Source: Allegheny
Valley Logging Railroads, Walter C. Casler, 1977
(out of print)
About the photos: Original
images of #'s 3,5,and 6 were taken by my father, Russell
Gustafson, in 1936, when the mill had already closed and the
scrapping of the railroad was imminent. Photo of #7 is the
original builders photo supplied by Heisler upon delivery.
Compared to many operations,
W&D had easier grades and used rod locomotives in actual logging. As
the length of the operation grew, the slow speed of Shays made
them unpopular with W&D. See additional photos below of the various
locomotives in service along the line.
Although they published a passenger
timetable in the Official Guide,
HVRR records and photos have not shown any passenger cars, or even a
caboose. Please e-mail if you can solve the mystery!
Note 1: #1 burned in mill file 7/1895,
repaired and returned to service by 10/1895
Note 2: Regauged by Lima to 36" and
sold to Falcon Lumber Co., Kerlin, AR
Click
photo to listen to the 1887 Crosby 3-chime whistle like on W&D #3 (278k).
More Fun with
Sound.....!
(Don't go here if your
speakers are turned up)!
Porter
locomotive sounds - typical small rod steam
Shay
locomotive sounds - rapid 3-cylinder beat
Heisler
locomotive sounds - 2-cylinder geared rapid beat
More Equipment Shots
Legendary local railfan Victor
Norton gave me two extraordinary shots of HVRR #5 at Endeavor a few years
ago. He took these shots when he made a trip to Endeavor from
Jamestown, NY, hearing the railroad was about to be dismantled for
scrap. These two shots, dated Fall 1938, may be the last shots of #5
in operating condition, as this was the year the railroad was shut down.
The wood shed behind the tender survived well into the 1980's.
I've also come across more equipment photos when the
Casler print collection was sold at auction and I purchased all the W&D
prints I didn't already have.. I'd never seen some of these before, and
I've been collecting W&D/HVRR shots for nearly 45 years!
From a print via Walter C. Casler collection; Thomas
Norrell
A truly classic shot of Heisler #7, presumably at
Endeavor, and judging by the condition and corroded wheel treads, at the close
of operations in 1938 prior to reported sale in 1940. The stack is also unlike
any other shot. Compare to the builders photo
above.
2008 update! Peter
Farley found a letter in his families collection that #7 was taken to
Poughkeepsie, NY, after the mill closed in 1938. A 1940 letter from
a Poughkeepsie railfan that spotted it there was addressed back to W&D,
asking for history and information on the locomotive. While it was still
presumably scrapped there, the trail of information has now moved one step
forward.
That means it is entirely likely
that #7 crossed the Poughkeepsie Bridge on her own wheels, possibly the only
47-ton Heisler ever to cross that monumental structure.
NEW! Sister survivor:
Possibly the only surviving nearly-identical 47-ton Heisler is Bluestone
Mining & Smelting #1, now at the "Roots of Motive Power"
museum in Willits, CA: It's 1916 serial number is 1351, W&D's #7
was 1378. Here's
an operational shot from 2006! And even better, a video
of it running in 2010!
Page Last updated 6-5-2011
