Saturday, November 20, 2010

Local Companies Extinguish Journal Box

I have been having trouble this month coming up with some posts, it is compounded by the fact that from the end of September to the middle of November is spent traveling to photograph wildlife. When I posted the photos Dave sent I pitched the idea then of others sending photos or articles, if someone out there sent some in I would be able to skip less days. Being a railroad buff this was a neat article for me, the older people will know what these were but for you younger guys I guess you will just have to goggle it.

On November 20, 1968 at 2:20 a.m. KGD-556 sent firemen to Pinola next to the Baer Feed Supply for a journal box ablaze on a tank car. The Western Maryland Railroad dispatcher in Hagerstown, Md. contacted the Shippensburg Civil Defense room to alert them to the blaze. The tanker was uncoupled from the freight train and pushed to siding. It was never mentioned what the tank car was carrying. Damages were minor being confined to the oil soaked wicks according to WEFR Chief Crawford Wiestling. It took firemen about 30 minutes to control the stubborn blaze. The West End Fire and Rescue and Vigilant Hose companies answered the alarm of fire. The CV community ambulance also answered two calls for the day.

3 comments:

Sparky said...

Ok I goggled it. Not what I thought it would be. I was thinking a box to put paperwork in... Yes I can see why it was hard to extinguish...

Unknown said...

I also had to Google journal box and learned what it was. Dang learned something new everyday! Heck I always thought a "Hot Box" was something else :-)!

Cincy Bill

Brad Myers said...

It is great to see some comments on here even if it is from the regulars that comment.

You don;t have to be an old timer to know what a journal box is just a railroad buff or a historian. Often I would read accounts where a fire department was put on a train and taken to another town for a fire. Many of the times they would say in the article that the train made record time in reching their destination with the journal boxes ablaze. Back in those days a journal box ablaze was no big thing.

Bill I will not even comment on what you thought a hot box was.