2017 Diesel/Motorcar Roster - from the January-February 2017 Article

Built for Nelson & Albemarle Railway as 2-6-2ST #9 purchased by Virginia Alberene Corporation and delivered to Schuyler, Virginia. 148,000#. Primary mainline locomotive from delivery until replaced by GE 44-ton diesel in 1951 30 years later. Scrapped in 1952. Scrapping likely occurred in Richmond, Virginia at Peck Iron & Metals (though actually at Deepwater Terminal where C&O, SAL, ACL locomotives were scrapped in long lines of processing that put the scrap metal on ships for eventual export).

* Photograph from unknown photographer with negative in the NEARHS collection of Nelson & Albemarle Railway memorabilia.

Built for Nelson & Albemarle Railway as 2-6-2ST #10 purchased by Virginia Alberene Corporation and delivered to Rockfish, Virginia. 112,000#. Used in service between Schuyler and Rockfish and secondary locomotive for mainline between Schuyler and Esmont/Warren. Scrapped in 1953. Scrapping likely occurred in Richmond, Virginia at Peck Iron & Metals (though actually at Deepwater Terminal where C&O, SAL, ACL locomotives were scrapped in long lines of processing that put the scrap metal on ships for eventual export).

* Photograph is W. H. Thayer picture postcard from NEARHS collection of Nelson & Albemarle Railway memorabilia.

Built for Culver & Port Clinton Railroad, Gypsum, Ohio as their #2; 86,000#; Received new boiler #2929 in July 1916. Was at Vulcan shops at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania before being sold to Nelson & Albemarle Ry in March 1923 (noted as going to N&A in April 1923). New boiler installed in 1927 (though shown places as same boiler #2929 from 1916). Said to have been scrapped in 1954, there is a known photograph from 1951 with #11 in Warren where the locomotive was usually operating in Schuyler. While the arrival of the first diesel had already displaced #9 as the mainline locomotive, #11 would be the last active steam survivor on the N&A with scrapping taking place in 1954.

* Photograph is an unknown photographer print from photo taken on 20 August 1941 from NEARHS collection of Nelson & Albemarle Railway memorabilia. N&A #14 is also shown in photo (and photo from opposite direction is also in the NEARHS collection).

Puchased by Phoenix Stone Company of New York City for delivery to Standard Soapstone of Arrington, Virginia as 42" gauge locomotive built 13 October 1924 as Model DLC, Type 6. To Virginia Alberene Corporation on 18 December 1930 and converted to Standard Gauge at some point. Photo of tracks by quarry show unit at Schuyler. According to article by Ed Fielding in The Short Line: The Journal of Shortline & Industrial Railroads in January/February 1978 (Volume 6, Number 1; TSL #31), this Plymouth unit (un-numbered) was in the engine house at Schuyler in 1965 making it the last of the roster to be present on the original property.

* Photo from NEARHS collection of prints.

Built in February 1925 (though shown some places as built in 1926) for Virginia Alberene Corporation as Nelson & Albemarle #14 delivered to Schuyler, Virginia. 60,000#. Scrapped 1953. Scrapping likely occurred in Richmond, Virginia at Peck Iron & Metals (though actually at Deepwater Terminal where C&O, SAL, ACL locomotives were scrapped in long lines of processing that put the scrap metal on ships for eventual export).

* Photograph is an unknown photographer's picture postcard from NEARHS collection of Nelson & Albemarle Railway memorabilia.

Originally built for the Chile Exploration Company, 52,000#; the company never took delivery of the engine. It was sold to the Rhodes Construction Company. On March 7, 1928, the locomotive was sold to the Virginia Alberene Company. Used on their subsidiary, Alberoyd Company of Esmont, Virginia as their #1, it was assigned to the crusher plant at Damon where it would remain until the crusher plant was moved to Schuyler and the locomotive followed. Disposition unknown but assumed scrapped around 1953 along with #12 and #14. Scrapping likely occurred in Richmond, Virginia at Peck Iron & Metals (though actually at Deepwater Terminal where C&O, SAL, ACL locomotives were scrapped in long lines of processing that put the scrap metal on ships for eventual export). Note that the Richmond Deepwater Terminal where Peck Iron & Metals were located nearby was serviced by the Seaboard Air Line Railway and traffic destined for scrapping arriving from the C&O made interchange to the SAL from the adjacent C&O 17th Street yard in Richmond.

Note: Previously, the only known photograph of N&A Railway #15 was the copy of the original builder's photograph found within a copyrighted book. While this was originally reported to be in the Library of Congress (see This Month's Article - March 2016) it was recently found at the Smithsonian Institution archives where their Department of Transportation moved the entire Southern Iron & Equipment collection including photographs circa 1903-1960 between departments in 1989.

GE 44-ton B-B Diesel c/n 30856. Built in December 1950 for Nelson & Albemarle Railway #1 (the third #1) requisition #RIC-29947 555/733/D-17000, rated 44-tons and 400hp; date shipped 9 January 1951. (The D-17000 is technically rated as 2, Caterpillar V-8 diesel engines at-180hp each plus 2-134kw motors though listed as 400hp for this unit). Replaced 2-6-2T #9 as mainline engine until end of N&A career when line was shutdown in 1963. Officially transferred to Georgia Marble ownership in 1963 and moved to Tate, Georgia. After some time, the diesel was sent to Gantt's Quarry in Alabama, then sold to Industrial Maintenance (Service) Co. in 1976 but never on their property before being sold to Hamburg Industries, North Augusta, South Carolina (company was later purchased by TTX). Unit was painted in Hamburg Industries color scheme and numbered as #2. Last known photograph taken 30 July 1982 by Mac Connery of Durham, North Carolina. When TTX planned a re-engine project, 30856 was not selected for upgrades. Instead, #2 was used as spare parts for the remaining 44-ton units on the property, stored for short time on west side of property until eventually scrapped with Progress Rail (possibly as a trade-in for another 44-ton unit). Noted as scrapped at Patterson, Georgia, but Progress Rail reports that any unit sent for scrapping would have been forwarded to Mayfield, Kentucky. The detail on how TTX handled the disposition and scrapping of former N&A #1 (Hamburg Industries #2) was relayed verbally while visiting the TTX facility in North August, South Carolina.

* Photograph is from Photographer, Charles Wales (slide) taken on 30 October 1953 near Esmont, Virginia and is original slide from the NEARHS collection of Nelson & Albemarle Railway memorabilia.

GE 25-ton B Diesel c/n31778. Built in January 1953 for Alberene Stone Corp. as Nelson & Albemarle #3 (second #3) requisition #RIC-49116-3 1503/747/HBI, rated 25-tons, 150hp; date shipped 6 February 1953. Replaced steam locomotives used in quarry operations and in service until end of N&A career when line was shutdown in 1963. Officially transferred to Georgia Marble ownership in 1963 and sent to Nelson, Georgia where it remained stored out-of-service for quite some time. Lewis Rhodes of Railrhodes, Inc. of Monroe, Georgia acquired the diesel and in 2002 made the sale of it to Great Lakes Calcium company in Woodville, Ohio. In 2004, GLC Woodville site was sold to National Lime & Stone which immediately closed the Woodville Plant. Conversation with NL&S found that no 25-ton unit was involved in the takeover of the location or movement of materials to NL&S's main site in Carey, OH. While thought to be scrapped prior to 2004, there was a comment mentioned that #3 may have been involved in a wreck at the Woodville Plant property and might have been shipped to Green Bay, Wisconsin with no additional sightings since 2003 until mid-2008 with unconfirmed photos of a GE 25-ton unit taken by Michael Ostertag (and posted on rrpicturesarchive.net) on 14 June 2008 that appeared to be c/n31778. Then in late-2013 photographs were taken describing the location as Great Lakes Calcium in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Great Lakes Calcium in Green Bay was contacted by phone and they advised on 14 February 2014, that the unit is in use daily to move cars and is indeed GE c/n 31778. There are at least 2 photographs on Flickr from photographer Kim Kafura of the Green Bay engine taken in late-2013 and he has granted permission to use his image(s) here.

During 2015, this last remaining diesel was visited in Green Bay, Wisconsin and opportunity was provided to not only ride in the diesel but also pilot the locomotive on the Great Lakes Calcium site (under guidance of a licensed engineer!) and photographs of this experience will be posted in February 2017.

* Photograph provided by Kim Kafura to the NEARHS collection of Nelson & Albemarle Railway memorabilia. Thanks go to Tom Lawson, Jr. for additional historical and personal detail on 31778 that was previously unknown and fills a large gap of the missing story. Tom knew Lewis Rhodes of Railrhodes, Inc. when they were both with Republic Locomotive Works in the early 1980's. Tom tried to purchase 31778 (d/b/a Locomotive Marketing, Inc.), but Railrhodes, Inc. won out.

Remember: 31778 started life in Schenectady, NEW YORK (not Erie, Pennsylvania as previously reported); then went to Schuyler, VIRGINIA; from there to Nelson, GEORGIA; and on to Woodville, OHIO before now appearing in Green Bay, WISCONSIN. 62 years old and lived in 5 different states!