July 9, 1929: the country was in the beginning of an economic recession that few knew at the time would wind up being the beginning of the Great Depression. In Waynesburg, folks were getting ready to plan and attend one of the early Rain Day celebrations. And even a decade later, area families were still mourning the loss of several local boys killed in action in France on July 29, 1918 as that anniversary neared.
But, on the ninth, the Waynesburg and Washington Railroad was about to make its final passenger service run. The automobile had been hitting passenger revenue hard on the shorter lines, making it less feasible to continue short trip passenger service, and freight was the last vestige of business for small lines such as the W&W.
The engine known as Second No. 4, or 9684, made that last run with Harry Wood at the throttle. When it pulled into Waynesburg at 6pm that day, it was the end of passenger service on the line forever.
Second No. 4 is now housed at the Greene County Historical Society Museum as an integral part of the museum collection, as well as a rare survival of a small narrow-gauge locomotive. A few other artifacts from that last run also exist. All the ticket stubs from the last run are housed in the collection at the museum, and the caboose lantern from the last run is also on display in the Waynesburg and Washington Railroad Room.
The caboose lantern was made by Dressell Lantern Company in the very early part of the 19th century. It is fueled by kerosene and has red and clear lenses to identify the parts of the caboose when lighting conditions are poor. This lantern was not intended to be “bright” in the sense that it would cast illumination to see or work but was designed to be more akin to a taillight on a modern vehicle.
