The Wilmington and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad in northern Delaware, operating over a former

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

(B&O) branch line between Wilmington and

Hockessin Hockessin () is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 13,527 at the 2010 census. History Hockessin came into existence as a little village in 1688 when several families settled in th ...

. The railroad operates both

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

and

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

in 1980. Wilmington & Western serves one customer for revenue service, and interchanges with

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

at Landenberg Junction, Delaware Wilmington & Western's two

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Diesel-Electric SW1 locomotives are the oldest in routine scheduled service.

History

The Delaware and Chester County Railroad was incorporated in February 1867 to build from Wilmington in the direction of

Parkesburg Parkesburg is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was counted as 3,866 at the 2020 census. The ZIP code is 19365. History Parkesburg was first known as the Fountain Inn, a tavern built ca. 1734. The inn cea ...

or Atglen, Pennsylvania, and was renamed the Wilmington and Western Railroad in March 1869,

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

, 42 Val. Rep. 1 (1933): Valuation Docket No. 1068, The Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Company and its Leased Lines opening the line to Landenberg in 1872.Wilmington & Western Railroad: History
accessed February 2009 A foreclosure sale in April 1877 produced the Delaware Western Railroad, which was incorporated in June 1877 and merged into the

Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad The Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad was a railroad line built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Maryland-Delaware state line, where it connected with the B&O's Philadelphia Branch to reach Baltimor ...

, a B&O subsidiary, in February 1883. The B&O cut back the line to Southwood in the early 1940s and to Hockessin in the late 1950s. Historic Red Clay Valley, Inc. began operating steam tourist trains on weekends in 1966, reusing the old W&W name, and in August 1982 the W&W bought the branch from the Chessie System for $25,000, which included Ex-B&O SW1 #8408 as a part of the purchase. and Under the Historic Red Clay Valley Inc. the operations are managed by a

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

, paid staff and a large number of volunteers. In 1999, the rains of Hurricane Floyd caused considerable damage to the railroad. Two trestles were entirely destroyed by the flooding of Red Clay Creek, which also caused track washouts and damaged several other trestles. The two destroyed bridges were replaced by steel trestles, but the other timber trestles were simply repaired. In 2003,

Tropical Storm Henri The name Henri has been used for six tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean: *Hurricane Henri (1979), took unusual route around Yucatán Peninsula, caused no significant damage * Tropical Storm Henri (1985), crossed Long Island as a weak storm, ...

struck the valley and produced an even more catastrophic flood. While the two steel bridges (and an iron trestle at Ashland) survived the flood, the remaining bridges were swept away or irreparably damaged. Despite the damage caused by these storms, the Wilmington and Western continued to operate on the remaining track, and replaced all of the destroyed bridges with steel trestles. The line officially reopened into Hockessin on June 30, 2007. The railroad celebrated its 50th anniversary operating as a tourist railroad in 2016.

Excursions

Several different excursions are offered by the Wilmington and Western Railroad, running through the Red Clay Creek valley. Trains operate out of the Greenbank station near the southern end of the railroad. The railroad offers two regular excursions which run on weekends during the operating season. The Hockessin Flyer runs round-trip from Greenbank to the northern end of the line in

for a 2.5-hour trip with a 30-minute layover in Hockessin. The Mt. Cuba Meteor runs round-trip from Greenbank to the Mount Cuba Picnic Grove for a 1.5-hour trip with a 30-minute layover for a picnic at the Mount Cuba Picnic Grove. The Wilmington and Western Railroad also offers several special themed excursions. Some of the themed excursions include the Easter Bunny Express, the Fireworks Express on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

, a dinner train called the Royal Blue Dinner Train, the Brews on Board train serving

craft brew Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

s, the Civil War Skirmish Weekend, the Princess Express, the Superhero Express, the Autumn Leaf Special offering views of fall foliage, the

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

Express, the Holiday Lights Express offering views of Christmas lights, and the

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

Express around Christmas. Groups may also charter a caboose, car, or entire train for an event. A caboose attached to the end of a regularly scheduled train may be rented for birthday parties.

Equipment

Locomotives

Former units

Passenger cars

*Four DL&W Boonton passenger cars operate along the railroad. Combine #410, Coach #571, Coach #581, and Coach #603 were built in 1914-15 by the Pullman Company for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad for commuter service as part of an order for 77 cars. The cars were in commuter service until the late 1950s, when newer passenger cars were pressed into service. The four Boonton passenger cars were purchased by HRCV in the early 1960s for passenger service. The passenger cars have been in service since May 1966. *Open-Air Coach #442 ''Kiamensi Springs'' was originally a locomotive-hauled PRR MP54 passenger car built by the Pennsylvania Railroad's

Altoona Works Altoona Works (also known as Altoona Terminal) is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1850 and 1925 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and relat ...

in 1912. The car was converted to a MP54E6 EMU between 1950 and 1951 by adding electric traction motors. This coach car was used in commuter service for the Pennsylvania Railroad until being retired by 1978. Coach #442 arrived at the Wilmington and Western Railroad in 1988 and was converted into an open-air car in the late 1990s, entering service on May 23, 1999. *Parlor Car #6795 was built in 1930 by the Pullman Company for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad as an EMU commuter coach numbered #2548. When the Delaware, Lackawannana & Western Railroad merged with the Erie Railroad to become the Erie Lackawanna Railway in 1960, #2548 was renumbered to #3548. The car was eventually purchased by Philadelphia radio personality Tom Moran, who placed it into storage in Woodstown, New Jersey. Moran painted the car into a Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines scheme and renumbered it to #6795. The Wilmington and Western Railroad purchased #6795 on January 14, 1991 and kept the car in storage until early 2006, when it was restored and converted into a parlor car.

Cabooses

*Caboose #C149 was built by the Erie Railroad at its Dunmore Shops in July 1941. The caboose saw service on the Erie Railroad and later the Erie Lackawanna Railway. In 1976, the Erie Lackawanna Railway became part of

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

and #C149 was renumbered to #46195. The caboose eventually came to the Wilmington and Western Railroad as #C149 and was used on work trains. The caboose was refurbished in 2000 to be used for passengers and for birthday parties, entering revenue service on April 13, 2001. In 2016, the caboose was taken out of service for a major interior restoration. *Caboose #C2013 was built by the B&O at its Washington, Indiana shops in 1926 as a class I-5 caboose. It became a class I-5D when steel frame trucks were added. After coming to the Wilmington and Western Railroad, the caboose was restored to its original window placement and a back-up horn and lights were added. In summer 2005, the caboose had new roller-bearing trucks added and the wood siding replaced. In 2006, #C2013 underwent a restoration that reconstructed the interior and repainted the caboose into an authentic B&O scheme. *Caboose #C2042 was built by the B&O at its Washington, Indiana shops in August 1926 as a class I-5 caboose. It became a class I-5D when cast frame trucks were added. After coming to the Wilmington and Western Railroad, a back-up horn and lights were added. The caboose underwent an exterior restoration in 2013 that gave it a fresh coat of point, and underwent an interior restoration in 2016. Image:WW engine98-1.jpg, W&W #98 Image:WW Doodlebug1.jpg, W&W #4662 Image:WW EasterBunny1.jpg, Easter Bunny Image:Doodlebug holiday.jpg, W&W #4662

References

External links

Wilmington & Western RailroadWilmington & Western Railroad Photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilmington Western Railroad Railway lines on the National Register of Historic Places Heritage railroads in Delaware Delaware railroads Switching and terminal railroads Spin-offs of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Railway companies established in 1982 Defunct Delaware railroads Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Predecessors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Railway companies established in 1869 Railway companies disestablished in 1877 Companies operating former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware Tourist attractions in New Castle County, Delaware 1869 establishments in Delaware Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware Rail infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware