The steep and steady grades out of Portland and Bangor, PA forced the
railroad to run small trains. Because of this
the railroad was run as a relay For example, During the DL&W era Hill Yard
was 2 tracks each with a cross over at the east end breaking them up into 4
tracks. Portland Hole Job built the first Bath Drill in the empty track in
the morning. A crew would then run out light (locomotive and caboose only)
from Shops to get it. The Portland Hole crew then built the second Bath
Drill in the empty track later on in the shift. They then brought a train
back to East Bangor or Shops when they came in with the cars for the other
points on the branch. t
The grade east bound from Belfast Junction to the Pen Argyl hill was steep
enough that it got doubled up all the time. This occurred
throughout the existence of the B&P. Back in the days of steam
the DL&W sometimes had to call a pusher to get trains from Belfast to Pen
Argyl Jct when the cement traffic was heavy and the trains where big. Nazareth, PA.
Operation notes courtesy of Bob Stafford
