1974-1978

Picture taken from Wikipedia      The years 1974-1978 saw a continuation of laying more track and the growing number of collected artifacts and equipment.  Most of the artifacts were from the Pittsburgh, Shawmut and Northern Railroad or P.S.&N.  The P.S.&N used to run from Brockway, Pennsylvania to Wayland, New York passing through St. Marys and Kersey on the way which explains why the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad has such a strong desire for P.S.&N. artifacts.    Picture taken by William Bauer      In 1977, the B&W received a particularly large donation of locomotives, cars, and track from a Sherwin Williams paint factory in Kansas.  This donation included four Whitcomb locomotives (Whitcomb is a particular company that makes locomotives), twenty-four bottom dump hoppers, a tank car, and 40-pound rail.  The addition of the new rail enabled the crew to expand the main railroad line and use all their practice of track laying to relay parts of the track that was originally roughly placed down.  Picture taken by William Bauer      Because the crew put all of their track laying practice to good use, it was soon time to do some grade work if they wanted to extend the line further.  Grade in this context is obviously not referring to a grade you get on a test or a crossing grade where the trains and cars meet.  This type of grade deals with compensating for changes in elevation.  In North America, the grade is expressed in terms of feet of rise per 100 feet of horizontal distance.  So for example, if the track raises one foot over a distance of 100 feet, the grade is said to be one percent.  On main line railroads, the grades are typically one percent or less whereas at the B&W, they have much steeper grades.       In 1978, the railroad was fortune enough to have a plant being built right next to their property so they were able to use the spare dirt to get a large amount of grading done.  Also during 1978, the crew was continuing to think about future expansions and decided to relay the first curve on the main line to account for such expansions.         Picture taken by William Bauer

Motorcars

     Despite the fact that very few crew members showed up yesterday (10/11/14), there was still activity happening at the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad.  The crew that was present yesterday spent time working on the three standard gauge motorcars that the railroad owns.  Now the question in probably most peoples mind is; what is standard gauge and what is a motorcar?  Well, standard gauge, also known as Stephenson gauge, International gauge or normal gauge, is used by about 60% of the railway lines in the world.  The gauge or distance between the rails is four feet, eight and a half-inches.  The Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad runs on two foot gauge which is obviously smaller than standard gauge which explains why the B&W is considered a narrow gauge railroad.
     So, if the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad is a narrow gauge railroad then why do they own these three motorcars which are standard gauge?  Motorcars, that are better known as speeders, were used on the railroad for track inspection and maintenance before the invention of the high-railer (a vehicle that has railroad wheels attached to the frame to allow it to travel on the rails when the wheels are lowered).  Like everything else at the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad, the motorcars are owned for the sole purpose of entertainment.  Although the railroad does not have a place on their property for a motorcar to run on, the crew sometimes receives permission to run their motorcars on a railroad line with standard gauge track.
     The crew was working on the motorcars yesterday because today (10/12/14), they were able to run them on about 100 yards of track.  Even though they spent so much time preparing for the trip, one of the motorcars did not start but that was possibly due to the freezing weather that was encountered this morning.  Other than that, the ride that the crew took today was considered a huge success.

One of the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad's motorcars:

Picture taken by Scott Bauer

Where the Geese Wear Pants

     Since the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad crew works on improving the railroad on Saturdays, there is not much time for me to update my posts on Saturday nights.  Because of this, I am now going to post updates of the current events of the railroad on Sundays.  To finish off the second post for this week though, I am going to give a bit of history on the name of the railroad. 
        
     When ever the crew of the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad talk about where they work, they typically say "the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad Where the Geese Wear Pants." 

    

Picture taken by Andrew Ottinger    

     So, why is this the place where the geese wear pants and where does Bucksgahuda come from?  "In Germany, where both the founding Bauer family and Otto came from, parents told their children a fairy tale of “Bucksgahuda”. If the children didn’t mind their flock of geese and do their chores, the story goes, a giant gander would swoop down and cart them off to another place. In this place, the gander would turn the children into baby geese, still wearing their little boy knickers, who never grow up. Our Bucksgahuda is the place where the little trains never grow up."

Story told by William Bauer

 

     Along with the trains, the crew working at the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad have never really grown up either.  They just got bigger toys.   

 

Picture by Mitchell Smithbauer

 



1973---The Vulcan

     Before moving on to talking about the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad's acquisition of three Vulcan locomotives in 1973, I think it is important to conclude Otto's restoration story with some final background information.  Otto is a steam locomotive with a 0-4-0 wheel arrangement which means that the engine does not have any leading wheels, has four driving wheels and no trailing wheels.  Otto was built by Henschel of Kassel, Germany in 1939.  During the overseas journey here, the crew on the American Merchant decided that the locomotive deserved a proper Bavarian name and chalked "Otto" on the cab and the name has stuck every since.  Otto weighs about 10 tons dry or 12 tons with coal and water added, and takes about three hours to build up enough steam to go to work, so the engine is only run a few days each year.  Because Otto was the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad's first locomotive, the engine obviously received the number one.  The number two slot was then reserved for another potential steam locomotive which explains why the B&W numbered the Vulcan number three. 

     When a glue factory in Gowanda NY closed down in 1973, The Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad actually received three Vulcan locomotives from the company.  After keeping the first one, the second one went to friends across town, and the third went to a friend in Pittsburgh.  The Vulcan at the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad quickly received the nickname of Norman for its sometimes cranky behavior.

The Vulcan in Gowanda, NY

Picture provided William Bauer

 

Norman in 2012

Picture taken by Ryan Brennen

 

     The year 1973 quickly came to a close after October 7th which marked the B&W's second annual open house.

Current Activities

      Although the history of the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad is interesting, the railroad is still an up and running place that is being worked on every weekend.  Before mentioning what the crew did this Saturday (10/4/14), I think it is important to realize that the railroad just had their open house.  Because of this, Otto was operated recently which also happened to be for the last time this year.  Since it was the last run until next year, the crew spent the day preparing Otto for winter.  The main part of this involves removing the coal and draining all the water out of the saddle tanks and the boiler.  If the water remained in Otto over winter, there is potential for the water to freeze and expand which could crack parts of the engine.  The water can also cause rust which would lead up to deterioration of the inside of Otto.  For both of these reasons, the water is drained for the winter and a fan is run constantly to keep the inside of Otto dry.  With all of the preparation for winter completed on Otto, it was considered a rather successful day at the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad.   
     

 

Picture taken by Scott Bauer

 

Finishing Otto's Repairs

      Once there was a dry space for Otto to be worked on, it was time for the restoration to begin.  Repairs for Otto took place between the years of 1966 till 1971.  In 1971 when Otto was once again in operating condition, the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad had about 200 feet of track laid which Otto ran on several times back and forth.

Although none of the gas locomotives were there in 1971, this is still a picture of Otto after her restoration.

     After all the hundreds of hours spent successfully restoring Otto, it was time to focus on laying track in order to enjoy their great accomplishment.  In the year 1972, 1,200 feet of track was laid before the end of fall.  Because the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad crew enjoyed their hobby so much, they wanted to show it off to family and friends by having a day of running Otto for the sole purpose of entertaining other people.  This first open house occurred in October of 1972 with Otto giving rides to all the guests for the whole day.  The open house received such positive feedback that the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad now has two open houses a year.

Above photo taken by William Bauer      

Introduction

          This blog is all about the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad which is a two-foot narrow gauge railroad.  It will be updated twice a week with one post about its history on Thursday and another post about current activities taking place on Saturday.  Since this is the first post I believe it is important to start from the beginning with how the railroad came to be.
         The Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad is located in St. Marys, PA and was started by the Bauer brothers who saw an advertisement for a German-built steam engine in Trains magazine.  In the spring of 1966, the steam engine, soon to be named Otto, departed Germany on the American Merchant ship.  A few months later, Otto arrived in Philadelphia, PA where it was lowered onto a lowboy truck for her journey to St. Marys, PA.  After arriving in St. Marys, a crane was used to place Otto on a twenty-foot section of track.  In October, a building was erected to house Otto just as the first snowfall arrived. 

Otto being unloaded from the ship

 

 

 

 

 

Getting ready for the trip on the lowboy from Philadelphia, PA to St. Marys, PA

Set down on the twenty foot section of track

Above photos taken by William A. Bauer