Shipbuilders Go on the Rails

On Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. join “Big Tom” the riveter as they tell the story of how the Shipyard “went on the rails” to stay in business during the lean years of the Great Depression. From 1923 to 1927, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company constructed over 5,000 railroad cars and repaired hundreds of steam locomotives for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and other American Class I railroads. The end of World War I meant halting most of the Shipyard’s military and commercial maritime construction and, the 1922 international Washington Naval Treaty spelled the end of almost all U.S. Navy work.

Although Shipyard founder Collis P. Huntington may have winced had he been alive to hear Shipyard President Homer L. Ferguson say he “…could not love a boxcar…”, Huntington would have nevertheless cheered him on as Ferguson personally lobbied President Warren G. Harding to find contracts for non-maritime projects. Ferguson kept his workforce of expert welders, foundrymen, engineers, fitters, and architects intact through his heroic efforts for several years at diversification and “other work” that saved the legacy of his beloved Shipyard. 

This rail heritage program is sponsored by the Lee Hall Train Station Foundation and Newport News Historic Services. Admission is free.