Flying Switch

Here's a video of a PRR local performing a "flying switch" (frowned upon by management, but necessary when there's no physical way to run-around a train to spot a car in a facing point switch). It was posted by Ed Calvello on Facebook's "The Newtown Square Branch & Cardington Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad." It's pretty neat. Take a look at the 37 second video here (I think you have to be registered on Facebook to see it):

PRR Flying Switch or a Drop 

Cambridge Wholesale - Is it E.M. Skinner & Company?

Cambridge, MD from a 1937 Dalin Aerial Survey, Hagley Museum collection. Maryland Avenue is located on the bottom & Hayward Street can be seen going up on the left.

Ah the elusive “angled building” (as I like to call it). It's been a mystery in my research about the building you see to the left side of the photo, across from the block of 4 box cars on the right (it's also been the banner photo for 4 years now). It's dark & angles not only off of Hayward Street, but also along the PRR's tracks. I guessed at what the building was, but without a lot of information, it was just guesses.

Portion of the 1930 Sandborn Map of Cambridge, MD. Cambridge Wholesale is the large pink/red block on the center, bottom of the photo.

Then Patrick Kelly shared a Sanborn Map of Cambridge from 1930 & lo & behold – it's Cambridge Wholesale (thank you Patrick)! He shared the Sanborn map with me back in May 2020 & you can clearly see “Cambridge Wholesale” on the map.

Portion of the 1918 Sandborn Map of Cambridge, MD. Lots 217 & 219 can be seen centered in the photo.

Take a look at the 1918 Sandborn Map. You'll notice that Lot 217 & 219 are occupied by residential buildings, but in the 1930 Sanborn Map, Cambridge Wholesale occupies both lots.

I don't have a ton of information on Cambridge Wholesale other than they dealt with getting groceries wholesale & selling & distributing to the surrounding area. They don't show on the PRR's C.T. 1000 E, dated November 1, 1923 (which makes sense because they're not showing in the 1918 Sandborn Map, but show on the 1930 Sandborn Map). I don't know how long they were in business, but they don't show on the PRR's C.T. 1000 E, May 1, 1945, but E.M. Skinner, Jr. & Company does.

So now this begs the question – did Cambridge Wholesale change hands & become the E.M. Skinner, Jr. & Company? E.M. Skinner was also a wholesale grocer.

Looks like I need to do more research, but this appears to be a start.

Who Loves You Baby?

Frank Sinatra at Columbia Records Recording Studio

Frank Sinatra or the "Chairman" may ask, "Who loves you baby?," but he's also staring out waiting for a post on the PRR Cambridge Secondary Track page.

He's been waiting for 2 months now!

Um, the dog ate my homework, so I forgot (I'm not kidding) to write-up something for both June & July 2020. I guess I'll correct that for August 2020.

Stay tuned!

Port of Cambridge

A post on the "Cambridge Maryland Memories - come share yours" Facebook group in late May 2020, got me thinking of the siding that ran from the station across Maryland Avenue & out to the mouth of Cambridge Creek.

Not only did the siding serve the Cambridge Shipbuilders and the Cambridge Manufacturing Company, the Port of Cambridge was built off of this line & DORCO (Dorchester Fertilizer & Lime Company - they changed their name to "DORCO" sometime between 1951-1952) also were on this single siding off of the Cambridge Secondary.

Specifically, DORCO's facility burned in 1963, and was purchased and rebuilt by the Baugh Company who continued fertilizer production from 1964 to 1965. Kerr-McGee purchased the plant in 1965, and continued fertilizer production until the plant closed in 1977. In 1978, the Arundel Corporation purchased the plant and used it for the storage of aggregate for concrete operations.

Today, you wouldn't recognize the location of all of this industry, but some of the buildings from the Shipbuilders and the Manufacturing companies still stand as part of the boatyard off of Hayward Street.

Cambridge Shipbuilders and Cambridge Manufacturing Company in the late 1940 by H. Robins Hollyday, Talbot County Historical Society.

Cambridge Shipyard and DORCO in Cambridge, MD in 1963 by William D. Brightwell.

Cambridge Yacht Club, Cambridge Creek where it meets the Choptank River, Cambridge, MD in the 1960s by Walter C. Thurston, Jr.

Port of Cambridge, Cambridge, MD in the (early) 1960s by an unknown photographer.

M&D in Cambridge

I'm posting a few photos by Al Moran of trips he made to Cambridge, MD back in the early 2000's of the Maryland & Delaware Railroad's operations. Of course, the M&D doesn't go all of the way into Cambridge today, but it's nice to look back when trains actually operated into town.

M&D 1202 (RS3M) preparing to turn on the wye at Cambridge, Md on October 23, 2000, by Al Moran.

M&D 1202 has been turned and is now ready to head east to work the industries in Cambridge, Md on October 23, 2000, 

by Al Moran.

M&D 2628 (CF7) working Corrpak in Cambridge on October 16, 2006, by Al Moran.

M&D 2628 shuffling some cars around at the runaround in Cambridge on October 16, 2006, by Al Moran.

It was decided back in 2016, that the M&D would embargo the line & stop running from just a little bit past Hurlock, MD into Cambridge. The last tank cars from Corrpak had to be taken off their freight car trucks & trucked to Federalsburg, MD & then put back on their trucks to be interchanged to the Delmarva Central Railroad in Seaford, DE back in 2018.

April 2020 Here Comes the Sun!

I've got to quote George Harrison (of The Beatles fame), so "Here Comes the Sun" for April 2020!

The Beatles "Abbey Road" (1969)

The stuff I had to deal with in March 2020, is behind me now so it's back to railroad research & model railroading. I'll post something here soon (I still have to decide on a topic).

Stay tuned!

March 2020 Blahs

I don't know what Blogger is doing, so excuse me for posting this post in this format (I can't fix it for some reason or another). For March 2020, I'm really not going to post anything this month. I've got some personal stuff to deal with (it's not bad or life-ending, just stuff), so I'm holding off until April 2020, for the next historically-based post. Sorry about this.

Man, this format is driving me batty!!!