We left on this rainy morning to make our final water quality testing in the Greenbrier. After all the results we have gathered, our group came to the conclusion that the water quality of the Greenbrier was "Medium". Not a bad rating for a river that runs through some industrial areas as it snakes through southern WV.
Then we made our way to our last stop.... the C&O museum. What an awesome place to visit and a wonderful way to culminate all we've learned. From the various tools and procedures that started on steam engines and ended on deisels, it was neat to see the improvements to them over the years. Comparing the steam engines on site (The Greenbrier Express) to the steam engines at Cass and Durbin was quite interesting.
Why would there be such a difference between the two steam engines?
What were each of the engines built to do?
Another interesting thing I found out about was the Depots that C&O used and the fact that they had "standard" plans for them. Depending on the community, the type of depot that was built usually had separate waiting rooms for ladies to help keep them "safe". Most depots were wooden but larger communities had brick ones that were built.
We had lunch in the restored dining car which was such a neat experience.... to sit and imagine what it would have been like for people to ride and dine in "those days".
Looking at the pictures of railroad in times past and seeing what they are like today was a good way to end our trip. Seeing how important railroading was to West Virginia before major roadways were built, was important in preparing lessons for my classroom.
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