DLW Hampton to Washington

Hello, I was wondering if someone could let me know what the running time was on the old main line between these two stations please.
The service stopped approximately in 1939.
Thank you in advance.
Glenn

I believe it was a 25mph or less running in the end. Freight service only of course.

In 1926 OG, there was one passenger train each way. 20 min to go 5 miles. Since there was a station stop in between, Henry's estimate of 25 MPH seem about right.

JoeG and Henry6
Thank you for the imformation, it is very usefull and mch apprieated.
Glenn

Checked my employee timetables last night. #100 of 1951 shows the Hampton branch 5.13 miles long from Washington to Hampton; 30 mph speed limit except 10 on Changewater bridge; no locomotives or tenders allowed on the bridge(!). [I believe that either they used a 44 tonner if they went out there in 1951 or they used rider or bumper cars to reach across the bridge to the CNJ interchange yard.

The Rt.31 bridge came down around 1957/58 if I recall correctly. There is no way they could use reacher cars to span the Changewater bridge, it's too far away from the junction. The Rt. 31 bridge was overbuilt compared to the Chagewater bridge. WW2 was the last hurrah for the branch, with oil trains running over the line to the CNJ. From pictures I have seen, RS-3's and Baby Trainmasters were the usual power. I can't see the DL&W having much of a reason to go past Chagewater in the later years.

CF

My understanding is that in the final years some of the crew would walk across the Changewater bridge. Then the engineer would jam the deadman's control and then let the locomotive cross the bridge, unmanned (and slowly). Once it made it across one of the crew would hop on and stop it, and then the engineer would walk across. This was done because there was great fear the bridge would collapse under load.

I heard that, too.

To everyone who answered my querry, thank you very much.
Glenn

I was living in Oxford NJ in the last years of the Hampton Branch.

I rode the train a few times and never encountered a situation where any crew member left the cab to walk the bridge.

One time, about 1955, the Pburg Drill had some extra time and rather than run a few cars down to Pburg (that had come from Scranton) they took them over to Hampton with the RS-3 and the hack. If I had been biking for exercise to Hampton, I would often put my bike on the rear platform and ride back to Washington in the hack. My memory recalls that by the mid-50's they seemed to be diverting what traffic was left on the Pburger even though we saw "Hampton-CNJ" on the waybill.

After service ended I stole one (I believe west end) of the 10 MPH steel speed signs. Recall it was very tall, black, had cutout #. My friend Charlie Ley brought it to Oxford in his station wagon but I believe we junked it in 1966 rather than bring it to Vermont when we moved.

Can anyone tell me when the branch from Washington thru Oxford was last used all the way to the northern connection? Was there a physical connection between the DL&W and the L&HR at Butzville? Now that the leaves are off the trees I've been able to see the concrete viaduct over the L&HR and the Pequest river next to the Jct. of Rt 31 and Rt 45....seems that there was quite a difference in grade elevation.

trainwayne1 wrote:Can anyone tell me when the branch from Washington thru Oxford was last used all the way to the northern connection? Was there a physical connection between the DL&W and the L&HR at Butzville? Now that the leaves are off the trees I've been able to see the concrete viaduct over the L&HR and the Pequest river next to the Jct. of Rt 31 and Rt 45....seems that there was quite a difference in grade elevation.

The L&HR used to have a connection with the Lehigh & Oxford right under the Rt 31 bridge but as far as I know there was no interchange with the DL&W in Buttzville, but just down the road a few miles the L&HR had an interchange with the DL&W at the Pequest Furnace, this would have been way back in the steam era. Was just fishing in that area a while back and was wondering about the DL&W crossing of Rt 46, did the stone/concrete rail bridge extend all the way across Rt 46 at one time?

BTW, if anyone is interested the Changewater Historical Society building used to have a nice b&w photo of a 4-4-0 with mixed freight going over the trestle for sale, they might still have some.