N&W J Class Engines to Martinsburg, W.Va. ???

[NW Mailing List]

PRR Philadelphia Division Time Table #7, effective September 26, 1954, page 85, Special Instruction 1160-B1, carries the following unusual instruction: 

CUMBERLAND VALLEY BRANCH 
Winchester Secondary Track 

Trains consisting of Norfolk and Western Railroad [sic] Class J locomotive and PM passenger car equipment must not exceed a speed of 15 miles per hour over Bridge 82.13 south of Williamsport [Md] and 20 miles per hour over Bridge 92.56 north of Martinsburg [W.Va.] 


The obvious question is... What were N&W J's doing on the PRR's Cumberland Valley Branch between Hagerstown, Md. and Martinsburg, W.Va. ? 

By way of explanation, the "Winchester Secondary Track" was the Cumberland Valley RR between Hagerstown and Winchester, Va. The words "Secondary Track" in PRR-speak indicates it was operated under Manual Block Rules. And Martinsburg was the location of Cumbo Yard, where eastbound coal off the B&O was interchanged to the PRR for movement via Hagerstown and Harrisburg for points east. 

Any takers on this one...? 

-- abram burnett