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| WAG Centercabs |
| The WAG Centercabs
By Chris Bigham A diesel dinosaur sits in the New York and Lake Erie Railroad's yard in Gowanda, NY. Hiding behind a cut of boxcars is the former #1700 of the Wellsville, Addsion and Galeton Railroad. A vandal has cruelly spray painted the words "scrap" and "junk" on this former ex Ford GE centercab 132-ton engine. Her orange and cream paint scheme has been scarred with huge patches of rust. #1700 was originally part of an 8-unit order by the Ford Motor Company. General Electric built the units at their Erie, PA, plant between 1937 and 1940 for switching operations at Ford's River Rogue, Detroit, MI, plant. Ford's owner, Henry Ford, asked General Electric to model the new engines after Ford's popular Victoria car. #1000 and #1001 were lighter units at 125 tons with 900 horsepower. Centercabs #1002-#1007 were heavier at 132-tons with 1000 horsepower. Cooper-Bessemer GN6s powered the engines while later units used a GNL6 engine. Ford put the centercabs up for sale in the mid-50s as the River Rogue plant switched to newer power. One of the first prospective buyers was the Wellsville, Addison and Galeton Railroad (WAG). The WAG was incorporated in 1954 to purchase 91 miles of the former Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad trackage from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The WAG had purchased six original B&S steam engines but did not intend to use steam power when they first began their operations in January 1956. #1000 and #1001 were purchased from Ford and renumbered #1200 and #1300. A small battery-powered GE centercab diesel (#300) was also used from another Salzberg-owned shortline, the Southern New York Railway (S&NY), along with two Whitcomb diesels, #1010 and #1012, from the Rock Island Railroad. The SNY and Rock Island diesels were found to be too light for the WAG's trackage. The Wellsville branch had a 2.85% grade near Cutler Summit, which severely challenged the lighter engines. The centercabs could negotiate the grade and were perfect for the WAG switching operations. The lighter engines were returned to their lessors. #1002 and #1007 were purchased by the WAG in late 1956 and renumbered #1400 and #1500 upon delivery. In 1958, the WAG purchased three more of the centercabs, #1002, #1004 and #1006. They were renumbered #1800, #1700 and #1600, respectively. The only centercab that did not go to the WAG, Ford Motor Company #1005, went to M.S. Kaplan of the North Indiana Dock Company of East Chicago, Indiana. The scrap dealer used the unit as its in-plant switcher. The WAG's daily operations only called for the use of two centercabs. One unit was used for both the Addison and Wellsville branch trains. Sometimes two units were used if a particular day's train was heavy. The centercabs did not have M.U. capabilities so two crews were used if a train needed two engines. This left four or five of the centercabs sitting unused in the WAG's brick enginehouse. The Salzberg family owned a scrapping business and scrapped a number of abandoned railroads in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The surplus centercabs pulled scrap trains on the New York, Ontario and Western and the Leigh and New England Railroads. The scrapper of the Pennsylvania Railroad's abandoned Rochester Branch leased a centercab to pull the scrap train in 1963. #1300 was the first of the WAG's seven centercabs to be retired. It was hardly used except for early WAG operations and was retired in 1959. #1200 was retired in 1962, #1400 in 1964 and #1500 in 1967. By 1968, the condition of the centercabs had deteriorated severely. Numerous freight runs were interrupted when the engines frequently broke down. Parts were expensive and took a long time to arrive at the Galeton shops. Too much time and money was being spent on these aging centercabs. The WAG went shopping for new motive power during 1968. The WAG purchased 3 F7s from General Electric. These engines had seen service on the Southern Pacific Railroad before they were traded to GE. #2000 was quickly placed into service. The F7s were a major improvement over the old centercabs. The trip over Cutler Summit now only took 25 minutes instead of the centercab's slow 90-minute journey. The centercabs (mainly #1700 with #1800 and #1600 as backup) were still being used on the Elkland run. The new motive power did not last long on the WAG as the F7s were sent to Louisiana to help out another Salzberg-owned shortline, the Louisiana and NorthWest Railroad (L&NW). The L&NW served an ammunitions plant that had seen an increase in carloadings due to the Vietnam War and needed the extra motive power. #1600 had been retired early in 1969. This left just #1700 and #1800 as the WAG's only power when the F7s were sent south. #1500 was reactivated in the summer of 1969 to help out with the WAG's freight trains. The WAG quickly placed an order for more F7s from GE. Four more F7s were delivered in November 1969 as the centercabs continued to suffer major mechanical problems. #1500 was retired for the last time late in 1969 as #1200, #1400 and #1600 were sent to Luria Brothers in Modena, Pa., for scrapping. When #1300 was sent to Luria Brothers in March 1970, #1800 suffered a major failure and was retired. This left #1700 as the only serviceable engine for both the Wellsville and Elkland runs. WAG F7 #2200 was quickly pressed into service minus a complete paint job to help out on the Wellsville br anch. The WAG eventually put F7s #2300 and #2400 in service. #1700 was stored but kept in operating condition. Around this time, the only unit that had not purchased by the WAG, Ford #1005, was scrapped in Indiana. When the WAG applied for total abandonment in 1976, #1500 and #1800 were cut up in the Galeton yard leaving #1700 as the final survivor of the original eight units. #1700 was put up for sale. Interested parties operated the centercab around the Galeton yards as it belched thick black smoke from a lack of use. Bob Dingman, of the New York and Lake Erie Railroad (NY&LE), purchased #1700 and the centercab was towed to Ansonia. The newly formed Conrail refused to move #1700 because of bad wheels and braking problems. #1700 was sent back to Galeton for repairs. The deal with the NY&LE fell through and a number of railroad museums traveled to Galeton to inquire about using #1700 as a museum showpiece. The Lake Shore Railway Historical Society (LSRHS) of North East, Pa., purchased the centercab from the WAG in 1979. The final run of the WAG occurred in November 1979. #1700 was coupled to the end of the last train instead of the usual red WAG caboose. The last of the centercabs was left at Ansonia until the LSRHS could perform some minor repairs. #1700 was parked in Ansonia for almost four years. Vandals shattered the glass in the cab and broke off instruments. The LSRHS and the NY&LE performed necessary repairs to the wheels and brakes in August 1984. Conrail then accepted the centercab for shipment. #1700 arrived at the NY&LE interchange in Salamanca, NY, in September 1984 and was towed to the NY&LE enginehouse in Gowanda, NY for repairs. The NY&LE had recently begun passenger operations to supplement its freight revenues and needed an extra engine to help out. The plan was to use #1700 on the excursion trains to South Dayton, NY. It is still unknown why the necessary repairs were never performed on the centercab. Almost 15 years after arriving in Gowanda, #1700 still sits quietly in the NY&LE yard. Forgotten by its owners and exposed to vandals and the weather, the last Ford GE centercab is slowly rusting and being scrapped for parts. The storied centercab, who had once switched factories for Ford and climbed mountainous grades for the WAG, now sits unused and may soon become just a memory. Copyright 1999, Chris Bigham |
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