Elliston private crossing signal

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Supplementing the information furnished by Bruce, many years ago I recall
seeing dump trucks using this crossing, which is just east of Elliston, VA
(MP N-277).  A 1982 Radford Division track chart shows a private road
crossing at MP N-275.5 identified as "Salem Brick Company."  Reference to
the TerraServer-USA.com aerial map for the vicinity of the crossing shows an
large excavated area to the south.  The dump trucks apparently hauled the
excavated material to the brick manufacturing plant in Salem.

Gordon Hamilton

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 9:48 AM
Subject: Re: Elliston private crossing signal


> At 1:54 AM -0700 4/25/05, Ben Blevins wrote:
> >Hello all.
> >Yesterday I journeyed to Roanoke to visit my sister.  I decided to take
the "road less travelled", and took Route 11 all the way.  I noticed
something I've seen before, but never paid much attention to.  It is a
private crossing light near Elliston.
> >
> >This thing is made out of old US&S PL-1 Position Light parts!  I've
attached a photo for your scrutiny.  Does anyone know the story behind this
thing?  Why did the N&W make this thing for a private crossing?
>
> For those not familiar with the location, it is on the N&W main on the
Radford Division not too far west of Singer.  On U.S. 460/11, it is just
west of the turn-off to Lafayette and just before both the road and tracks
cross the Roanoke River at the old Green Hill packing plant [I'm not dating
myself with any of those references, am I? :-) ]  The dirt road from this
crossing runs up a hill and into the woods (the same hill this photo was
taken from:
http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/norfolksouthern/full/ns871.jpeg).  Up in
the woods is a quarry that once served the brick yard in Salem.  The signal
would alert the drivers of loaded dump trucks that it would not be safe to
cross the tracks, especially since there isn't much room at that point
between the westbound track and the eastbound highway lane.
>
> Deep in the depths of my memory, I seem to remember there was another
signal like this over east, around Farmville, but I can't remember the
specifics.  They were few and far between, though.
>
> -- 
> Bruce in Blacksburg         === In the heart of N&W territory. ===
>
> Bruce B. Harper                              (540)231-4360
> University Relations/Web Communications  bharper at vt.edu
> Virginia Tech        Blacksburg, Virginia  26060
> See N&W WWW Page at http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bharper/nwrwy/
> ________________________________________
> NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org
> To change your subscription go to
> http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list
>