Fwd: [VirginianRailwayEnthusiasts] "Taking Twenty with the Virginian Brethren"

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--
Skip Salmon

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To: VirginianRailwayEnthusiasts at yahoogroups.com
From: "Charles E. Salmon, Jr." <gkholine at cox.net>
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:09:22 -0000
Subject: [VirginianRailwayEnthusiasts] "Taking Twenty with the Virginian Brethren"

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with 11 of the
Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway. Attending for the
first time were Nancy Hartley, widow of VGN Yardmaster Charlie
Hartley and Eddie Mooneyham, Vice-President of the Roanoke Chapter
NRHS. We signed a Happy Birthday card for Harry Bundy, who worked
for the original Norfolk Southern as an operator at Tidewater
Junction and saw the Virginian Railway "up close and personal".
Harry retired from the "new Norfolk Southern" as System Engineer and
is now "mayor of Bonsack, VA and Champion of the 'Orange Ave 500' in
his Mercedes-Benz". Harry just turned the big 7-0.

Eddy Mooneyham told the Brethren that sometime soon, the Chapter
will have a special day for them at the 9th Street yard and give them
a ride on a VGN caboose behind one of the Chapter's diesel
locomotives. More on this later...

I passed around a copy of the "Trains" February 1990
article "Ike's Trains" which has a photo of the Double Headed J-
Series Campaign Train that brought the future president from Winston-
Salem to Roanoke Friday September 26, 1952. This train "traveled
51,376 miles through 45 states and make 232 stops". The Brethren
enjoyed the fact that the engineers kept 10 pounds of air on the
train at all times to keep the slack from running out on Mamie.

The ebay report was given: "1934 Science of Locomotive
Management on VGN Rwy" $60.95; 1955-56 VGN annual pass $34.79; FM VGN
Enginman's Manual $107.20 and an FM Locomotive Parts catalog for
$432.89.

I also passed a couple photos that I took from the Jefferson
Street Bridge showing the fatal gasoline tanker wreck last Saturday
night. The truck went through the guard rail on I-581 in Roanoke and
crashed and burned just 10 feet from the Old Virginian main line A-1
just west of the VGN Station that is being renovated. The latest
NS "Newsbreak" was also passed around.

Landon Gregory showed the Brethren photos of last Saturday's
birthday party for Aubrey Wiley at his home in Lynchburg. One showed
Greg Elam presenting Aubrey a long concrete pole with a "W" on
it "that does not stand for Wiley". It is a whistlepost that once
warned many VGN hoggers to blow for a crossing near Danieltown.

I asked about the VGN BX1 auto box cars that are the recent
topic on VGN and N&W sites. Tom Cornbread Victory said that he was
the one who ordered a 1946 Plymouth from Fulton Motors in Roanoke and
was called when it came in to observe its unloading at the yard.
Cornbread said that the track going to the unloading ramp was
called "Baker track" bacause the trucking company that hauled the new
cars from the VGN facility was Baker Brothers Tranfer. He remembers
that six box cars would be unloaded at a time. Rufus Wingfield
recalled switching the "Baker Track" several times during a shift and
as many as 25 of these BX-1s coming in, on a single train.

Bob Rowland said that he had a 1937 Plymouth and recalled an
incident that happened at the corner of Walnut Ave and Jefferson St.
At this intersection was the Blue Ridge Grill, AKA "Blue Goose"
watering hole for VGN workers. Bob was on his way to start a hoot owl
shift when he stopped at the "Goose" and parked his black Plymouth
just behind another Plymouth that was identical to his. It was a hot
night and all windows were down and "back then, no one locked their
doors". When he arrived at the Yard Office and was getting out of
his Plymouth, he noticed on the back seat a case of Roanoke Brewing
Company's finest "Dixie Beer" placed there by mistake by another
client of the "Goose".

Time to pull the pin on this one!

Departing Now,

Skip Salmon



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