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THE
WILMORE
TRACK PANS continued .... |
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Periodically, the tunnels under the tracks had to be cleaned out or entered for repairs—a cramped, unpleasant task. To accomplish this, one end of the tunnel was closed and entry was made by removing boards covering a pit at the other end and descending a ladder into the pit. Unlike some other installations that recycled drainage water, runoff at Wilmore was guided to the nearby Little Conemaugh River.
Winter presented special problems. To keep the pans from freezing, steam was injected into the water supply line in contrast to earlier systems that shot live steam directly into the pans (because the supply lines occasionally froze). Pan water was thus warmed slightly and usually kept in slight motion to deter freezing. However, Wilmore did not use a circulation system to reheat the pan water as some other installations did.
The ice created by splashing was a major hazard. A thawing system used at Wilmore involved a closed hot water system. The boiler house contained five boilers, two for the steam injection system, two for the hot water thawing system, and a backup boiler.
Pump
and Heater similar to Wilmore's, at Bellwood Track Pans
The two-inch-diameter thawing pipes, which ran off an eight-inch header, were located on either side of the track on top of the ties near their edge for the length of the pan. Thereafter, they ran under the tracks and converged between the tracks for another 800 feet beyond the leaving end of the pan to thaw ice from water dripping off the undercarriages.
The water in the thawing pipes was heated to over 200 deg F and pumped through the circuit. It was still warm when it returned through the underground return pipes.
The hot water thawing system, which was more efficient than a steam pipe system, was effective except during extended below-freezing periods. Then, gangs of up to 50 men were employed to chip the ice away—a slippery and dangerous job.
At some installations, an additional steam-fed thawing pipe was used in the six feet between two tracks. However,
water splashing from the scooping operation would hit the steam pipe and cool the steam down to warm water, so this method was not used at Wilmore. In 1906, an alternate system that involved burying these pipes was tried at Wilmore and Bellwood (see photo at top), but this was later removed at both sites. (The New York Central covered its between-track steam pipes in order to deal with the problem of splashing water cooling down the steam.)
Thawing
effect of buried heating pipes is seen at Bellwood Pans.
The Wilmore track pan facility was manned 24 hours a day from November 1 to April 1, and intermittently for the rest of the year. Frequent checks of the plumbing and drainage as well as repairs to leaks and system damage were often required. Charts in the pumphouse automatically recorded water levels.
Operation of the pans was the responsibility of the PRR Maintenance of Way Department, while operation of the boilers and pumps was supervised by the Maintenance of Equipment Department.
PRR
I1 “hippo” taking on water at Wilmore. Note Belgian blocks lining tracks
to facilitate water runoff (Photo by Mark Blaisdell courtesy of Charles
Eggie.)
The Wilmore pans continued in operation until the spring of 1953, when sections were cut out to enable expansion of the dry steel of the remaining pans when the water was drained. By the following fall, all the pans had been removed. The boilers and pumps were removed in 1955, thus obliterating a fine example of steam railroad water scooping operations.
This story was researched at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and the Hagley Museum and Library. Information was collected from both formal archival sources and real railroaders who saw track pans in action. A key source was Charlie Eggie, who had been the Pennsylvania Railroad's Plumber Foreman at the Wilmore track pans. Mr. Eggie provided both keen recollections and invaluable amateur photos of scooping in action. Following publication of our initial story on track pans, Mr. Eggie visited the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, viewed the Museum's track pan exhibit which features a section of track pan retrieved from Wilmore, and donated a wooden shim that had been used there to adjust the pan's height to proper tolerances. Wooden shims -- something we had missed in our research into the written record.
Railroads employed
tens of thousands of workers in tasks that went beyond the typical role
of the engineer and conductor. Railroads maintained impressive physical
infrastructures and large corporate support systems that allowed the
people and commerce of America to move across the miles and mountains.
It is the memories of these railroaders, their fondness for the
human side of their important and demanding tasks, and the glint in
their eyes as they retell their stories that make this historical research
so rewarding. Their passing can only be lamented, but also honored in
recognizing their accomplishments.
-- JA
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Read the main story on this subject: Scooping Water in the Age of Steam |
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