3' gage Bath & Hammondsport

anyone know much about the equipment used on the 3' gage B&H CA. 1875, or know of photos ?

Looking for specific information on the equipment that came from the short lived Central Valley RR north of Greene, NY to Smithfield Flats.

What wheel arrangement was the loco, and what where the coaches like ?

What was the disposition of the loco ?

Any pictures exist at all ?

I didn't know the B&H was built as 3' gauge. I thought whenever the stories talk about narrow gauge (1875), it was in comparison to the Erie, which was 6'. It wasn't built as standard?

One example is the story of the third rail the Erie laid for the LV. Some articles refer to the LV tracks as "narrow gauge". They were standard gauge, just narrow compared to the Erie's.

Interesting if it was built a 3'. When was it converted? Wasn't it even 6' for a time? I know the Erie controlled it starting in 1903, well after the 1880 conversion from 6' to standard gauge.

Charles

please see this thread..its all there!

http://64.78.30.219/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10134

(ok, I will just copy the info here as well!)

there are several photos of the B&H 3-foot gauge locomotives in that book."Keuka Lake Memories"..
several photos of the 2-6-0's,
and one photo of one of the Baldwin tanks.
B&H had 5 3-foot gauge locomotives in total.

here is a condensed history of the B&H, from the book "Keuka Lake Memories" by William Reed Gordon.
(paraphrased by me! )

Erie railroad came through Bath in 1854.

approval for a line from Bath to Hammondsport came from New York State on January 17, 1872.

The B&H was originally 3-foot gauge, and interchanged with the 6-foot gauge Erie in Bath!

Erie was the B&H's only connection to the outside world.

B&H was opened on June 30, 1875.
Line of Road: Bath to Hammondsport NY
9.8 miles
Sidings, etc. 0.5 miles
gauge - 3ft
rail: 30lb and 40lb

passengers were hauled to the steam ships and resorts on Keuka Lake, and freight interchanged with the Erie.

in 1879, the railroad owned 3 locomotives of 18tons. each a brooks 2-6-0.
4 passenger cars and one baggage car.
6 freight cars.
28, 729 passengers carried in 1879.
2,746 tons of coal to Hammondsport.
1,170 tons of grapes from Hammondsport to Bath.

in 1883, the original 2-6-0's replaced by 2 Baldwin tank engines.

1888 - line is standard gauged with 60lb rail.

B&H owned a total of 16 different steam locomotive before 1949.
(not all at the same time)
first 5 were 3-foot gauge.
the rest standard gauge.
probably not more than 3 at any one time.

1949 - GE 44ton diesel number D-1 arrives.
diesel D-2 - plymouth
diesel D-3 another GE 44ton.

and thats it from that book..
that book has a LOT more info on the B&H than what I wrote here!
lots of photos too..
I picked up a pristine copy at a Monroe ave book shop this past summer!
the Rochester library has it.

anyone know the more recent history?
when did the GE44tonners leave and the S1's arrive?

by my count, C424 422 is the 22nd locomotive operated by the B&H..
and I dont think the B&H ever operated more than 3 locomotives at any one time.

Scot

Thanks Scot!

Charles

Appreciate the info, thanks !