by Toripony » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:08 pm
I'll be HAPPY to help anyway I can, but I am not the loco expert. You may want to find out if there were any WM (Western Maryland) Chessies.
As I know the story, it goes roughly like this.... The C&O and B&O started getting chummy in the early 60's and behind closed doors the first traces of the Chessie System began. WM was in financial trouble at the time and teamed up with the B&O. I don't know the details of how they worked together. Around 1970, the Chessie System name was becoming public knowledge and the combining of the companies was formally underway. It is after this time that you will find Rulebooks titled for both the C&O and B&O and this is when Chessie System paint began appearing on the Alleghany. The book I have is dated 1969. By that time there is little to no mention of the WM in my neighborhood. Dad spoke of it like it was a subsidiary of the B&O.
I saw occasional GP9's painted in Chessie colors but how I remember them most was in various C&O paints. As with many railroads, the GP9 was one of the most popular during that era on the C&O. I remember that they pulled the Greenbrier sub every week until the mid 70's. When the Greenbrier was abandoned in 1978, they were using something like a GP40 (I can't say for sure) on that train. By then, I rarely saw a GP9, but the few I did were in Chessie paint. I suspect they were still in use in plenty elsewhere, but since there was no Ronceverte yard engine and no Greenbrier sub, there was nothing for their small size to do here. From then till now, I've seen nothing here on the mainline but big power road units. I do remember seeing them run as yard switchers in Clifton Forge up through the '80's. Some in C&O paint, some in Chessie, all looking very dirty and neglected.
This is the history ONLY as I know it looking out my window and through my study of the Alleghany. As I've often found, the Alleghany sub was not the place to commonly see "foreign" names (including B&O and WM) or antiquated equipment so I know that my knowledge is limited. More integration could be found in the region of the old B&O mainline (Northern VA, MD, PA).
Not much detailed info, but maybe this offers some perspective. Looking forward to watching the progress on these!
Tori