I’m trying to dig up as much info on the Bay Line (now owned by G&W) as I can. Any good pointers to Web sites? I’ve Googled, etc and not come up with much.
Also, there was a two-part series on it in “Prototype Modeler” I think years ago. I have part 1. Anybody know the contents of part 2?
Thanks!
If you are familiar with yahoo groups, there’s not only one, but two yahoo groups for the BAYL.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/asab_an_railway/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BAYLINERR/
Here’s the current locomotive roster for the BAYL, it’s not very accurate anymore though, since G&W has shuffled some power to/from it’s other railroads:
BAYL 500 GP38 Ex-VMF 2000/ICG 9526/GM&O 713 EMD #35170 blt 8/1969
BAYL 501 GP38 Ex-ICG 9513/GM&O 707 EMD #35176 blt 8/1969
BAYL 502 GP38 Ex-PC 7760/Conrail 7760/GMSR 7760 EMD #35389 blt 8/1969
BAYL 503 GP38 Ex-CR 7781/PC 7781/GMSR 7781 EMD #35410 blt 9/1969
BAYL 504 GP38 Ex-CR 7790/PC 7790/GMSR 7790 EMD # 35419 blt 10/1969
BAYL 505 GP38 Ex-CR 7792/PC 7792/GMSR 7792 EMD #35421 blt 10/1969
BAYL 506 GP38 Ex-CR 7811/PC 7811/GMSR 7811 EMD #35440 blt 11/1969
BAYL 507 GP38 Ex-CR 7819/PC 7819 EMD #35449 blt 11/1969
BAYL 508 GP38-2 EMD #72686-1 blt 5/1973
BAYL 509 GP38-2 EMD 72686-2 blt 5/1973
BAYL 510 GP38-2 EMD 75623-1 blt 6/1975
BAYL 511 GP38 Ex-CR 7749/PC 7749 EMD #35378 blt 8/1969
BAYL 512 GP9 EX-C&O 6085/RSS 6085 EMD #21722 blt 6/1956
BAYL 6416 GP40-2 Ex-DT&I 416/GTW 6416/CN 6416 EMD #73611-3 blt 10/1973
BAYL 6418 GP40-2 Ex-DT&I 418/GTW 6418/CN 6418 EMD #73611-5 blt 10/1973
BAYL 6419 GP40-2 Ex-DT&I 419/GTW 6419/CN 6419
Is ASAB still running the unit coal trains up from Port St. Joe (?) to CSX’s ex-SAL Chattahoochee to Jacksonville line? At one time the coal was barged down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf, then thru the Intracoastal Waterway to Port St. Joe (I think). At PSJ it was transloaded to unit trains for delivery to a power plant near Palatka, FL (I think). I used to watch those trains bellowing up the hill to get out of Tallahassee from my in-laws’ backyard.
That is the Apalachicola Northern RR. No, i guess they don’t run those anymore. I think they lost the contract in 2003?
I had the good fortune to live on U.S. 231 about seven miles north pf Panama City during the World War II days, and the Bay Line was just across the highway. I don’t think I missed seeing many of their trains. The father of a high school classmate was in charge of the Bay Line’s motive power. Back then they had second-hand NYC 2-8-2’s, FEC 4-6-2’s, and some of the very first RS-1’s that were built. In fact, some of their RS-1’s were appropriated by the U.S. Army for service someplace; maybe Iran. Most impressive to me was an oil train that came out of Lynn Haven every afternoon. It usually had two of the 2-8-2’s or a combination of a 2-8-2 and an RS-1, but the power would be separated by about five or six tank cars. I asked my classmate why, and he said it was to keep from overloading their bridges. Perhaps you already knew this, but during the war a lot of oil (or maybe it was gaoline) was shipped by rail, because of submarine depradations on coastal shipping during the early war years. I rode the Bay Line many times, first coming into Panama City about 1938 or 1939. During the war years they ran two passenger trains each way daily. At some point, they added an Atlanta-Panama City sleeper, connecting to the Central of Georgia in Dothan. I recently drove down U.S. 231 to visit relatives, and the track looks good. The Bay Line experienced a terrific derailment at Youngstown in the late '70’s, caused by vandalism. I don’t think it was ever solved.
When I went to Tyndall AFB back in 2005, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on 77, just north of 231 and the ASAB was working daily at an Industrial Park at that intersection.
JP
Thanks for the info. Guess I had my RR’s mixed up.