Hi there Jim,
This is my first post on this site - I just signed up after seeing your post. I'm an Irish-based researcher who is very interested in the A&GW. I am currently working on an academic paper studying the history of the line and investigating James McHenry's involvement with the enterprise. The line has a most interesting history involving construction during the U.S Civil War, devious characters, and shady connections with the Erie RR.
I would be interested in hearing more about your great-grandfather's relationship with the railroad or on any other thoughts you may have on the A&GW. I hope to visit the U.S over the next 1-2 years to search for remnants of the line and research materials in advance of my plans to write a book on the subject of McHenry and the A&GW. Your enthusiasm for the subject is encouraging and I hope that perhaps you may enjoy reading some of my work on the A&GW in future!
That the A&GW was a 6ft is indeed true. It was re-gauged to standard after its sale in 1880, when it was re-branded as the NYPANO - as described on wnyrails:
http://www.wnyrails.net/news/c0000027.htm
They have more info on the A&GW at the WNYR site too:
http://www.wnyrails.net/railroads/agw/agw_home.htm
Regarding your query on finding these editions of
Railroad History, perhaps #131 can be found at the following address at the Railroad and Locomotive Historical Society site:
http://rlhs.org/Publications/History/rrhoutpr.shtml
Perhaps contacting the guys at this address may also help you find #71 too. If not, a search on WorldCat may help you find a library holding these items. I have found some matches for you here, but would always suggest contacting the libraries to be sure which editions they hold:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/railroad-history/oclc/559250465?referer=br&ht=edition
For some free online reading, you could try the free New York Times archives search facility. An excellent short history of the railroad written by Felton is available at the following site (click the pdf file):
http://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/2256
I hope you find this information useful. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts on the line and if you are local to the area where the A&GW was located, I'd like to know if the history of the A&GW railroad is still of interest to the locals? Also - could you recommend some good railroad towns to visit if researching its history? (I plan to visit Meadville, PA, Kent, Ohio and Salamanca, NY so far). Any suggestions at all would be most welcome.
Thanks Jim!
irishjohan.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2014 04:49PM by irishjohan.
