Ralph Brandy here, since I added to your post I called Lon"Junior" Ventors. He has taken a very bad fall at his home, and recouping well, so he told me. I asked about his 1st cousin Hargis Harris, that's the other gentleman that I referred to. They both in their middle 80's, and health dropping fast.
I asked Junior about the C&O Power Shortage that you referred to around that time. He said that it was due to manifacture's not being able to supply the new diesels fast enough. He also said that everytime they had a problem with one of the engines, they would pull all 3 from from service until repairs were made. He told me that it took a-b-a to do the same tonnage job that the old 2700's as they call them or 2-8-4 Kanawah's. Junior also said, the C&O hadn't replaced the steam engine repair crews (boilermakers/machinists/blacksmiths with "Diesel Locomotive Mechanics", as quick as they should have, and he said that EMD had the place crawling with Mechanics training the C&O guys.
I remember my step dad who was a Southern Railroad Engineer talking about those goings on way back when I was a kid!
Ralph if you send me an email, I'll send you Junior Ventors Home phone number, and you can talk with him, as you probably know more what to ask him, than I would. I remember taking him to the Cinder Sniffers Live Steam Club meeting back in the late 80's, and when introduced him to the crowd of membership, and what equipment he ran for the C&O. The Beatles couldn't have gotten anymore response from that crowd of railroader Wanna Bee's. I know that his stories a very true, because I've met too, too many guys that he's trained, and some were part of those railroading stories...........Brandy
