Track Pans and the B&O Royal Blue Line By R.N. Nelson

Providing much-needed water to steam locomotives was an ongoing struggle that had to be won. An adequate water level was essential since it was also a cooling agent for the locomotive boiler and firebox jacket and; without it, locos would overheat and cause an explosion.

Track pans, which were actually metal water troughs between the rails that enabled steam locomotives to scoop water on the fly, were an essential part of the B&O’s relentless effort to provide competitive passenger train service between Washington, D.C., and Jersey City, New Jersey, which began in 1832 as a rather awkward combined rail and water route and finally emerged as an all-rail route on December 15, 1886.

The route, a joint effort of the B&O, the Reading and the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), would have several modifications over the years, with through passenger service finally ending on April 26, 1958. Passengers used the CNJ ferries at Jersey City to make the one-mile crossing of the Hudson River to New York City.

On the B&O, several significant changes, some relatively expensive, were made to the equipment and the routing, as well as to the overall operation itself, to further reduce the running time, all in an attempt to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad’s (PRR)  paralleling route. The installation of track pans in the early 1890s by all three of the participating railroads worked to this end and would last until steam was completely replaced by diesels more than 60 years later.

There were four track pan locations on the Washington-Jersey City route, all fed by surface water, where steam locomotives scooped water on the fly, reducing the total running time by about 25 minutes. The national average distance between track pans was 30 to 45 miles, working best on tangents and requiring a roadbed that was absolutely level. The few track pans in the United States were all on eastern railroads.

There were only two track pans on the entire B&O system, both on the B&O’s portion of the Washington-Jersey City route—one at Swan Creek, Maryland, 2.0 miles east of Aberdeen, and the other at Stanton, Delaware, 0.7 miles east of what would become Delaware Park Racetrack. Both were installed in 1893 and required some regrading of the roadbed to make the locations absolutely flat. The two other track pans on the route were at Roelofs, Pennsylvania, on the Reading and at Green Brook (Middlesex, New Jersey) on the CNJ.

Since B&O freight trains were not part of the through passenger agreement and did not scoop water, there were also penstocks, sometimes called “standpipes,” “water columns” or “water plugs,” installed beside the track at the track pan locations, as well as at several other intervening points. This enabled freight trains to stop and take water as needed, which was time-consuming. The penstocks also provided a backup for passenger trains in the event there was a track pan or scooping malfunction. (Incidentally, to everyone’s recollection, only one B&O freight engine, Q-4b 4485, was fitted with a scoop. A few others did receive 13,000-gallon auxiliary tenders, which extended their range.)

The spring-loaded water scoop, 11¾ inches wide, scooped to within an inch of the bottom of the pan. It was carried in a horizontal position under the tender, only on the passenger engines assigned to the Jersey City route. Early configurations were mechanical in design.

In its last configuration, after 1926, the scoop was deployed in the trough by an air-operated cylinder. A valve to send air to the cylinder was on the front, right-hand side of the tender. Once over the pan, at the direction of the engineer, the fireman would open the valve. The greater the air pressure applied, the lower the scoop would extend.

The speed of the train forced the water collected by the scoop up a 12-inch pipe to the top of the tender’s water tank. Cutting off the air pressure would cause the scoop to quickly spring back into its horizontal position. The engineer would also direct when to retrieve the scoop.

The demands on the water stations remained virtually unchanged until the mid-1920s. For example, a B&O passenger engine, which after 1919 usually was a P-5 Pacific (5200-5229), would leave Washington with a relatively light consist and a full tank of water and “top off” in Baltimore (36.8 miles) while at the lower-level Camden Station stop at a penstock fed by city water, then scoop water at Swan Creek, 34.3 miles east of Baltimore, and again 30.2 miles later at Stanton. That would enable the locomotive to reach Philadelphia (another 31.2 miles) with a low but relatively comfortable level of water.

The scooping did not necessarily completely refill the tank each time. So the “topping off” used in this context was the taking of water only while unloading/loading passengers. Once all were on board, the water process would end so as not to delay the train. That also might or might not completely fill the tank each time. The only way to assure a full tank was to “take water,” meaning stopping and filling the tank.
Early on, the Reading and CNJ pooled their power between Philadelphia and Jersey City. At Philadelphia, there would be an engine and crew change to either a Reading or CNJ engine (usually a Reading engine) for the remainder of the trip to Jersey City. Only the passenger cars actually worked through at this time. They were nearly identical and pooled from all three railroads.

The B&O would participate in this power pool for through freight trains beginning in 1964.

The United States Railroad Administration was the name for the nationalized railroad system in the United States between 1917 and 1920, created during the war emergency of the First World War. Between 1918 and 1926, as a result of a (USRA) mandate to relieve an imbalance in the heavy wartime passenger traffic between Washington and New York (disproportionately more on the PRR), the B&O through passenger trains were routed over the PRR in New Jersey for the eastern leg of the trip, operating into Penn Station in New York City and not the CNJ terminal at Jersey City. The B&O was able to obtain an extension of the Penn Station agreement from the PRR lasting until 1926.

Not affected by the USRA’s directive was the B&O’s freight traffic, which continued to use car floats between New York City and the B&O’s St. George Marine Terminal on Staten Island. The car float and express operations at Jersey City also were unaffected.

Even with the emergency USRA routing, B&O engines still did not work east of Philadelphia. The through passenger trains would leave the Reading at Manville, New Jersey, just short of the original CNJ connection at Bound Brook Junction, and run over the Lehigh Valley Railroad to the PRR just south of Newark, at a point called West Newark Junction, then east to Manhattan Transfer. There, a PRR electric locomotive was attached to every train making the short trip under the Hudson River to Penn Station.

As mentioned, on the Reading the locomotive would scoop at Roelofs, Pennsylvania,  fed by Brock Creek, 31 miles east of Philadelphia (first located two miles farther east at Yardley, Pennsylvania, and moved) and then 33 miles beyond that on the CNJ at Green Brook, 27 miles west of Jersey City.

Most of the Reading-CNJ portion of the route had three or four tracks from Neshaminy Falls, Pennsylvania, to Jersey City and was relatively flat and straight. It was often called “the raceway”. Track pans in four-track settings were on the two center tracks, with penstocks for freight trains on the outer tracks.

This was in stark contrast to the Washington-to-Philadelphia double-track portion on the B&O, with its rolling hills, curves and grades, not particularly harsh by B&O system-wide standards but, nevertheless, the most challenging along this segment of the through route.

The scooping process was done in reverse for westbound trains from Jersey City to Washington.

On August 29, 1926, after the PRR refused to further extend the Penn Station agreement, B&O passenger trains could no longer operate directly into New York City and moved back to the CNJ terminal at Jersey City. As a result, a new agreement, called “The Blue Line Agreement of 1926”, was reached between the three original participating railroads using the pre-1918 route, with one of the new main elements being that B&O power on passenger trains would work through to save time under a direct trackage rights arrangement. Power and crews on all other B&O trains, such as freights, mail and express, specials, etc., would still change at Philadelphia.

But the location of the four track pans on the through route had been based on an engine change in Philadelphia, not one engine working the entire route. With B&O passenger locomotives now working through, eastbound crews found water levels east of Philadelphia lower than desired before they could scoop at Roelofs. To stop and take water negated the time-saving justification for track pans in the first place, so several proposals, most to no avail, were introduced over the next twenty years or so, to address the problem.

Each of the 1,200-foot-long track pans on the B&O, made of 3/16” sheet steel in 30-foot sections riveted together, was 19” wide and 7¾” deep and held about 8,000 gallons of water. Small by industry standards, they were designed when the through route was at first assigned the B&O’s relatively light 4-4-0 type locomotives, which were changed at Philadelphia.

As the engine size increased and operating procedures changed over the years, the pans would prove to be only marginally adequate. And as traffic demands changed and new technology became available over the years, the cost of the track pan operation would come under constant scrutiny.

Since an engine was only able to scoop about 65 percent, or in this case a maximum of around 5,000 gallons at best, having a relatively low water level at Philadelphia left most of the eastbound engine crews working through feeling somewhat uneasy, since the next chance to scoop was Roelofs, about 60 miles east of Stanton, the previous scoop. It is the same feeling one has when the automobile gas gauge is near or on “empty”.

On the average, a steam locomotive when “working” consumed about 6,000 gallons of water and 3.5 tons of coal per hour. Some engineers, as a result, would not work the engine as hard, or “favor the engine,” east of Stanton until they reached Roelofs, in order to conserve water. This often resulted in not keeping the schedule.

The same situation existed for westbound trains between those points, but to a lesser degree since the tender water level was generally a little higher upon reaching Philadelphia because of the previous flat and straight running.

In 1926, it was proposed to increase the size of the fill pipes from the water station holding tank to the track pans in order to allow a quicker replenishment of water once a train had scooped. Problems had been encountered where a second section or a close-following train found little or no water left in the track pan. This became evident after the engines began working through.

Under the original design, refilling the pans took about 15 minutes, so the pipe size was increased first at Swan Creek and then at Stanton, cutting refill time almost in half.

Surface water, also known as “raw water”, was pumped from a creek at each location to an elevated holding tank and released by gravity through the fill pipes to the track pan’s floor at connections 200 feet from each end and one midway.

Water for use in a boiler often requires treatment, or “dosing”, whether it comes from a pan or a penstock. That is the adding of chemicals to adjust, among other things, the pH level and to neutralize any impurities that could adversely affect or impede the process of making steam or cause damage to the boiler. The term “dosing” is derived from the act of adding a dose of chemicals to the water.

At some locations, raw water is suitable “as is”; but at other locations, sometimes within the same region, dosing is required and is usually done by the engine crew as they take on water.

At a few of the larger water facilities, there was often a treatment plant for this process. Regardless, water samples from all locations were taken and analyzed frequently.

The water source for the pumping station at Swan Creek was its namesake and required dosing. At times of prolonged drought when the creek level would decline, there was cause for considerable concern; but rarely did any action have to be taken, such as excluding some passenger trains with non-time-sensitive schedules from scooping or freights from taking water from the penstocks at the affected water station.

A 6-foot-high timber dam made of used telephone poles was constructed in Swan Creek, creating a collecting pool that made the creek deeper and wider there and helped to offset most water fluctuations. Water entered a filtering well and was drawn 600 feet through a cast iron pipe to the pump house and pumped into a 40,000-gallon elevated holding tank.

At Stanton, initially, water was taken from a long mill race that ran adjacent to the right-of-way on the north (westbound) side, fed by Calf Run, east of the facility. Flowing by gravity for about 600 feet through two cast iron pipes to a sump at the pump house, it required no dosing and was pumped into an elevated 30,000-gallon holding tank. Since the flow in the pipe to the pump station was constant, any overflow was released into a drainage ditch and discharged downgrade into nearby Mill Creek, west of the facility.

But the mill race was prone to icing in the winter, which dramatically reduced the flow, so a dam was constructed at Mill Creek along with an automatic electric pumping station connected directly to the holding tank. The electric pump at Mill Creek was activated by a fill valve when the water level in the tank was below the normal operating level.

The water line from the mill race was retained to feed an auxiliary boiler that provided steam to the track pans in winter and also served as a backup to the electric pump system.

The tanks at both locations were 28 feet above track level to permit a gravity feed to the pans and penstocks. The track pans at Swan Creek were west of the tributary with the pump facilities and the small timber dam on the south (eastbound) side of the railroad. At Stanton, the layout was in reverse as noted. Both sites had passenger platforms and small shelters nearby that were served by local trains.

The area around the pans at both locations was eventually paved with Belgian blocks to permit better runoff and prevent the undermining and disruption of the roadbed. Better drainage also helped to prevent heavy ice buildup as a result of standing water on the roadbed in the winter.

Even so, freight trains taking water at the penstocks during icy conditions were required to stop short of the track pan area so the locomotive could cut off from the train and move, light, to the penstock to take water. This avoided having a trainman on the ground slip in the icy paved area caused by the frozen spray, had the cut been made at the penstock. Theoretically, to handle the penstock spout, the fireman would also move to and from the engine to the top of the tender where the cut was made. The paved area extended 100 feet beyond each end of the pans.

Engines scooping water would do so at a speed not exceeding 50 mph since, above that, too much water would be sprayed to the trackside and wasted. Excessive speed could conceivably cause damage the scoop mechanism. Higher speed while scooping would also generate a higher volume of water with a greater force, resulting in excessive pressure in the tank and possibly blowing off the hatch cover. In the event two opposing trains passed at the pans, with either or both scooping water, the speed was reduced to 30 mph to prevent the spray from injuring crews or damaging the windows or contents of the train on the adjoining track, since there could be loose coal and other debris in the spray.

Below 30 mph, the scoop proved to be less effective, providing less force to push the water up the fill pipe in the tender. So the optimum speed on the B&O for scooping was 40-45 mph.

At each end of the pans was a yellow warning marker and light on a pole, not only for night operations but for days with reduced visibility.
To increase their operating range, in 1926, some of the P-5 Pacifics’ tenders were extended 10 feet, increasing the “as delivered” coal capacity from 14 to 16 tons and the water capacity from 10,000 gallons to 10,800, somewhat resolving the low-water concern. As always, there was a trade-off--the affected engines required a 90-foot turntable. All were hand-fired and did not receive stokers until 1940.

Often, if a passenger train were near the 10-car limit, the train would be doubleheaded. This was not so much as to keep the schedule, but with two engines, they would not have to work as hard and individually would consume less water and coal. With this easy fix, the four scheduled scoops were adequate but costly because of the expense of the second engine and crew.

But one must also consider that the second locomotive on a doubleheader would get next to nothing on a scoop, so agreements had to be worked out between the crews as to which engine would scoop, one at the first pan location and the other at the second, if possible.
Another plan, in theory, and I repeat in theory, was that if the first engine lowered its scoop only halfway, then the second engine would have water to scoop. But in reality, what the first engine didn’t scoop was for the most part dissipated over the pavement.

Another approach was for the rear engine only to scoop first until halfway down the pan, and then the front engine would lower its scoop for the second half. Even at 30 mph, 1,200 feet went by fairly quickly.

In 1927, with the arrival of the P-7 Pacifics (5300-5329), which were specifically designed for the Washington-Jersey City through route, the low-water concern was reduced even further since the engines proved more efficient and had a slightly greater operating range even with the now-heaver consists. As delivered, they had a capacity of 19.5 tons of coal and 11,000 gallons of water.

It was proposed in 1931 to extend the length of the track pans at both B&O locations from 1,200 feet to 1,800 feet. This would give them an increased capacity of about 12,000 gallons; and with the engine having a 65 percent scooping rate, that would translate to a maximum of about 7,000 gallons taken on each scoop. It was felt that this would result in a nearly, if not a full, tank each time, which was not necessarily the case with the shorter pans. Also, with the extension, the second engine on a doubleheader could conceivably take in more water, as little as that might be.

But it was during the Great Depression, when money was scarce, ridership was down and no doubt, there were higher priorities elsewhere. Nevertheless, the B&O saw several innovations during this bleak time, including the world’s first fully air-conditioned train (The Columbian, between Washington and Jersey City), with more trains to follow.

Other innovations such as diesel power, one-of-a-kind steam locomotive designs and lightweight trains were also were tried on the route. One of those engines, 5304, a P-7a Pacific, was streamlined and had an increased capacity of 13,000 gallons of water and 18.5 tons of coal, foreshadowing things to come.

If problems were encountered, the crews always seemed to find a way to “make things work” somehow, which was all a part of good railroading. In effect, the Washington-Jersey City route had become a test track.

Since the 223-mile through run Washington to Jersey City was lucrative for crews (2¼ days’ pay for engine crews and 1½ days’ pay for train crews, one way), it tended to attract men with a lot of seniority and experience. Thus, the engineers, for the most part, knew just how to best handle the locomotive in order to conserve both coal and water. This also helped to temporarily resolve any low-water and coal concerns.

Crews often called jobs such as these, and there were several on the railroad, “money jobs” for indeed they were. This particular job was also referred to as “Working the Blue Line”, with crews taking a great deal of pride in being assigned the prestigious run.

Under the agreement, the through crews, using men from all three railroads, were assigned on a percentage basis, based on the mileage covered over each of the  participating railroads. The men were not paired as to home railroad so, for example, it could be a CNJ engineer and a B&O fireman on the same B&O engine, with a Reading conductor and a mixture of B&O and CNJ trainmen.

Train crews, regardless of their home road, all wore B&O uniforms. By this time, the regular consist, except occasionally for some headend cars, was all B&O.

The water concern was back on a “front burner” again in 1936 as the economy continued to recover, with passenger traffic showing a corollary increase and trains becoming longer. It was pointed out this time that the proposed pan extensions would not solve a mounting problem for westbound trains at Philadelphia. There, if in need of water after the station stop, they would have to stop again at the Locust Street tank and take water.  Any eastbound train in need of water would first have to cross over to the westbound track where the tank was, take water and then pull up to make the station stop, resulting in an even greater delay.

Consideration was given to installing a third set of track pans at Holmes, Pennsylvania, which already had penstocks. Located a little over 24 miles east of Stanton and 8 miles west of Philadelphia, this arrangement would provide a location for westbound trains to scoop rather than make a second stop in Philadelphia and give an extra scoop to eastbound trains, resulting in an adequate amount of water to reach Roelofs. It seemed a good idea until the estimated $83,000 (in 1936 dollars) price tag for the installation was presented. And that did not include annual labor and operating costs.

So two penstocks, one eastbound and the other westbound, were proposed for the station stop at 24th and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia. They would enable trains to top off while making the station stop, providing enough water to easily make it to the next track pan.

But it was noted that the city water pressure was very low at that location and that previous requests to install a booster pump at the nearby Locust Street tank had been turned down by the City of Philadelphia. The proposed penstocks would require booster pumps to permit a rapid delivery of water.

It was felt that if not two penstocks, then at least one should be installed for eastbound trains, which was more critical, but it would require a booster pump, which more than likely would not be approved. The concern of the city was that booster pumps would reduce the water system’s volume at that location and lower the pressure even further to surrounding customers, so no action was taken.

But the whole equation began to change somewhat after the first road diesel, Number 50, arrived in August 1935 and was assigned to The Royal Blue (Washington-Jersey City). It was quickly apparent that the single 1,800 hp unit had inadequate power to maintain the train’s four-hour schedule on the route and steam was returned to the train.

In 1937 when the first streamlined EA passenger diesel arrived (the two-unit set numbered 51), it was quickly assigned to The Royal Blue on a trial basis, since the two-unit set produced 3,600 hp. Finally in 1938 when more streamlined passenger diesels arrived, a two-unit diesel set was permanently assigned to The Royal Blue.

Over the next 10 years, diesels replaced steam on all of the through trains between Washington and Jersey City and led to the railroad’s total commitment to begin replacing steam system-wide.

Of course, the Second World War slowed the process. And as the wartime traffic grew to unprecedented levels and train consists swelled, in 1942 the proposal surfaced again to increase the length of the track pans, but this time only at Stanton. With a normal scoop at Swan Creek and a larger scoop at Stanton, it was felt that the engine could make it safely to Roelofs and no penstock would be needed at Philadelphia.

But by this time, the bulk of the through passenger trains were assigned diesels on the route and only replaced with steam during scheduled maintenance or sometimes if there were a second section. The passenger trains that operated only between Philadelphia and Washington were not considered for dieselization, such as Trains 35 and 36, mail and express Trains 29, 31 and 32 and any specials, including the so-called “MAIN Trains” (usually troop trains), all of which either terminated at Philadelphia or, if the consist worked east of Philadelphia, would receive a Reading or CNJ engine and crew change.

The acronym MAIN stood for “Military Authorization Index Number”.  For the bookkeeping regarding the train, it was recorded as MAIN followed by a reference number. But those in railroad operations, such as the dispatchers, road crews, etc., often reported them as passenger extras (PX), sometimes with a note on their paperwork such as: “MAIN 1234”.  Employee timetables and company correspondence often referred to them simply as Main Trains, which could include hospital trains and other government moves.

Between September 29, 1935 and April 24, 1942, a new “hot shot” less-than-carload freight train operated between New York and Pittsburgh (518 miles in 12 hours, 45 minutes) providing overnight delivery in direct competition against the steadily increasing truck traffic in the region. Known as Trains 117 and 118 and using passenger locomotives, which ran at passenger train speed when on the B&O, they scooped at the four track-pan locations. They had an engine and crew change at Philadelphia. They were the forerunners of what would become Time Saver.

Service in 1950
When rationing began in early 1942, it affected the trucking industry and merchandise as well, reducing the need and rendering the trains nonessential.

Added to the portion of the route west of Philadelphia on April 30, 1944, were mail and express Train 40 (Chicago-Philadelphia) and on April 28, 1946, passenger Trains 44 and 45 (between Philadelphia and Washington), all steam-powered utilizing the B&O track pans. So while some trains were dieselized during this time period, others on the B&O portion of the route were added using steam power.

In 1944, engine 5314 was selected for a test to increase the range of passenger locomotives. The B&O began by enlarging the capacity of the tender to 20,000 gallons. Along with other modifications, it was fitted with air vents to release the air pressure built up when scooping. If the test were successful, it was expected that there would be no need for the proposed penstocks at Philadelphia and perhaps not even the existing B&O track pans. Consequently, all of the previous proposals, which had not been acted on anyway for the most part, were officially put on hold.

Slowing from a running speed of 80 mph to 45 mph in order to scoop water adversely affected the schedule. With a 10-car consist, it took some time to lower to that speed as well as to return to it once the scooping was complete. Speed recorder tapes revealed that B&O engineers were scooping at speeds between 45 mph and 61 mph, many ignoring the 50 mph speed restriction

The notion of scooping at 80 mph intrigued B&O management since it was done on the New York Central (NYC). But NYC track pans were wider (24 inches) and longer, ranging from 1,400 to 2,400 feet (2,000-foot average), and the scoops were wider (13 13/16 inches).

It was noted that in order to scoop at 80 mph, the B&O track pans would have to be lengthened to at least 2,000 feet. And with the total cost of the modification to each tender estimated at $1,150, the entire matter was dismissed before any cost was determined for the track pan extensions.

After the war, the future of steam power between Washington and Jersey City became tenuous as the remainder of the through trains on the route were dieselized. The cost of maintaining the related support systems for steam motive power, such as the pumping stations, became a hot topic as the replacement diesels arrived. Only 12 scheduled trains scooped water on the B&O daily (Trains 5, 29, 31, 32, 35, 36, 40, 44, 45, 504, 509 and 510). But the railroad put off the abandonment of the pans since they were still marginally cost-effective and mainly since there were not yet enough replacement diesels.

The railroad had learned a lesson as World War II broke out, when every available piece of motive power and rolling stock, some slated for scrapping, was put to use, still resulting in a shortage. Since steam provided the backup for diesels, management made the prudent choice of keeping the track pan operation for a while.

Of major concern was the added manpower needed during the winter. Swan Creek had a manual, coal-fired, steam-powered water pump with a constant labor force year-round. Stanton, early on, had been changed to an unmanned facility, with an automatic, electric pump at Mill Creek. But in the winter months at Stanton, a coal-fired boiler still had to be maintained to generate steam to prevent freezing in the track pans, requiring the assigning of water station attendants for the season.

Steam at both locations was injected at a pressure of 80 pounds into the side wall of track pans at 45-foot intervals from a submerged feeder pipe between the two main tracks. A check valve prevented any water from back-flowing into the steam system.

At Swan Creek, since water station attendants were continuously assigned for the steam water pump anyway, attending to the additional boiler for track pan steam added nothing to the labor costs.

At both locations, the boilers used only in the winter season for track pan steam were small, surplus locomotive boilers. Attendants also checked the streams for icing around the water intakes.

Incidentally, since Stanton was normally unmanned, it was more susceptible to having leaves, brush, coal, dead critters, snakes and small fish end up in the track pans and present the potential to cause clogs. Some large turtles were just big enough to cause a clog and “bird hits” were common, as was loose bulk cargo that had fallen from a train. One can only imagine what was found in the bottom of the tender when it was cleaned out during scheduled maintenance. Needless to say, shaking of the grates while over the pans was prohibited.

The water station attendant at Swan Creek was on the constant lookout for any debris in the pans, which were completely inspected before refilling after each time a train scooped and every time after a train passed, scooping or not.

In 1947, after the wartime passenger traffic surge had subsided, it was concluded that the  Washington-Philadelphia trains, which were the bulk of the steam-powered passenger trains on the route, could make it with only one water scoop, at Swan Creek, and it seemed that Stanton could be eliminated. But the railroad was again reluctant to move on such an absolute physical plant change since, in the event of an overall traffic increase, it would be cost prohibitive to rebuild it and steam was still the primary backup for diesels.

(As an aside, as strange as it may seem, Train 5, The Capitol Limited, which had been dieselized west of Washington on June 15, 1938, was still steam-powered between Jersey City and Washington until September 28, 1947. This was a result of the need to balance steam power at Jersey City since there were two through eastbound trains with steam—504 and 510--and without steam on Train 5, only one through westbound (Train 509). So this way, there were two through trains with steam each way and a balance. The two eastbound engines would lay over in Jersey City overnight and return to Washington the next morning. That ended when all four trains were dieselized in September, 1947.)

The 1944 concept of a larger B&O tender (20,000 gallons of water, 25 tons of coal) was included in the redesign of four class P-7 engines (5301-5304) to class P-7d for use on The Cincinnatian (Trains 75 and 76) between Baltimore and Cincinnati beginning in 1947. This gave them an extended range of about 90 miles between water stops and was a major factor in setting a mandatory five-car limit for the train.

At several station stops, the engine would also “top off”. Only three station stops required the engine to take water (until full) over the entire 12 ½ hour, 570-mile route. With an engine and crew change at Grafton, West Virginia, there was an adequate supply of coal for each leg of the trip. Coal was available from a clamshell loader if needed, where water was taken on until full at station stops such as Martinsburg, West Virginia. The engines originally had scoops but they were removed since there were no track pans on this route.

In 1948, with only eight scheduled trains now scooping water on the B&O, the move to close Stanton during the winter months was looked at again, to avoid the additional labor cost; but no action was taken until the next year when the Stanton facility was closed for good on November 19, 1949. Also that year, mail and express Train 40 was abolished on February 20 and mail and express Train 31’s origination point was moved from Philadelphia to Washington. Both were steam-powered, with all through passenger trains on the route having been dieselized.

Since the larger tenders on The Cincinnatian’s locomotives had proved successful, by 1953 six other P-7s had received larger tenders and other modifications, becoming class P-7e: 5312, 5314-5317 and 5319, with 25 tons of coal and 20,000 gallons of water. But the big six-wheel-truck tenders exceeded a bridge clearance restriction near Wayne Junction, Pennsylvania, on a connecting track to the Reading’s station. Train 35 originated at that station platform and used the connection, so the restriction prevented using a P-7e with the larger tender. So they would be regularly used only on the mail and express trains and some specials.

Those specials still included Philadelphia-Laurel Racetrack trains, MAIN trains and as many as eight Army-Navy Game Specials on the day of the football game, some doubleheaded. The remaining Pacifics with extended tenders were regularly assigned west of Baltimore.
In 1952, the closing of the Swan Creek track pans was given a great deal of consideration since only four scheduled trains scooped daily. In the event that the Swan Creek track pans were closed for good, additional time was added to the schedule of Trains 35 and 36 to enable them to stop for water at the Elk Mills penstock (41 miles west of Philadelphia).

Trains 29 and 32, with extended tenders, could make the entire trip between Baltimore and Philadelphia without adding water. Train 29, which carried around 25 cars, was normally doubleheaded between Philadelphia and Washington.

Finally, the track pans and pumping station at Swan Creek were abolished on January 24, 1953, with only the penstocks remaining, fed by a nearby water main under an agreement with the U.S. government at Aberdeen, Maryland. The track pans were in need of renewal and the end of steam on the Baltimore Division was imminent.

After November 2, 1953, steam was gone for good from the Baltimore Division and all of the penstock locations were closed and removed. Thus ended the ongoing struggle to provide the much-needed water to locomotive engines.

It has often been said that: “Railroads make their reputation from passenger service and their money from freight.” The constant modifications made and money spent over the years in an attempt to keep the Blue Line passenger operation competitive and uphold the B&O’s reputation offer a classic example in support of that notion.

Special thanks to B&O retirees Harry Eck and Nick Powell, in addition to B&O Historical Society members Nick Fry and Michael Watnoski, for their assistance.

Personalized Service
When people hitched a ride “riding the blind," the space between the tender and the first car, they had a rude awakening if the train scooped water at the track pans since there would be a great deal of water turbulence at that part of the train.

 The front of the first car after the tender, usually a baggage or express car, was said to have a “blind end” since the train door, if there was one, was normally locked and sometimes had no window.

One fireman would often tell of the time when his train made the station stop at Wilmington after scooping at both Swan Creek and Stanton and to his surprise, he saw a man stumble away from “the blind,” soaking wet. He called it to the attention of the engineer, who was also surprised and said,”I'll bet it's the first time that bum has had a bath in a while and this time it's with the compliments of the B&O!” After all, the railroad's hallmark was “personalized customer service”.—RN