Age Question / Ole Maud

[NW Mailing List]

Ray,

Enjoyed your description of the sounds that moonlit night.  Speaking of 
Link locations, last winter I was driving along the road that follows the 
old Virginia Creeper line up into North Carolina.  I was particularly 
interested in seeing if the store/post office at Husk/Nella was still 
there.  I love that transient on The Fading Giant where "Jimbo, the hound 
of Husk." chimes in to provide a counterpoint to the whistle of the 
Virginia Creeper.

Well, the store is still there, a little worse for wear.  Don't think it's 
open any more.  And I'm sure Jimbo has moved on.

I've attached couple of photos.  In the picture of the store, the sign by 
the road says "The Old Husk Store."  The "city" sign is located on the 
opposite side of the road.

Sam Putney

[moderator: images at following URLs on our website:
http://nwhs.org/qna/photos/20080725.DSCF6743.1.JPG
http://nwhs.org/qna/photos/20080725.DSCF6740.1.JPG]


   ----- Original Message -----
   From: NW Mailing List
   To: NW Mailing List
   Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:20 PM
   Subject: RE: Age Question / Ole Maud


   I thought of OWL in the middle of the night last Monday:



   It was a very bright  and hot moon-lit night in the Ellett Valley near 
Blacksbury along the former VGN. About 1:30am an eastbound came down the 
mountain and gave the customary two longs, a short, and a long for the 
crossing just above Ellett.  The horn was in serious trouble.. sounded 
somewhat like a straining  Electrolux vacuum cleaner. Immediately, a coyote 
in the distance let out a chilling yell and was soon joined by a choir of 
coyotes all yelling in response to the horn. This lasted about a minute and 
then silence. I immediately thought of the Christmas 1957 OWL recording. 
Needless to say, this will not rival it but it was an entertaining event.



   The former VGN west of Roanoke continues to be quite active because of 
the tunnel work on the Heartland Corridor.  We have about 18 trains a day, 
about half each way.  The passing track at Fagg is often in use.



   On another matter, I have enjoyed the talk on this site about the webcam 
at Hotel Roanoke which is operated by the Virginia Tech Foundation. We are 
still getting some kinks out but use is heavy and we are glad it has been 
so well received. And I was told today that over 60 railfan packages with a 
room overlooking the tracks have been sold in the first month of the railcam.



       Ray Smoot