The Erie Railroad Company
In the early 1880’s American railroads converted from wood burning steam engines to the more efficient soft coal. For repairs; in most cases the steam engine came to the ash pit under its own power. The ash pit was a 4 to 6 foot deep trench about 20 feet long between the rails where ashes were emptied from the engine fire box before it went to the roundhouse or back shops for repairs. Before the 1880s removing the wood ashes was easy; for the most part the fire was out and wood ashes easily were removed when the vent was open beneath the engine fire box. Removing the burning soft coal ashes, which burned much longer, was something else. The burning soft coal fused, making clinkers. The clinkers had to be broken with iron rods so they could pass through the grates under the firebox. The men doing this work were so close to the open engine firebox they continually were breathing in the soft coal gases. They soon developed breathing problems with persistent coughing.
When confronted with the soft coal gasses which inhibited their breathing. The local individuals who worked at the ash pits wouldn’t work there any longer. Thus the Erie and other railroads solicited arriving immigrants to fill these positions. My great uncles who came to America in 1883 were some of the first arriving Italian immigrants solicited by the Erie to work at the engine repair facilities (roundhouses or back shops) and were assigned to removing ashes from steam engines.
The immigrant Italian who worked at these jobs during their lifetime; the major contributing cause of their deaths was from emphysema
The Erie itself was another story, its corporate life span stretched from 1832 through the early 1970s. Except during the period of the Civil War, World War 1 and World War 2 the line was in continual receivership or bankruptcy Before the demise of the Erie it merged with the Delaware Lackawanna and Western in 1962.
.See Erie Railroad maps below
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From the Paul
H. Jones collection
Another photo of the Matt H Shay |
From the Paul H. Jones
Collection
This appears to be the second Matt Shay. Number assigned to this engine was 5016 - Built by The Baldwin Locomotive works of Lima Ohio |
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The Matt H. Shay (Wheel alignment 2-8-8-8-2) Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works The Erie placed the engines in service early during World War 1 and because they were repair nightmares for the line; the engines barely survived that war. The Erie first used the Matt Shays in road service, however more often they broke down before reaching the next division terminal. In which case a relief engine or engines had to be sent to take the stalled Matt Shay and its freight cars to the next terminal. This caused havoc on the main line by delaying other freight and passenger trains. I believe for this reason the decision was made to send the engine or engines to Susquehanna and used as helpers on the Gulf Summit run. It is not clear how many of these engines were purchased by the Erie. But it couldn't be more than three and most likely only two. Stories from that period revealed that the old timers Italian and others said that the Matt Shay pushed a train to Gulf Summit and on its return it had to go back to the roundhouse for repairs. This was true of many of Erie pusher engines of the time, however some other pusher engines might make two trips to the summit. The Matt Shays sometimes didn't finish their first run to the summit. The same old timers said that they could identify the Matt Shay anywhere in town by the unique sound it made. Note: by the start of the decade of the 1920s the Matt Shays were out of service, and quickly forgotten by the line. |
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The Union Pacific's Big
Boys and the Matt Shays
The book "Union Pacific"[1] describes the Big Boy as follows: “Built for and used only on the Union Pacific, the Big Boy 4-8-8-4 articulated locomotive was the world’s most powerful steam locomotive in 1941. Among the largest ever made, the enormous engines were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million ponds---over 550 tons. Built to haul 3500 ton loads up steep mountain grades, each locomotive could speed up to 80 miles per hour on level track.” The difference between the Matt Shay and the Big Boy was that its builder (The American Locomotive Works) apparently learned much from the failure of the Matt Shay and furthermore had 27 more years experience building steam engines. [1] Edited 1989 edition published by Crescent books distributed by Crown Publishers |
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No 2 The Erie Limited eastbound on the New York Division 1939 |
