Requesting information on the Knox Railroad

Does anyone know anything about a Knox Railroad ie where it ran, length, connections, end of service?

A little background-a friend sent me a photo of an industrial steam locomotive, an 0-4-2T that was taken at a sand and gravel operation near Greenbelt, MD in 1958. The locomotive supposedly came from the Knox Railroad, however my friend had no information on the line.

I've tried the trusty Google search to no avail.

PS-This Knox Railroad isn't to be confused with the Knox and Kane in northwestern Pennsylvania, which only came into existence in the early 1980's.

KNOX & KANE - (Part of BALTIMORE & OHIO 1/1982 - Active 1982) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knox_and_Kane_Railroad
(see "End of the Line" - I'm guessing that it's this one.)

KNOX & LINCOLN - 11/1871-8/1891 (Part of MAINE CENTRAL '90-'01) http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 77&t=66395

???

Thanks Paul. As I noted in my original post, the photo was taken in 1958 so I know there's no connection with Pennsylvania's now dormant and currently being salvaged Knox and Kane.

I did turn up a Knox Railroad in Maine that supposedly operated from 1919 through 1932. However, there's no link or further supporting documentation.

Here's the listing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Maine_railroads

I know that Vermont and New Hampshire had a number of small quarry railroads that used tank engines of the type depicted in my photograph and wonder if that might have been the source of this engine.

Sorry about the Knox & Kane. I saw it and then forgot it when I started researching on-line !
Take a look at these;

http://www.newcastlemainehistoricalsoci ... STORY.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockland_Branch

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 2210197449 (lot of photos !!)

There was an 0-4-2T that sat for years at the A.H. Smith sand & gravel facility near Greenbelt, MD, half burried in a pile of sand. I believe it was eventually scrapped.

J. David Conrad's Steam Locomotive Directory of North America identifies it as a 1917 Vulcan built for the United States Navy, originally at Norfolk, VA, and later at the Naval Gun Factory in Washington, DC, before going to A.H. Smith.

Alan Maples

Mr. Maples, thank you very much for your reply. That could very well be the explanation. Here's the locomotive in question as it appeared in May of 1958.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii20 ... 1306529661

Taken by Karl F. L. Grosche, photo courtesy of Vince Cipriani.

Photo notes state that it was taken at Branchville (Greenbelt), MD at a sand & gravel quarry. No further information accompanied the photo.

However, I still have to wonder how the "Knox Railroad" was thrown into the history, possibly just an error in labelling the photo?

The Knox Railroad was the successor to the Georges Valley Railroad, running about eight miles between Union ME and a junction with the Maine Central at Warren ME. The railroad was abandoned as a common carrier c1933, at which time it continued as an indiustrial line moving mostly limestone. It was notable for having a cattle crossing across the right of way, the two gates of which had to be manually opened and closed by the brakeman -- like some of the level crossings in Britain.

The celebrated Maine railroad historian, Linwoody Moody, was a fireman on the Knox for a short while. He wrote to Railroad Magazine about it a few times. One of Moody's photos of Knox 6, an ALCo 56-ton 2-6-2T, appears with the announcement of the line's abandonment. If I remember correctly, it is the June 1933 issue of Railroad Man's.

You will have better luck looking the railroad up under its original name, Georges Valley.

At one time, the railroad provided a regular passenger service connecting with all MEC trains at Warren. I have seen a photo of an ancient GV 4-4-0, probably the railroad's original power.

Topographical maps of the area still show the entire right of way, including a branch which I presume may have gone to a quarry.

There were no turning facilities on the line, so use of the double-ender would have been much more convenient than the Eight Wheeler.

Thank you very much for the information! I'm still curious as to whether there was any connection between this locomotive and the Knox Railroad, taking Mr. Maples post into account. This little "mystery" still remains to be solved but I do appreciate the input.

The Knox railroad only had one such "T" class loco in its 2-6-2T. Your photo is mislabeled. My sources include the History of Warren and the History of Union which are the towns at each end of the line. I have lived in both towns. Towards the end of the loco's career it could only be operated on the mainline in reverse due to excessive driver wear.

cgiustra-Many thanks for the further input! I'll share this information with the gentleman who supplied me with the photo.

BTW-Welcome to "Railroad.Net"!

The March 1940 issue of Railroad Magazine, on p. 139, shows a pic by Linwood Moody of a Knox train pushing "the Old Portland plow" over their line. It also mentions the lines operations having taken over by the Great Northern Paper Co. after the Knox's ceasing being a common carrier in 1932. I'll check with another source I have that may have some more pictures and background and pass whatever I find on to you.

In case anyone was still looking into this road (or any others in New England) there are two books that will be of considerable help. First (now in its third edition) is "Lost Railroads of New England" by Ronald Dale Karr. The other is "Names First -- Rails Later" by L. Peter Caldwell and Carol A. Smith. It covers over 1000 plus railroads throughout New England. The first edition of this book covered "700 plus railroads". It's very good but brief comments on these roads will give you more sources of info to research as they give many of the predecessor roads to follow up on.

There is one former steam locomotive
Now its 3025 in Essex, Connecticut
Rebuilt from ground up from what I've heard

Aa3rt wrote:Does anyone know anything about a Knox Railroad ie where it ran, length, connections, end of service?

A little background-a friend sent me a photo of an industrial steam locomotive, an 0-4-2T that was taken at a sand and gravel operation near Greenbelt, MD in 1958. The locomotive supposedly came from the Knox Railroad, however my friend had no information on the line.

I've tried the trusty Google search to no avail.

PS-This Knox Railroad isn't to be confused with the Knox and Kane in northwestern Pennsylvania, which only came into existence in the early 1980's.

Are you talking about the Knox RR in Maine?? If so, it was a line hauling limestone to rockland.

Check this out. The owner of this yard lined their garden with old rail from the Knox Railroad.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Union,+M ... 9,,0,35.36" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;