I found this link ages ago but wanted to list it here in case anyone is curious. This gentleman, Craig Bisgeier, has a New England model RR set in 1892. On his layout he needed a Whipple Truss bridge so he set out to kitbash/scratchbuild one from two Central Valley 150′ Pratt Through Truss bridge kits. The build is pretty involved and detailed. I wish there were more photos but nonetheless it’s a great resource for a modeler like me who is considering this daunting task! One benefit I do have is a full set of blueprints of the bridges crossing the canal. My plan is to laser-cut custom pieces as needed from thin mat board. More on this in the future.
Last weekend, while doing some research on track and industry layout in Bethesda with my friend Matt I was looking at a photo that I have looked at many, many times before and noticed something completely new and exciting. (don’t you love it when that happens?!) Here is the photo:
May 30, 1956. B&O C2222 and full yard at Bethesda. Ray Mumford photo.
Looks pretty normal. A really full yard at Bethesda. The road crew, on an S2, a short distance from C2222, the “local” caboose that ran regularly on that assignment. In the background is Bethesda Avenue, with a car parked next to it, a few gentleman talking and some freight unloading going on in the background. Well, here’s the fun part. “Computer. Zoom and enhance!” (I love saying that.)
Close up view of the freight unloading.
Immediately my brain triggered. “Hey! I know what that thing is! Look, do you see it?!” I exclaimed to my friend Matt, sitting next to me, looking befuddled. It’s a straddle carrier. A lumber straddle carrier. These neat vehicles were invented around 1913 and had four wheels which could turn independent of the others, allowing the vehicle to maneuver in tight spaces. The bottom is open and has arms which can grab a stack of lumber beneath it. Really brilliant. They were common in lumber yards around the country until the advent of the fork lift and palletized lumber. In some instances these vehicles are still used today and are even produced for specialized applications by some of the manufacturers who made them back then.
Hauling lumber with straddle carriers at Putnam Lumber Company – Shamrock, Florida. 1929. Black & white photoprint, 8 x 10 in. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/24975>, accessed 12 January 2018.
So why is this special?
Well, it’s another fine detail that brings the setting to life. Had I never zoomed in and noticed that tiny detail, I would have never known there was one in Bethesda. It means that in my modeling of the area I can include this distinctive vehicle and it will be prototypical. I love these things. They’re quirky and eye-catching. I have no other photos that I know of showing the straddle carrier in Bethesda, so it is rather special.
How was it used?
Well, I doubt it was used by the Einsinger Mill & Lumber Co, as they had their own siding into their yard. It very well COULD have been theirs, but there were several other lumber yards in the area (Devlin, for example) who may have used the straddle carrier to shuttle lumber to their yard just a short distance from the team tracks in Bethesda. You can see a gentleman stacking lumber to the right. The lumber would be delivered by boxcar as was common at the time. The lumber would be stacked and then the straddle carrier would drive atop the bundle, grasp it and then shuttle it to the yard for storage and sale.
Closeup of Lumber Carrier
I NEED YOUR HELP!
I want to identify the make of this carrier. I have been hunting high and low for a photo or reference to the specific unit pictured in this image. Look carefully at the engine cowl, the wheels, what appears to be shrouding over the front wheel mounts up top, the rear gear assembly/cover and front opening. Also, don’t be fooled by the silhouettes of the gentlemen in the foreground, especially the one to the right. Try to crop those out. Also note what appears to be a gas tank of some sort just behind the carrier. Is this part of the unit? I can’t tell. Distance-wise, remember this this is REALLY far from the photographer in the photo. The distances are really squished together at this distance. If you have any info that could help me, please email me at cpl_clegg at yahoo dot com.
Final Note
These kind of details revealing themselves are the things that keep me hunting for more and more photos, stories, maps and documents related to the Branch. It intrigues me and I enjoy it tremendously! One other thing I noticed, further back, beyond the straddle carrier there appears to be a bulk transfer conveyor loader. These were seen in just about every town and it’s no surprise there was one in Bethesda. One end of the conveyor would be placed beneath a hopper and a truck would be spotted at the upper end. Once turned on, the hopper would be opened and the contents loaded into the back of the truck. Think sand, gravel, etc.
While doing a bit of research on lumber companies in Bethesda, I came across the “who we are” page for ProMark Real Estate, whos predecessors included Einsinger Mill & Lumber Co, which occupied the space at Woodmont Ave & Bethesda Ave. This is the “lumber mill siding” we see so often in photos of the Bethesda yard. This is also the siding that was uncovered a few years back during excavation for the new apartment building. The family has a rich history of building in Montgomery County and the pages are worth a read! They were customers of the Georgetown Branch since the 1920s to the end. Really neat!
Flood, Wash., D.C., Feb. 1918. Washington D.C, 1918. Feb. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/npc2008011357/.An ice dam in the winter of 1918 resulted in massive flooding and damage along the waterfront in Georgetown. This photo is a neat perspective that I have never seen before. The location is the far East end of the Georgetown Branch, basically at the end. Just to the the right, the three freight cars sit on Water St. (aptly named in this situation). Just to the right of the photographer is the old B&O freight station. In front there is a large curved building which sat in front of the Smoot Sand & Gravel plant. Not sure if that’s what it was at this point. I have to check the maps. And just behind it you can see the tall light-colored stack of the Capital Traction Power House, which was constructed 8 years prior in 1910. Views of the waterfront in the early years of the Branch are few and far between so I treasure each one! Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.
Harris & Ewing, photographer. POTOMAC RIVER ICE JAMS. Washington D.C, 1918. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/hec2008007434/.
The Capital Weather Gang with the Washington Post, a favorite of mine, posted a neat article discussing the history of ice damming and ice floes in DC, specifically in the Georgetown area, as that is the area most susceptible due to the location of the old Aqueduct Bridge. Ice damming occurs when there is a long cold spell and large rivers freeze with a subsequent fast warming period. This causes the ice to quickly break up and flow down stream. If there is a bottleneck or obstruction , the ice will pile up and dam. Once those dams break, they unleash a torrent of fast-moving water laden with ice & debris which causes destruction down stream.
DC has had its fair share of ice dams and ice floes over the years, some worse than others. The 1918 incident was probably the worst in terms of destruction. Have a look for yourself. The WaPo article includes many great photos. Incidentally, here is a Google Maps view of the photo above!
I found this neat photo on the Forest History Society website while searching for more info on the National Christmas Tree. The 1960 National Christmas Tree from Oregon is received in Georgetown by an enthusiastic Santa and … railroad employee? That striped jacket is something else. A policeman and excited little boy look on. Note the diesel engine at the end of the car. The shield-shaped sign the man is holding reads “Seal of Approval, Santa”
Georgetown Branch, Washington, DC, 1960 – National Christmas Tree is delivered. Photo from Forest History Society.
Lone Star Cement plant in Georgetown, DC on the waterfront. Date unknown, most likely early 1960s. Photo from DC DoT Archives. (https://ddotlibrary.omeka.net)
As I prepare to model various structures along the Georgetown Branch, my attention turns to recreating various details such as signs, vehicles and small details which establish the scene in historical context. Of course I have to pick and choose these details because I don’t have room to model the entire branch line.
One of the structures I plan on modeling is the Lone Star Cement plant. This large structure sat at the west end of the industrial waterfront in Georgetown. The silos towered above the Whitehurst Freeway and were emblazoned with a very large Lone Star logo. Using some photos and Adobe Illustrator I re-drew the logo as best I could, to be a relatively decent representation of the one painted on the silos of the plant. Here is a JPG of my attempt.
Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season. My friend Nick alerted me to this awesome photo from the Mansfield Library Archives which shows the 1958 National Christmas Tree being received down in the new yard on the Georgetown Waterfront. How cool is this!? I know it’s slightly outside of my era, but I will have to figure a way to model this on my layout.
The location is the “new yard” along the waterfront in Georgetown and the year is 1958. The National Christmas tree is being received . Photo from Mansfield Library Archives (https://www.instagram.com/mansfieldlibraryarchives/)
The Great Northern flatcar bears a large sign on the side which reads:
TO PRESIDENT EISENHOWER
THE NATION’S CHRSTMAS TREE
FROM THE KOOTENAI
NATIONAL FOREST
LIBBY. MONTANA
SHIPPED BY COURTESY OF G.N. – C.B.&Q. – B.&O. RYS
PREPARATION BY, J. NEILS LUMBER CO
DIV. OF ST. REGIS PAPER CO.
PRESENTED BY THE
LIBBY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The sign on the National Christmas Tree delivered to DC via the B&O in Georgetown, 1958
Apparently it became a tradition in the early 20th century for a tree to be donated by lumber companies and state forests across the country. Anyone with more information or background on this, please chime in! Also, if you know where I can locate a manufacturer of that particular model of flat car, I’d appreciate it! 🙂
EDIT: Since I’m planning on modeling this I took a stab at drawing the sign. Comments welcome! I drew it in Adobe Illustrator using a combination of Source Sans Pro and Montserrat fonts, customized and altered a bit to match the original more closely. Enjoy!
My rendering of a sign that was placed on the side of a flat car carrying the National Christmas tree.
Another edit – I found a reference to the J. Neils Lumber Co. (which had merged w/ St. Regis Paper Co. in 1957) in the Minnesota Historical Society. Interesting short read: http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00977.xml
At the Maloney Concrete plant in Bethesda, MD there was an iconic lettered sign up high on both sides of the main tower of the plant. The beautiful Art Deco lettering was painted red at one point and really stood out among all the industrial machinery that surrounded it.
The Maloney plant, with the deco lettering painted red. Photo by M. Vurek, early 1980s.
I plan on modeling one face of this concrete loading hopper and as such need to include the gorgeous sign. Unfortunately the font is different than anything I have. The font “Broadway” is a close match but has significant differences. I contacted a friend who also confirmed my suspicions about its design and decided to draw it myself using Adobe Illustrator. The process was not too bad as most of the letters are geometric and consistent. Thankfully there’s some repetition, too.
my re-drawing of the Maloney Concrete sign in Bethesda, MD
My plan is to laser engrave this onto a piece of very thin wood which I will then paint and install in the model, eventually. This is a first draft, so comments are welcome!
I’ve outlined many of the tracks in Bethesda as I plan for the track arrangement on my own layout.
I’m tossing ideas back and forth on how to represent the town of Bethesda on the layout. I have already laid much of the track and am fine tuning the details. I’ve yet to decide on the East end of the town (where the track heads under Wisconsin Av) and placement of building flats. I’m doing more research looking at photos of the area to decide exactly where things will go. Above is a quick sketch I did showing the various tracks in the town.
