B&O Railroad West End Mountain Division

[fluteman70]

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 3:04 pm
Greetings to all,
I am new to this forum and hope to make a few contributions. This one is history.
I am a fan of the fallen flag The Baltimore & Ohio, possibly becasue most of relatives worked for the B&O and the West End began here in my hometown of Keyser. WV. I also track the rail roads history from Washington, D.C. to Chicago. Ill. Traveling from Keyser to Grafton, WV., the hardest segment due to several 2% ruling grades; Cranberry, Cheat River, NewBury, and the 17 mile grade (which begans just a few miles from Keyser). It took enginers two years to prepare for the 17 mile grade (my uncle was train master and my uncle and enginer, which explains how I got to ride in the cab). All if the West End is steeped in history and especially the M&K Junction. If you like railroad history visit this site via internet. I have talke to several HO gage model RR who have built their layout around M&K. I had the pleasure of watching (an riding) some of the very largest steam locomotives. 2-8-8-2(or sometime 2-8-8-0). Plenty of Mikados and Pacfics. Also the Cincinnatian. I was here when the transition from steam to diesel started. More F7s than you could count. I had the prividge of ridding in a coach, pulled at different times by a steam loco or a diesel, in the old coaches. The yard here in Keyser was very busy around the clock. My uncle would take me to the ready track and pas me up to the engineer (I couldn't mange the ladder) and I would stay with him until the train was assembled and they were leaving for D.C.

I have a website, that takes the first page talking about me,and then go on to the next pages to get into the good stuff - - pictures here in Keyser. The web site is fluteman70.tripod.com. My new email address is frederick.riley2@frontier.com. I am always elated to speak to B&O fans, or any other foar that matter.
Regards,
Fred Riley, member of the Baltimore B&O Historical Musem.

[rfranzosa]

Fred,

Welcome aboard. I have (somewhere on my LONNNNG to-do list), a B&O set planned to add additional units and passenger equipment not covered in Gaetan's original set.

When the time comes, I will certainly ask for help with the history.

Rick

[fluteman70]

Hello Rick,
It would be my pleasure to assist you however I can. My HO model RR layout was fashioned after the West End. Only used what the B&O used. Too old to work with that anymore.

I have used the SandPatch BOH and the CLW locos.

I wish someday someone would discover what a rich about of history is found in the West End. M&K junction is a treasure trove.

Check my website fluteman70.tripod.com. I spend the first page talking about me and then the next pages are here in Keyser.
Regards,
Fred

[GaryG]

Hello Fred and welcome to these Forums.

A heads up - you should never display your email address in plain text in a public accessable Web location as there are bots that troll looking for addresses with the purpose of selling them to SPAMmers.

GaryG