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  • Navy gun on the moveup Delmarva

  • Discussion pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Discussion pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Moderator: therock

 #1033664  by PKelly
 
Outstanding. That would be a fascinating chase...albeit a slow one, more of a follow.
 #1033701  by VaCentralRwy
 
It's made it to Cape Charles today. Can't imagine the expenses involved in the trip since they made a barge run just for this move. Somenice pix in the article of the bargeand the load. I imagine this wil lstop/slowtraffic on Route 13 as the Bay Coast slowly brings it north. Unless it sits for awhile, this could make it to the DCL interchange in Georgetown by Friday.
 #1034493  by Amtrak2Harrington
 
Drove over to the DE State Fairgrounds early this morning and was able to catch a cool site...

NS 9283 and 2535 at Harrington - 0800 - 4/6/12

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Currently resting near the old station in Harrington.....

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 #1034781  by VaCentralRwy
 
Car is sitting by itself in front of the station in Harrington, nicely posed for photos. Naturally my camera has a malfunction (should have brought my K1000 along but would have taken longer todevelop that film!). When I figure out how to post the pix my wife took with her cellphone...

John
 #1036058  by R,N, Nelson
 
In today's Sussex County Post

Piece of WWII history will barrel into Sussex
By Glenn Rolfe
Last Modified: Mar 14, 2012 01:30PM


GEORGETOWN – Dec. 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – ushered America into World War II.
Sept. 2, 1945 brought the formal Japanese surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri, marking WWII’s end.
Monday, April 16, 2012 will bring historical significance to Sussex County.
On that day one of the Missouri’s famed original 16-inch barrels will be in Georgetown as the historical target of a once-in-a-lifetime celebration en route to its permanent home at the Fort Miles Historical Association’s military museum at Cape Henlopen State Park.
The official unveiling at the museum at Cape Henlopen is April 28.
“April is going to be very exciting around here,” said Dr. Gary Wray, president of the Fort Miles Historical Association.
The formal welcome and celebration in Georgetown starts at 2 p.m. on The Circle.
First hand accounts from speakers in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945, a flyover of WWII era aircraft, a Veterans March, WWII era music, re-enactors and vehicles and a performance by the Sussex Tech High School band are part of the festivities for the event, sponsored by the Fort Miles Historical Association, Greater Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Southern Delaware Tourism.
At the conclusion, a reception for all veterans will be held at the Georgetown Fire Hall on S. Bedford Street.
The April 16 event is tri-fold, says Southern Delaware Tourism spokesman James Diehl.
“It’s celebrating the barrel’s arrival, showcasing a part of the county that doesn’t often get showcased … and honoring our veterans one more time, which we can never do enough.”
Festivities will feature retired Col. Newt Tyndall of Georgetown, a 90-year-old veteran who was the pilot of the lead B-29 that flew over the Missouri during the surrender proceedings. His plane, other B-29s as well as planes from U.S. carriers anchored in Tokyo Bay flew comprised the fly-over.
“They flew over to show the Japanese the tremendous air power we had,” said Dr. Wray.
Sussex Tech High School’s Raven Nation Band has connections to historical events: the beginning and end of WWII.
Last December, from a pier-side stage at the Battleship Missouri Memorial near the USS Arizona Memorial, Tech’s Raven Nation was among the selected bands that played at the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
About 66 feet and weighing about 120 tons, Barrel 371 is one of the barrels that towered over the Japanese delegation as they boarded the battleship to commence surrender proceedings.
“These 16-inch guns on the Missouri were the guns on her the day the Japanese surrendered to Gen. (Douglas) MacArthur. The Japanese delegation had to walk right past them to get up on the deck of the Missouri,” said Dr. Wray. “If for no other the fact that they were there at the end of World War II is very significant.
“The reason we (Fort Miles Historical Association) got interested is we had two 16 inch guns here at Fort Miles. So we have always had in our strategic plan getting 16 inch guns.
We’ve been on the quest for the last five years to get 16’s,” said Dr. Wray. “This was our best and our last chance to get one. That is why we moved. When we found they were within 200 miles of us, we realized we could reach out and touch them.”
Iowa-class 16-inch barrels that the USS Missouri had were America’s answer to the Yamato and Musashi – Japan’s two super-battleships that boasted 18.1-inch guns.
“Japan built two menacing battleships,” said Dr. Wray. “Our 16-inch Mark 7’s were built to defeat them.”
Both the Yamato and Musashi were sunk.
The cost for sparing this piece of history from scrap heap fate and bringing it to Sussex County totals $113,500; approximately $11,000 is for railroad service; the bulk is for lifting and moving provided by Lockwood Brothers, a heavy lifting/moving firm based in Hampton, Va.
About $120,000 in donations was received to secure and transport the barrel.
In early March, Barrel 371 and two others – bound for Arizona’s WWII memorial and Fort Custis, near Cape Charles, Va. – were moved several miles from storage at St. Julian’s Creek Annex, part of Norfolk Naval Shipyard, to the Old Dominion power plant facility in Chesapeake, Va.
“They are going to sit there for several weeks,” said Dr. Wray.
Barrel 371 will be barged via railcar across the Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles, then “snailed” by rail through Virginia and Maryland into Delaware.
The arduous journey to Georgetown will take about four days, and the barrel may be stored for several days at the industrial park, Dr. Wray said.
A rail-line switch from Norfolk & Southern to Delaware Coast Line will cover the remaining 15-mile trek to Cape Henlopen State Park, where the barrel will be off-loaded onto a monster 12-axle, 96-wheel trailer for the final leg of its journey.
Bringing the barrel to Cape Henlopen, of course, is Phase 1.
A fundraising effort chaired by Nick Carter is getting underway for Phase II, which involves obtaining and assembling the necessary pieces for the barrel’s static display at the museum.
“Getting the pieces and putting the puzzle together, it should take us about four years to do it all,” said Dr. Wray. “Once it is done it is going to be absolutely beautiful.
“The nice thing about this is that it is all volunteer work and its private donations,” said Dr. Wray. “Our community has responded well in Phase I, and I think when our community sees how big this baby is, and the massive undertaking, there will be appreciation for it. She is something,. She is a monster.”</
Copyright © 2012 — Independent Newspapers, Inc.