David W. Flickwir - Photograph of Machinery

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Fri Feb 26 20:21:13 EST 2016


On 2/26/2016 10:22 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:
> Abram and others interested:
> This is a typical early steam shovel where only the boom apparatus 
> rotates on the large ring mounted on the front (working end ) of the 
> shovel. You will notice the boom and shovel (bucket) laying on the 
> ground behind the unit. Apparently it is undergoing maintenance or 
> repair, or, possibly being converted to use the boom only for derrick 
> (crane on the VGN) work. the early ones used rope and/or chains before 
> wire rope came around.
> This is an awesome photo, full of details! Thanks for the link and 
> posting!
> This is why I belong to the NWHS and the mailing list!
> Charlie Long
> Lynchburg (the one in Virginia)
>
> On Thu, Feb 25, 2016 at 6:10 PM, NW Mailing List 
> <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
>
>     David W. Flickwir was a very versatile man.  Jim Dalmas' Book:
>     "The Street Railways of Roanoke, Virginia 1887 - 1948," lists
>     David W. Flickwir as one of the incorporators of a new street
>     railway company chartered January 21, 1889, to operate two
>     so-called high speed lines using steam dummy locomotive pulling
>     passenger trailers, one line Roanoke to Vinton and the other line
>     Roanoke to Salem, Virginia.
>     Gordon Hamilton
>
>         ----- Original Message -----
>         *From:* NW Mailing List <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
>         *To:* NW Mailing List <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
>         *Sent:* Thursday, February 25, 2016 7:04 AM
>         *Subject:* David W. Flickwir - Photograph of Machinery
>
>         David Williamson Flickwir, a native Philadelphian, was
>         Construction Engineer during the building of the Shenandoah
>         Valley RR, and once that road consolidated with the N&W,
>         Flickwir became General Superintendent of the Eastern
>         Division.  In 1896, he left the N&W and went into the business
>         of heavy railroad construction, although maintaining his
>         residence in Roanoke (903 South Jefferson St.)  He died in
>         1935 and it is reported that he is buried in Evergreen
>         Cemetery, Roanoke.  Into the 1960s and 1970s, the N&W's
>         listing of sidings still showed a "Flickwir Siding" somewhere
>         in the area of Furnace Crossing, Roanoke, but I cannot now
>         recall exactly where it was located.
>
>         Some of Flickwir's biggest jobs were for the Lackawanna, where
>         he contracted for building major portions of the New Jersey
>         Cut Off (across the western part of New Jersey) and the
>         Pennsylvania Cut Off (west of Scranton,) and for the entire
>         construction of the truly massive Tunkhannock Viaduct, one of
>         the largest railroad bridges in the world at that time, 24
>         miles west of Scranton.  Tunkhannock Viaduct is 2375 feet long
>         and rises 240 feet above creek level, and is still in use. 
>         That portion of the Lackawanna Main Line extending from
>         Scranton to Binghamton was sold to the D&H, and was just last
>         year bought from the D&H by the NS.  I think they may now call
>         it the "D&H South Line," or some such.
>
>         I have never seen a photograph of any equipment lettered for
>         Flickwir's company until Steamtown yesterday released a scan
>         of their glass plate negative number X0257, which Steamtown
>         dates as 1910-1912.  The images shows a "Marion Shovel - Model
>         60" lettered "David W. Flickwir, Contractor, Roanoke, Va."
>          Based on the geography, I believe this photograph was taken
>         on the Pennsylvania Cut Off, west of Scranton.  Steamtown
>         holds the entire Lackawanna RR negative collection, and
>         releases six to eight scans per day.
>
>         The image file of David's Flickwir's fine "Marion Shovel" is
>         attached.  If anyone can figure out exactly what this machine
>         is set up to do, I would like to hear the explanation !
>
>         --  abram burnett
>
>         ===========================
>         Sent to You from my Telegraph Key
>             ... better than AT&T 4G LTE
>         ===========================
>
>         Moderator:
>         http://nwhs.org/mailinglist/2016/20160225.Flickwir_Shovel_on_Pennsylvania_Cut_Off_1910-1912_Steamtown_X0257.jpg
>
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the Marion shovels used chain for the hoist,  though I'm not sure why.  
Wire rope was around in the 1840s
see 
http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/sample_nominations/MarionSteamShovel.pdf

Jim McDaniel
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