When I was working on last week’s column I became aware that one of the Waynesburg & Washington Railroad (W&W) locomotives, “the second Number 4”, was still in existence and on display at the Greene County Historical Museum. On further investigation I learned that the 54th Annual Greene County Harvest Festival was scheduled for the first weekend in October. I think our family attended an earlier version of this festival about fifty years ago; it took a very small amount of persuasion to convince Beth we should make a return visit this year.
The drive down I-79 was pleasant and uneventful; I always enjoy the portion south of I-70. We easily found the Museum grounds and were able to find a parking spot close to the event. The very first thing we encountered was an encampment of Civil War re-enactors – the 140th Pennsylvania. I have recently been working on a sketch of a Civil War battle and have questions regarding the equipment a Union soldier would have been wearing and carrying during an engagement. Fortunately, a young man in the group not only answered my questions but also posed for a photograph of a typical soldier of that era, properly equipped.
A short distance away was another encampment, the 31st Virginia Company H, Barbour Grays, obviously composed of Confederate re-enactors. This camp had a different personality from the Union one, much more informal and undisciplined. This may well have been deceptive; later in the afternoon when the two units skirmished in the woods behind the Museum, the Rebels were victorious. I presume the battle was scripted. Early in the encounter I noticed that that the Confederate standard bearer had a backup; sure enough, the first boy was shot and the backup deftly grabbed the standard from his hands. I always enjoy re-enactment battles, especially those that replicate actual events.
Like all festivals, this one had a number of booths with a variety of offerings. The ones offering edibles were dominated by baked goods, including one Amish stand. A little out of the ordinary was a booth featuring special treats aimed at attracting deer, obviously targeting local hunters. Several booths were selling things produced by programmed laser cutting. One lady converted excellent pen-and-ink sketches into laser-cut images on leather, which she then sewed on ball caps, providing a custom design for each customer. One craftsman was doing stained glass art. This always attracts my attention; my wife went through a stained-glass phase at one point. This artist was displaying a winged angel that was a carbon copy of one Nan did, probably from a standard pattern. I was surprised to see two different booths offering Tarot Card readings, with a gentleman marketing Big Foot items, a genealogist, and a face painter between them. More conventional were folks doing rudimentary weaving and seamstress work. For once there was no one there selling home-made custom jewelry.
We had an interesting discussion with a lady representing the Warrior Trail Association. This is an admirable group of volunteers who maintain an ancient foot (no biking!) trail that runs about sixty-seven miles from Greensboro, Pennsylvania, on the Monongahela River across southern Greene County, then across the West Virginia Panhandle to Woodlands, West Virginia, on the Ohio River. It is a ridge path that snakes between the Whitely Creek and Dunkard Creek watersheds, heavily used by Native Americans heading west from the north/south Catawba Trail.
Engine Number 4 was indeed out of her shed and available for visitors to inspect in detail, including the opportunity to climb up into the engineer’s cabin. The contrast between the confusing collection of handwheels and levers in the locomotive cabin and the dashboard of a modern automobile is striking. Number Four’s pristine appearance disguises the fact that she cannot be operated; her boiler must be heavily renovated or replaced before she can function under her own power. This is an expense beyond the resources of the Historical Society at this time. Nonetheless it is a treat to have her moved outside by a “donkey” so the public can inspect her.
The first W&W “Number Four” was acquired from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in1889. In 1916 when she began to deteriorate from heavy usage, a replacement was ordered. The second Number Four was manufactured at ALCO’s Cooke Works in Paterson, New Jersey and put into service on June 17, 1916. Seventeen years later, when steam service on the W&W was terminated, she was transferred to (parent company) Pennsylvania Railroad’s shops in Canton, Ohio, for storage. The Greene County Historical Society acquired her from the PRR in 1958 and moved her to the Greene County Fairgrounds for display. In 1974 she was moved to the Society’s new home at the former Greene County Poor Farm. At this time a group of volunteers were able to restore Number Four sufficiently to permit her to move back and forth on a short section of track under her own steam power. This phase ended in 1985; since then she has been moved by a small gasoline-powered shifter locomotive for static display during the Harvest Festival.
The 2-6-0 “Mogul” weighed about twenty-six tons, heavy enough to develop sufficient traction to haul freight cars up the steep slope to the summit on Mount Wheeler. One of the domes on top of the boiler held sand, which could be deposited on the track ahead of the forty-two-inch diameter driving wheels if it were necessary to increase traction. A special characteristic of these narrow-gauge locomotives was the fact that the middle drive wheel was “blinded” – its flange was removed to permit the engine to negotiate extremely sharp curves. Uncharacteristically, Number Four had a wooden cab to house the engineer and fireman.
The combination of the Civil War re-enactment, the Greene County-specific festival vendors, and the opportunity to inspect Number Four “close up and personal” made for a very rewarding afternoon.