RailCamp ‘07

By Oliver W. Clemons, III

The first railroading experience I had was when I was little watching the LGB Engines operate on my Dad’s LGB layout. Later I also operated the LGB engines on the layout too. As became older my parents took me on many rail trips, some sponsored by the NRHS such as the Star-Spangled Banner Rail trips to Cumberland, MD, Harrisburg, PA and New Oxford, PA. During some weekends there would be a train show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, such as the Great American Train Show or Greenburg’s Train Show, where I would watch the trains run on the many different layouts at the shows.

As you may or may not already know every summer the NRHS and Steamtown NHS holds a camp for teenage railfans. At RailCamp, the campers learn about Steamtown, the engines that operate there, the way the railroad operated in Scranton’s heyday, and the way the railroad operates today. To be able to go to RailCamp you have to write a letter about how you think RailCamp will be helpful to you. What RailCamp also does is give you the hands-on experience of the railroad that is hard to find in most places today.

When I first heard of RailCamp, I was a little nervous about being away from home for a week living in a collage dorm room with someone else that I didn’t know yet. The dorm rooms are at Gavigan Hall at the University of Scranton, which is about a 30 minute walk from Steamtown. This is good because you’re not tired out before you even get to Steamtown. I arrived with my parents at RailCamp on July 8, Sunday afternoon, to get my room assignment and meet my roommate. All RailCampers were given a blue RailCamp cap with their first name embroidered on it. The cap was our weeklong ID and “ticket” for all RailCamp activities at Steamtown. We were also given hard hats and safety vests. Later, all RailCampers got an introduction to Steamtown via a slide show presentation presented by Ranger Kenny Ganz on Steamtown’s history and how it originally started in Vermont. It later moved to Scranton, PA and a few years after that, it was taken over by the by the National Park Service. After the slide show we were formed into four different groups, A, B, C & D, because some of the activities during the week required smaller groups of people due to space and/or for safety.

Overview of Steamtown; Gavigan Hall, U. of Scranton, is a 30-minute walk to the right

Part of my “Group C” at Steamtown – I’m 4^th from the left

On the first full day of RailCamp, breakfast was at the Gunster Center, about a block from Gavigan Hall, in the direction of Steamtown. After breakfast, the campers and counselors walked from the college campus to Steamtown. When we arrived at Steamtown, we went to the theater room for an orientation of what we would be doing that day, as well as on public speaking, which helped prepare us for the end of the week. After the orientation the campers had a tour of the Steamtown facilities and some of the engines that the Steamtown maintenance personnel were working on at the time. Lunch like was at the restoration shop lunch room, as it would be for most of the week. Once everyone was finished with lunch, we went onto a bus waiting in the Steamtown parking lot to take us to the Lackawanna Coal Mine. We had also been scheduled to visit the Anthracite Museum, but since there was a Pennsylvania State Government “shut-down” over budget issues, the museum was closed. The coal mine tour was good, first for what we learned about anthracite coal mining and a little local history, and second, it was good since it was about 50 degrees F in the mine and about 96 degrees F outside. After the coal mine tour was over the campers went back to the dorms for the rest of the evening, during which each of us wrote in our logbooks about the activities experienced during the day. We had dinner in the same building as breakfast.

RailCampers at the AMTRAK Maintenance Facility, Wilmington, DE

The next day was special since it was the first time for RailCamp to get to see the Amtrak Track Laying Machine operate and be able to go the Amtrak Wilmington, Delaware maintenance facility. The day started early with the campers arriving right at the time when Gunster Center‘s cafeteria opened for breakfast. When breakfast was finished, the campers and counselors walked to where a bus should have been, but it ended up that the bus would be an hour late. Once the bus arrived, everyone boarded it for the hour and a half trip to Bryn Mawr, PA, just outside of Philadelphia, to watch the track laying machine operate for about an hour. Due to its operation location, we could not get any photographs of the machine, as we were next to the high-speed Northeast Corridor tracks. After watching the operation of the track laying machine as best we could, the campers went back to the bus for the next stop, which was the Amtrak Wilmington, DE maintenance facility. Lunch was at the facility’s lunch room.

AMTRAK locomotive undergoing maintenance work at Wilmington

While at the facility we saw their various operations at the facility, the machines that they use and the engines that they were working on at the time. After lunch, all the campers were allowed, one at a time, to blow the horn on one of the engines in the facility’s yard. Once everyone had, had their fun with the horn, we went back to the bus for about a two and half hour trip back to the University of Scranton. On the way to Scranton the bus stopped at a McDonald’s for dinner.

Our Chartered trolley from the Trolley Museum, adjacent to Steamtown

On Wednesday, the third day of RailCamp, breakfast was at a later time than Tuesday, and instead of leaving Scranton, we stayed so that we could go to the Steamtown site again. At Steamtown, the campers were broken into two groups. The group I was in went to Tower 60 to see the rail yard operations at Steamtown, since the DL & W Railroad had a mainline track through the Steamtown yard. The next activity our group did was ride a historic trolley up to the local baseball team’s stadium and back. On the return to Steamtown, the trolley stopped at the Scranton Iron furnaces, where the historical interpreter on the trolley explained to us a brief history of the furnaces and their relationship to the town of Scranton. When the trolley arrived back at Steamtown everyone got off and went toward the Electric Trolley Museum to look at the exhibits on the trolleys that used to operate in Scranton. Scranton is called “The Electric City” because it was stated that in the late 1800’s, it was the first city in the United States to operate electric trolleys. Next was lunch in the restoration shop lunch room and then our group had a presentation on the importance of steam engine maintenance. Once the presentation was over it was off to the Engine Maintenance Facility for some hands-on work, such as changing the knuckle of a coupler and replacing rail car brake pads which are at least 10 lbs. each. Dinner was at the Gunster Center and that evening, the groups the campers had been put into started work on presentations for the specific days that each group had been assigned.

Here I am in the process of removing a “worn” brake pad, which will be replaced with a new one

This brake pad weighs about 10 pounds!

In the locomotive cab of the Special AMTRAK train

Thursday, the fourth day of RailCamp, started the same as Wednesday, with walking to Steamtown and going to its theater. There, we met some Amtrak personnel who had a presentation on job operations and opportunities on the railroads, mainly Amtrak, for our future consideration. AMTRAK had a “special” train to go to Steamtown for RailCamp 2007. After the theater presentation, lunch was next and it was special, not because of what we ate, but where we ate it, which was in the Amtrak business dinette car.

The “End” of the Special AMTRAK train – I’m at the far left

Once lunch was over, we campers went to the restoration shop to make steam engine “silhouettes” using the tools that are used when restoring rail cars. The tools used in car restoration and making the steam engine silhouettes include plasma cutters, welding torches, grinders and oxygen torches for heating rivets. After our silhouettes were fabricated, we took them to the paint shop for cleaning and painting. Thursday evening was hectic with all the preparations for the Saturday presentations that the campers would be doing.

My 2-8-4 Berkshire Locomotive silhouette – fabricated from 1/8” steel plate

Details of the bracket, rivet & weld attaching the vertical silhouette to the flat steel base

The last full day, Friday, was the day that campers would learn about how to use radio communications in rail yard operations. We practiced our radio skills on model trains instead of the “real” ones in the rail yard. Lunch this day was again in the restoration shop lunch room, after which the Steamtown maintenance personnel fired-up the steam engine, the Canadian Pacific Engine 2317, which would be pulling the Saturday Steamtown rail trip to Moscow, PA. While the campers were watching the engine being fired-up, one of the counselors came over and told us to all go to behind the Roundhouse. What was behind the Roundhouse was a live steamer that you operate and ride it at the same time. Some of the campers liked so much that they rode it ten or more times. Once all the campers and counselors had ridden the live steamer, we went into the yard to couple and uncouple cars in the yard. You must know hand signals so that the engineer is aware of what you want him to do. Friday evening dinner was a picnic with the campers and their parents at the Maintenance Facility. Afterward, there was more work to do on the Saturday PowerPoint presentation.

Firing up CPRR 2317!

CPRR 2317 on the Steamtown – Moscow (PA) track

Some of us at the Friday evening picnic – I’m sitting toward Barry Smith’s (dark blue cap) left

The last day of RailCamp, Saturday, was presentation day. There were four groups, each of which had a day assigned to them, but with all the groups working together on the presentation on Friday. The presentations consisted of PowerPoint sections, for which each of the campers had to write and read speeches. This is why it was good to have had a little knowledge on public speaking from earlier in the week to help in writing and reading the speeches. After the presentations were done, the RailCampers assembled near the turntable outside for photos and the presentation of awards.

RailCamp “Chief” Barry Smith organizing the “Official” RailCamp 2007 photo – I’m 4^th from right

Barry Smith presenting me with my Award and RailCamp 2007 Certificate

By now, about noon, it was time for the RailCampers to leave Steamtown NHS. When I left Steamtown, I had a much better sense of the work it takes to maintain and operate a railroad, but also that the most important thing to remember on the railroad is safety. It can’t be put into words how much safety is important everywhere on the railroad and not just only on the rails.