The Water Street Express
September 23rd, 2009 10:54 am · 10 comments
10 comments
Tags: Lancaster
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| Lisa Armellino 9/23/09 12:25 PM | That is so neat Gil!!! Great find! As I clicked on it, I wondered if I missed something about the proposed Trolley system and I had a chuckle to myself. Did you notice gas was $0.28?? LOL |
| gp80mac 9/23/09 8:21 PM | Way before my time, but: That was the annual Santa Train to Watt & Shand (delivering the big guy in red). The engine was owned by the museum, but at the time the Strasburg RR was operating it. I've heard a few stories from the guys that used to run freight down that line. If you had your car parked too far from the curb and you lost a mirror or got a nice scrape down the side? Too bad. If a car actually physically stopped a train from passing, then they'd start banging on doors to find the owner of the car and tell him to move the ***** thing! I always miss out on the fun. |
| UDelawareBH 9/23/09 8:34 PM | WTF. Has any thought been put into the fact there's a VERY OLD, decrepid and crumbling brick/stone archway in Water Street that is about 7-9' in diameter, being used as a major sewer line for the last 150+ years? It's crumbling from the inside. It's merely 1-2' below the road surface in some spots. I cannot believe that thing supported a train operation, very scary. |
| Artie See 9/23/09 9:21 PM | QUOTE (UDelawareBH @ Sep 23 2009, 08:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> WTF. Has any thought been put into the fact there's a VERY OLD, decrepid and crumbling brick/stone archway in Water Street that is about 7-9' in diameter, being used as a major sewer line for the last 150+ years? It's crumbling from the inside. It's merely 1-2' below the road surface in some spots. I cannot believe that thing supported a train operation, very scary. IIRC, it's not a sewer line. Water Street got its name from the stream that once flowed there, which was covered over as you described. I believe it empties into the Conestoga River at Engleside. The rail line that once went down Water Street crossed the Conestoga at Engleside, and continued on to Quarryville. I am old enough to remember fully-loaded freight trains headed down Water Street. |
| notveryhow 9/23/09 10:42 PM | QUOTE (Artie See @ Sep 23 2009, 10:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> IIRC, it's not a sewer line. Water Street got its name from the stream that once flowed there, which was covered over as you described. I believe it empties into the Conestoga River at Engleside. The rail line that once went down Water Street crossed the Conestoga at Engleside, and continued on to Quarryville. I am old enough to remember fully-loaded freight trains headed down Water Street. The sewers (both storm and sanitary) must empty into the stream (or what's left of it). There is no outlet at Engleside, but if you walk back the tunnel at Engleside you'll come to a smelly stream of gray water running behind a low wall. When it rains, that wall is overtopped, and raw sewage flows into the creek. We had a thread a few weeks ago about the sewage. I recall the trains running down Water Street. As a kid, we used to hike down those tracks often, on our way to the little solution pocket cave downstream from New Danville Pike. Too bad no one was thinking in terms of rail to trail when the line was abandoned. That line to Quarryville would have been a really nice addition to Lancaster County's parks. All the rails and ties have been pulled up ,and there are places where the bed has pretty much disappeared. But some of the bridges still remain. |
| Bryan Rutt 9/24/09 1:30 AM | Gil, I appreciate you sharing my blog post with your readers and generating some discussion regarding the "Santa Claus Special", PRR-1223 - thank you! To those of you who have commented, thank you for shedding some more light on the stories behind the photo and of the history of the Water Street train tracks. I can't tell you how much I enjoy learning about the Lancaster that was. Ray Peacock commented on my post and gave the url for a companion pic that John Dziobko took the same day at a different point along Water Street, http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=159590. I'm looking to identify exactly where on Water this other shot was taken, if anyone can help. I'm sure Ray and John both would be intersted in your remembrances, so I'm setting up a link on my blog to this thread. Thanks, Bryan |
| Artie See 9/24/09 6:59 AM | QUOTE (Bryan Rutt @ Sep 24 2009, 01:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm looking to identify exactly where on Water this other shot was taken, if anyone can help. 100 block of N. Water St., facing north. This scene looks nearly identical today. "Eshelman Wholesale" is now Phelan's Furniture. The tall building behind the engine is now Radel & Stauffer Giftwares. Off to the right, out of the picture, is Gallery 141. The gas station at Prince and Orange is behind and to the right of the photographer. The tall building in the background at the right of the picture is the Water St. side of a former wholesaler, later an insurance company, now partially occupied by the Pennsylvania School of Art & Design. |
| Bigmaclender2 9/24/09 7:19 AM | QUOTE (Bryan Rutt @ Sep 24 2009, 01:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Gil, I appreciate you sharing my blog post with your readers and generating some discussion regarding the "Santa Claus Special", PRR-1223 - thank you! To those of you who have commented, thank you for shedding some more light on the stories behind the photo and of the history of the Water Street train tracks. I can't tell you how much I enjoy learning about the Lancaster that was. Ray Peacock commented on my post and gave the url for a companion pic that John Dziobko took the same day at a different point along Water Street, http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=159590. I'm looking to identify exactly where on Water this other shot was taken, if anyone can help. I'm sure Ray and John both would be intersted in your remembrances, so I'm setting up a link on my blog to this thread. Thanks, Bryan Welcome to TalkBack-glad to see you have a VISION! hee hee (this is Chris McDonald) |
| Gates of Eden 9/24/09 7:28 AM | QUOTE (Artie See @ Sep 24 2009, 06:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 100 block of N. Water St., facing north. This scene looks nearly identical today. "Eshelman Wholesale" is now Phelan's Furniture. The tall building behind the engine is now Radel & Stauffer Giftwares. Off to the right, out of the picture, is Gallery 141. The gas station at Prince and Orange is behind and to the right of the photographer. The tall building in the background at the right of the picture is the Water St. side of a former wholesaler, later an insurance company, now partially occupied by the Pennsylvania School of Art & Design. Used to be Herr & Co. hardware distributor. Worked there in early 1973. I remember the train traveling on Water st. Used to go to the scrap yard off of S. Prince st. I believe 1973 was the last year for the train using Water st. |
| notveryhow 9/24/09 7:48 AM | QUOTE Used to go to the scrap yard off of S. Prince st. Ah, the scrap yard. One of my childhood haunts. Always got full value for the tetanus shots I recieved. |
