Wilmington and Western Railroad
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| Reporting mark | WWRC |
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| Locale | New Castle County, Delaware, USA |
| Dates of operation | 1872–1877, 1966–present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Marshallton, Delaware |
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Wilmington and Western Railroad
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| Location | 2201 Newport Gap Pike, Wilmington, Delaware |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Area | 73 acres (30 ha) |
| Built | 1867 |
| NRHP Reference # | 80000932[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 8, 1980 |
The Wilmington and Western Railroad (reporting mark WWRC) is a freight and heritage railroad in northern Delaware, operating over a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) branch between Wilmington and Hockessin. The 10.2-mile (16.4 km) railroad operates both steam and diesel locomotives. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a national historic district in 1980.[1]
History
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 in 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, reusing the old W&W name, and in August 1982 the W&W bought the branch from the B&O.[4][5]
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.
Locomotives
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- Steam
- 4-4-0 American #98 was built by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, NY in January 1909 (construction #45921). Operational
- 0-6-0 Switcher #58 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia in October 1907 (construction #31899). Out of service due to 1,472 Day Rebuild. Expected to be operational by the 2016 Season.
- 2-6-0 Mogul #92 was built by the Canadian Locomotive Company of Kingston, Ontario in 1910. Stored on Wilmington and Western Property and waiting for donations for future restoration.
- Diesel
- SW-1 #114 was built in 1940 by the Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) of General Motors for the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
- SW-1 #8408 was built in 1940 by EMC of General Motors and served the B&O in freight service on the Landenberg Branch until 1982.
- Diesel motor car
- Doodlebug #4662 (aka "The Paul Revere"); built by Pullman Standard for the Pennsylvania Railroad; outshopped April 29, 1929.
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WW engine98-1.jpg
W&W #98
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WW Doodlebug1.jpg
W&W #4662
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WW EasterBunny1.jpg
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W&W #4662
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ An Act to incorporate the Delaware and Chester County Railroad Company, passed February 5, 1867
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Interstate Commerce Commission, 42 Val. Rep. 1 (1933): Valuation Docket No. 1068, The Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Company and its Leased Lines
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wilmington & Western Railroad: History, accessed February 2009
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. and accompanying 11 photos
External links
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| Miscellaneous | ||
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| Lists by county |
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- Pages with broken file links
- Articles that mention track gauge 1435 mm
- Railway-related listings on the National Register of Historic Places
- Heritage railroads in Delaware
- Delaware railroads
- Switching and terminal railroads
- Spin-offs of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
- Railway companies established in 1982
- Defunct Delaware railroads
- Defunct Pennsylvania railroads
- Predecessors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
- Railway companies established in 1869
- Railway companies disestablished in 1877
- Companies operating former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines
- Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware
- Visitor attractions in New Castle County, Delaware
- 1869 establishments in Delaware
- Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware
