The Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad: 2014

Well my blog is coming to a conclusion with about twenty-two years of history of the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad missing. Although I will never be able to sum up all the twenty-two years very well in one post I will give you the highlights.

1993

The Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad receives a donation of a diesel electric locomotive built by the late Ed Ducay. The crew picked the engine up in Chicago and it took on the number two along with the name of Ed in memorial of its builder..
The crew traveled to Colebrook NH, to dismantle the Mowhawk Valley railroad. Through this, the railroad gained two flat cars, a caboose and a Shay. A Shay is a special type of steam engine that has geared wheels that were designed for climbing steep hills typically used in the logging industry.
the overhaul on Norman, engine number three, was completed
A hand car or pump car was built.

1995

The engine house is expanded again with a 12X55 foot expansion on the side and a 10X45 foot expansion on the end.
A 25-ton wheel press is constructed inside the engine house.
The rebuilding of the Shay from the ground up is started.

1997

A grant from the Stackpole Hall Foundation allows the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad to replace the original engine house with a new 3-track 25X45 building. The money also allows for the construction of a new 2 track 25X50 building.
Three 30”guage Plymouth locomotives were acquired from H&K salvage in Pittsburgh. One was moved into the shops to be rebuilt and re-gauged to two foot.

1998

The backhoe is purchased and the crew wonders how they ever survived without it.
Otto has her wheels and running gear removed and receives a major rebuild.

2000

Otto is back in service with a new coat of paint after the major overhaul.

2001

Track expansion begins with a 1300 foot extension over the old St. Marys and Southwestern Railroad grade.
The Plymouth locomotive acquired in 1997 recieves the official B&W color scheme and takes on the name Henry and number five from in association with Henry from Thomas the Tank Engine.
A hopper car is built and put into use. It has six clam type bottom doors powered by air cylinders. Three hand-operated valves control the opening of the doors; left side, middle, right side.

2002

More track is laid for the expansion over the old St. Marys and Southwestern Railroad grade.
Construction of the wye begins. A wye is used to turn a whole train around compared to only turning a single engine around on the turntable. The first hurdle that needed to be crossed was all of the trees. Many weeks were spent clearing trees where the Wye would be located.
The B&W receives Boxcar #6506

Wellsboro & Corning boxcar #6506 was built in 1974 and undergone a rebuild in April 2002. On it's first revenue move after the rebuilt, # 6506 suffered severe under frame damage. After review of the damage, it was determined that the cost of solving the problem was not worth the investment.
The B&W was fortunate to acquire the boxcar after hearing of its fate. After being made rail worthy, it left Chicago for Toronto and Buffalo via the Canadian Pacific Railroad. After arriving in Buffalo, the Buffalo & Pittsburgh railroad moved it to Johnsonburg; from there it was moved to the yard in St. Marys by the Allegheny & Eastern. It was later transported to the B&W by truck. It is a static display at the B&W and doubles as a storage building.

2003

In order to continue laying rail on the wye the grade needed to be raised to avoid a very steep decline.

2004

The Shay received its official lettering. The Shay is lettered for two local railroads:

The St. Marys and Southwestern Railroad -- The B&W is currenlty operating on a portion of this railroad. This railroad was in service until they were purchased by the Shawmut Railroad.
The Kaul and Hall Lumber Railroad -- This railroad was an early logging railroad located in St. Marys, Pennsylvania.

The restoration process of a Baltimore and Ohio semaphore that was once used near Clemont Pennsylvania is completed.

1994

Same Spot 2006

2005

With the completion of the wye, the B&W continued laying rail on the St. Marys and Southwestern Grade. This branch line of the B&W has become known as the 'Camp Line' due to camps that exist on this old railroad grade.

2006 Happy 40th Anniversary!

It was 40 years since Otto arrived at the B&W.
A Station House was built by a college class that was taught by a friend of the railroads. It was constructed in pieces and then transported to the B&W for installation.
The construction of the railbus begins.

2007

The camp line is extended to continue to follow the "S" curve layout of The St. Marys and Southwestern RailroadShawmut Grade. The "S" curve swings back around and the B&W follows its path to cross the Shawmut Grade again.

2008

Work car 2420 is rebuilt

2009

A tie wall is constructed to hold back the gravel on the road to prevent it from slipping down onto the tracks.
A dump car is built to make adding dirt to the end of the wye easier.
The camp line continues to expand

2010

A turntable is put in at the end of the camp line in order to turn the trains around for the return trip back to the engine house.
A signal tower is acquired and installed

2011

The water tank's base is rebuilt.
The lead tracks which extend from the engine house to the turntable are replaced.

2012

A tie wall is constructed on the side of the engine house to hold the dirt in place.
The roof on one of the passenger cars is raised so people stop hitting their heads off of it.

2013

A very wet year led to a lot of track work needing done. Some flooding caused sections of the ballast holding the ties in place to wash away.
A lot of work was completed on the railbus.