel trestles. The line officially reopened into Hockessin on June 30, 2007.
The railroad celebrated its 50th anniversary operating as a tourist railroad in 2016.[8]
Several different excursions are offered by the Wilmington and Western Railroad, running through the Red Clay Creek valley. Trains operate out of the Greenbank station near the southern end of the railroad. The railroad offers two regular excursions which run on weekends during the operating season. The Hockessin Flyer runs round-trip from Greenbank to the northern end of the line in Hockessin for a 2.5-hour trip with a 30-minute layover in Hockessin. The Mt. Cuba Meteor runs round-trip from Greenbank to the Mount Cuba Picnic Grove for a 1.5-hour trip with a 30-minute layover for a picnic at the Mount Cuba Picnic Grove.
The Wilmington and Western Railroad also offers several special themed excursions. Some of the themed excursions include the Easter Bunny Express, the Fireworks Express on Independence Day, a dinner train called the Royal Blue Dinner Train, the Brews on Board train serving craft brews, the Civil War Skirmish Weekend, the Princess Express, the Superhero Express, the Autumn Leaf Special offering views of fall foliage, the Halloween Express, the Holiday Lights Express offering views of Christmas lights, and the Santa Claus Express around Christmas.[9] Groups may also charter a caboose, car, or entire train for an event.[10] A caboose attached to the end of a regularly scheduled train may be rented for birthday parties.[11]
| Number | Image | Wheel arrangement | Builder | Type | Build date | Serial Number | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | 0-6-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | Steam | 1907 | 31899 | Operational | ||
| 92 | 2-6-0 | Canadian Locomotive Company | Steam | 1910 | 930 | Stored, awaiting restoration | ||
| 98 | 4-4-0 | American Locomotive Company | Steam | 1909 | 45921 | Undergoing FRA inspection and overhaul | ||
| 114 | SW-1 (B-B) | Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) of General Motors | Diesel | 1940 | 1021 | Operational | ||
| 4662 | Doodlebug (B-B) | Pullman Standard | Railcar | 1929 | 6202-22697 | Operational | ||
| 8408 | SW-1 (B-B) | EMC | Diesel | 1940 | 1106 | Operational |
No. 58 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia in October 1907 (construction #31899) for the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway, soon to become the Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad. The engine was originally numbered as No. 58, but was renumbered to No. 27 before being pressed into service. The engine would find multiple owners over the years, including the United States Army, Virginia Blue Ridge Railway, and the Mead Company where it was renumbered to No. 300. The engine was sold to Brian Woodcock in 1973, where he would renumber the engine back to No. 58 and store the engine at the Wilmington and Western Railroad until the mid-1980s, when it would be moved to Avondale, Pennsylvania. The engine was donated to the HRCV in 1997 by its owner with intentions for it to operate and would do so in the Late 1998. In November 2013, the engine was taken out of service due to a Federally Mandated 1,472-day inspection and overhaul. The engine was returned to operation in November 2017.[12]
No. 92 was built by the Canadian Locomotive Company of Kingston, Ontario in 1910 for the Grand Trunk Railroad (Soon to be owned by Canadian National Railway). The engine was classified as an E-8-a, but was reclassified as an E-12 and again to an E-10-a after being upgraded with Piston Valves and Superheating. The engine was renumbered to 919 in the 1920s and operated under that number until the mid 1950s when it and the rest of the E-10-a class were renumbered from 81-96, where it gained the number 92. 92 and most of the E-10-a class worked branch lines across the system. The engine was taken out of service in the late 1950s during the railroad's transition period to dieselization and was listed as surplus. In 1960 the locomotive was purchased by Thomas C. Marshall Jr. in 1960 for it to run on the Historic Red Clay Valley Inc.'s future railroad. It was moved down to Yorklyn, Delaware where it was rebuilt. It was the first steam locomotive to operate for the railroad when it became a tourist line. The engine operated from Spring of 1966 to Fall of 1972, when the engine was taken out of service due to mechanical issues. The engine is stored in Marshallton, awaiting restoration to operation.[12]
No. 114 was built in 1940 by the Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) of General Motors for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The engine operated for the Lehigh Valley Railroad for many years, eventually to be sold to the Maryland Port Authority as a switch engine in Pocomoke City, Maryland. In 1974, it was purchased for excursion service on the Ocean City Western Railroad in Ocean City, Maryland until that railroad shut down in the late 1970s, when the locomotive would go into storage in Snow Hill, Maryland. The engine would be purchased by the HRCV in 1992 in trade for ALCo S-2 #3. The engine has been in excursion and occasional freight service since 1993.[13]
No. 8408 was built in 1940 by EMC of General Motors for the B&O and was originally numbered #208 before being renumbered to #8408 in February 1957. The locomotive served the B&O in freight service on the Landenberg Branch until 1982. It operated on the Tourist Line from 1982 until 2008, when it was taken out of service for a restoration of the locomotive. In 2011, it was shipped to McHugh Locomotive & Equipment in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania for restoration. The Engine came back to the Wilmington and Western in February 2016, being officially pressed into service on May 28, 2016. The engine is now the main motive power on diesel-powered excursions.[13]
No. 4662 (aka "The Paul Revere"); was built by Pullman Standard for the Pennsylvania Railroad; in 1929. The engine ran for the Pennsylvania Railroad, mostly on Branchlines. The "Doodlebug" was retired in 1959, being sold to the National Capital Trolley Museum. The engine was purchased by the HRCV in 1967 and has operated since 1979. The engine is one of two Pennsylvania Railroad Doodlebugs still in existence. In early 2017, the "Doodlebug" was taken out of service to undergo a major rebuild of the front truck. The "Doodlebug" has returned to service and is operating on select Fridays during July and August 2018.[14]
| Number | Image | Wheel arrangement | Builder | Type | Build date | Current owner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0-4-0 | H.K. Porter | Steam | 1950 | Marshallton | ||
| 37 | 2-8-2T | ALCO | Steam | 1925 | Age of Steam Roundhouse | ||
| 60 | 0-6-0 | Pennsylvania Railroad | Steam | 1913 | HRCV | ||
| 14 | 2-8-0 | ALCO | Steam | 1918 | Gaithersburg, Maryland[15] | ||
| 915 | SW900 (B-B) | EMD | Diesel | 1956 | Black River Western Railroad | ||
| S-3 | 0-6-0T | Vulcan | Steam | 1943 | Honey's Farm Fresh Gourmet Kitchen | ||
| D-3 | S2 (B-B) | ALCO | Diesel | 1949 | West Chester Railroad |