Souvenirs of Yesteryear: The Jordan Spreader
This article is not about John the Baptist trying to emulate Moses. It is about a railroad car. Not just any ordinary railroad car either, but a rather imposing contraption. There it is in the photo. It is a Jordan spreader, a mighty railroad machine that is pushed by a locomotive. Its plow-shaped prow bulldozes piles of gravel and its powerful wings fold out and spread the gravel ballast between the ties and evenly along the railbed. It also plows snow.
It currently resides on an unused section of track along Hosbach Trail in the City of Norwich. To me, it has become a wonderful sculpture, a rusting hulk sulking in ignominious repose, ransacked and abandoned, left to lurk in lonely solitude. What a great funereal monument this metallic colossus would make for our local railroads. How long would it take for this massive thing to disintegrate into a wretched pile of rust?
The Jordan spreader was invented by Oswald F. Jordan in 1900. Jordan was the road master of the New York Central Railroad’s Canadian Southern, Niagara region. He designed this machine to spread gravel and to gouge out the drainage ditches parallel to the railbed. The wing plows are extended outward by compressed air. Thus the big tank at the posterior end. Compressed air is more forgiving than hydraulics when slamming into unseen obstacles. However, the newer models are hydraulic.
I am not sure when this particular specimen first arrived in the city. It was once parked downtown, in the area around Hubbard Avenue, according to a photo I remember seeing, but have not been able to find again. Whereas only a single track exists downtown today, eight appear on the 1943 topographic map. I am not sure when the spreader was banished to the boondocks, but I suspect around 1985 or so. The spreader’s disheveled appearance is due to cannibalization of parts to rebuild a fellow spreader, according to an anonymous “Evening Sun” article on July 27, 1983.
I examined this specimen for any dates. On the rear wheel boxes an embossment says “NATIONAL COILED SPRING PAT’S APR 23, 1907 Jun 16, 1914.” The coiled spring cover on the front right reads “HUNTOON PATENTED JAN 2, 1917”. So it was either built after those dates or, if built earlier, they are replacements. It seems reasonable to assume that this machine was built in the early 1900s. A signboard on the right side of the cab reads “COTS RPKD IDT 3-78 11-82 9-12-79 B B BM Z X DF B B”, most likely maintenance data. I could not find any identification of the builder, such as a name plate, nothing.
Any readers who know more about this spreader are encouraged to share their information. Irene Szabo in Mount Morris will be presenting slides of it to the Rochester Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society at its spring meeting. Thanks to her, this spreader will be attaining national recognition. Irene has discovered that even those members whose favorite machinery is maintenance-of-way equipment had not known about what they now call the “Norwich treasure.”
Irene sent me a copy of the definitive review on Jordan spreaders. Written by Jerry A. Pinkepank, “Mr. Jordan’s marvelous multidexterous machine” appears in the June 1969 issue of “Trains” magazine, pages 38-42a. Keeping readers current, he followed up four decades later with “Update file. New kid in town takes on Jordan spreader’s work. Loram’s rotary ditcher...” in the February 2007 issue of “Trains,” page 14. He says the last Jordan spreader was built in 2000.
How did a boy ever grow up with the name “Pinkepank”? Either he was endlessly teased, or he was one mighty tough dude. I suspect the latter.
Neatnik do-gooders probably consider this rail car and its environs an eyesore. But, some historical eyesores, such as this one, contribute to the points of interest in a city. Without them, a city is just a bland assemblage of contrived mediocrity.
In May 2006, when we hosted a meeting of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference in Norwich, this Jordan spreader was a top attraction and conversation topic among our visitors. It is something that cannot be commonly seen elsewhere. In fact, where would you look for another one? Oneonta would be a likely spot, but where else? Does it attract tourists? Probably not many, because so few people know about it. I hope this article makes it more widely known. If the New York, Susquehanna & Western, its owner, ever wants to remove it, we should dissuade them by granting this persecuted relic perpetual amnesty.
It currently resides on an unused section of track along Hosbach Trail in the City of Norwich. To me, it has become a wonderful sculpture, a rusting hulk sulking in ignominious repose, ransacked and abandoned, left to lurk in lonely solitude. What a great funereal monument this metallic colossus would make for our local railroads. How long would it take for this massive thing to disintegrate into a wretched pile of rust?
The Jordan spreader was invented by Oswald F. Jordan in 1900. Jordan was the road master of the New York Central Railroad’s Canadian Southern, Niagara region. He designed this machine to spread gravel and to gouge out the drainage ditches parallel to the railbed. The wing plows are extended outward by compressed air. Thus the big tank at the posterior end. Compressed air is more forgiving than hydraulics when slamming into unseen obstacles. However, the newer models are hydraulic.
I am not sure when this particular specimen first arrived in the city. It was once parked downtown, in the area around Hubbard Avenue, according to a photo I remember seeing, but have not been able to find again. Whereas only a single track exists downtown today, eight appear on the 1943 topographic map. I am not sure when the spreader was banished to the boondocks, but I suspect around 1985 or so. The spreader’s disheveled appearance is due to cannibalization of parts to rebuild a fellow spreader, according to an anonymous “Evening Sun” article on July 27, 1983.
I examined this specimen for any dates. On the rear wheel boxes an embossment says “NATIONAL COILED SPRING PAT’S APR 23, 1907 Jun 16, 1914.” The coiled spring cover on the front right reads “HUNTOON PATENTED JAN 2, 1917”. So it was either built after those dates or, if built earlier, they are replacements. It seems reasonable to assume that this machine was built in the early 1900s. A signboard on the right side of the cab reads “COTS RPKD IDT 3-78 11-82 9-12-79 B B BM Z X DF B B”, most likely maintenance data. I could not find any identification of the builder, such as a name plate, nothing.
Any readers who know more about this spreader are encouraged to share their information. Irene Szabo in Mount Morris will be presenting slides of it to the Rochester Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society at its spring meeting. Thanks to her, this spreader will be attaining national recognition. Irene has discovered that even those members whose favorite machinery is maintenance-of-way equipment had not known about what they now call the “Norwich treasure.”
Irene sent me a copy of the definitive review on Jordan spreaders. Written by Jerry A. Pinkepank, “Mr. Jordan’s marvelous multidexterous machine” appears in the June 1969 issue of “Trains” magazine, pages 38-42a. Keeping readers current, he followed up four decades later with “Update file. New kid in town takes on Jordan spreader’s work. Loram’s rotary ditcher...” in the February 2007 issue of “Trains,” page 14. He says the last Jordan spreader was built in 2000.
How did a boy ever grow up with the name “Pinkepank”? Either he was endlessly teased, or he was one mighty tough dude. I suspect the latter.
Neatnik do-gooders probably consider this rail car and its environs an eyesore. But, some historical eyesores, such as this one, contribute to the points of interest in a city. Without them, a city is just a bland assemblage of contrived mediocrity.
In May 2006, when we hosted a meeting of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference in Norwich, this Jordan spreader was a top attraction and conversation topic among our visitors. It is something that cannot be commonly seen elsewhere. In fact, where would you look for another one? Oneonta would be a likely spot, but where else? Does it attract tourists? Probably not many, because so few people know about it. I hope this article makes it more widely known. If the New York, Susquehanna & Western, its owner, ever wants to remove it, we should dissuade them by granting this persecuted relic perpetual amnesty.
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