Chapter Mtg – Oct 21

OCT. 21 SOCIAL MEETING PROGRAM of the WM Chapter NRHS will be held at 7 PM in the Cumberland Railroad Museum at 17 Howard Street, among the shops at Canal Place. Parking is available in the lot along Howard Street beneath the I-68 bridge north of Footer’s Dye Works building. The meeting is open to the public at no charge. Meeting Program Chairman Jeff Geiger has selected to show the thirty-minute video, Memories of the Western Maryland: Steam & Diesel. This 1992 video program, produced by Marc S. Balkin of New Medford, New Jersey, is based on color archival film with synchronized sound, maps and location graphics. The Western Maryland Railway was famous for huge steam locomotives, streamlined 6 diesel F-units, and spectacular scenery. This nostalgic full-color portrait of the rail line in its heyday offers all three in abundance. The program opens with an exciting showcase of steam locomotives on the Elkins branch, featuring heavy coal trains going up the 3-percent Black Fork Grade, with motive power provided by as many as seven steam locomotives! Viewers will also see the huge 2-8-0 Consolidation, 2-10-0 Decapods, and 4- 6-6-4 Challengers that muscled tonnage over the Allegheny Mountains. Diesel power is represented by a parade of F-units hauling freight trains from Cumberland to Connellsville. Many famous WM locations are viewed, including Salisbury Viaduct spanning the Cassellman River valley, Deal at the Eastern Continental Divide, Helmstetter’s Curve rounding the Cash Valley, and the impressive Cumberland Narrows. Memorable footage includes pacing cinematography of a massive Challenger steam locomotive operating on adjacent double track. Captured are scenes of the locomotive engineer at the throttle as he intently controls the iron horse’s climb up the long, steep mountain grade. Jeff Geiger says the selection of the meeting’s second feature will be determined by the audience. Several new video programs have been recently acquired, and attendees at this meeting may look through the video collection and see which ones may be interesting to them. The one chosen by popular demand will be shown during the second part of this month’s social meeting.