From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 08:01:53 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 08:01:53 EDT Subject: Crossing gates Message-ID: Sam, Some of the Link photos show the neon but it is in individual pieces. Being in individual pieces as apposed to one long piece would make them less subject to breakage. You and I have reached the age where we have learned a lot... just can't remember much of it! Richard -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 08:34:59 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:34:59 -0400 Subject: Grubb, Va building Message-ID: <4AC9E7F3.7050808@vt.edu> All, I ran across this structure at Grubb, Virginia Saturday. Grubb is between Wytheville and Crockett, and used to be a passing siding. This thing looks kind of like an old station building or maybe an old section house. It is right beside the right of way on the south side. Unfortunately there is no highway access into this place, so that makes me think it may not be a station building and I don't know if Grubb ever had one. Does anyone know if its a railroad structure? Ben Blevins [Moderator] See image at following: http://nwhs.org/wiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=62 From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 08:35:08 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:35:08 -0400 Subject: Fwd: [NSPittsburghDivision] Norfolk Southern unveils experimental electric locomotive Message-ID: <4AC9E7FC.3020401@vt.edu> This is in response to the question about NS 999, which someone posted a photo of late last week. Bruce in Blacksburg --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 2:48 PM Subject: [NSPittsburghDivision] Norfolk Southern unveils experimental electric locomotive To: NSPittsburghDivision at yahoogroups.com Norfolk Southern unveils experimental electric locomotive ALTOONA, PA. ? With U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Congressman Bill Shuster in attendance, Norfolk Southern today unveiled the latest in alternative energy locomotive technology at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, Pa. NS 999 is a prototype 1,500-horsepower switching locomotive that relies solely on rechargeable batteries for power. "At Norfolk Southern we strongly subscribe to the view that sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint are solid business objectives that also provide enormous benefits to the communities we serve," said CEO Wick Moorman. "By utilizing regenerated kinetic energy of the train and with no diesel exhaust emissions, NS 999 achieves those goals. This prototype locomotive was developed by Norfolk Southern, with the help of an incredibly creative partnership, including the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the Federal Railroad Administration, and The Pennsylvania State University, for which we are grateful. We must also recognize Congressman Bill Shuster, as without his active interest and participation in this project NS 999 would still be merely a concept." "Today, the transportation sector currently accounts for just under a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, more than half of nitrogen oxide emissions, and almost three-quarters of our petroleum consumption. We need to change that," said Secretary LaHood. "By working together to develop alternative energy sources and innovative technologies like this electric locomotive, we will make transportation more sustainable and energy-efficient." "Historically, Pennsylvania has had a tremendous history in railroading, and it remains my belief that our state can still have a bright future in rail if we take advantage of dynamic partnerships between the private and public sectors like the one that produced this locomotive," said Congressman Bill Shuster, the Ranking Republican on the Railroads Subcommittee. "What Norfolk Southern and Penn State are doing with Congress and Secretary LaHood's support is truly significant and will help usher in a new generation of green locomotives fueled by American ingenuity. Let's not forget about the great work done by the Juniata Locomotive Shop employees who did a superior job producing this engine. I am proud to have worked to secure funding for this project, and I look forward to seeing it working the rail lines soon." Congressman Shuster secured $1.3 million in federal funding for the NS 999 project. NS 999 is an entirely electric locomotive that uses a lead-acid energy storage system comprised of 1,080 12-volt batteries to operate in railroad switching applications without the use of a diesel engine and with zero exhaust emissions. The plug-in locomotive also can regenerate dynamic braking energy through a system provided by Brookville Equipment Company. The recovered dynamic braking energy continually replenishes the energy storage system, and uses this recovered energy for tractive effort in rail operations. The batteries are carefully monitored and controlled through an elaborate battery management system to assure safety and maximum battery life, and when fully charged NS 999 is able to operate three shifts before recharging is required. From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 09:07:55 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 09:07:55 -0400 Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 References: <01A41C56A20D4E6A8242A8628DDAD508@DellVostro> Message-ID: <89451276E92847EB8971AF50D6842EFE@DHKYT081> The R.E. Wood Lumber Co had 27 miles of wooden track from Wyoming County down Buffalo Creek and then down to Sandy Huff where the the N&W connection was made. My new book, "Billion Dollar Coalfield", will have a picture of Climax on wooden rails on that particular railroad. C. L. Ritter took over that property in the 1920s and kept the mill going at Sandy Huff through the 1920s. C.L. Ritter also had the first mill at Gordon and timbered along the Cleak Fork. He probably had a lumber railroad running down the Clear Fork which formed the basis of George L Carter's West Virgina Southwestern Railway that eventually became the Clear Fork Branch. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: 3N&W Mailing List Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 10:06 PM Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 16, 1910 STEEL RAILS ------ Replacing Wooden Ones on Track of Lumber Company The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, Inc., is rushing work on its Virginia plant and is replacing as fast as possible all the wooden track which it inherited from the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company, which it recently bought out. The old company had Fifty-four miles of wooden rails and it is the intention of the new company to replace this track as rapidly as circumstances demand with steel rails. The company will also go down Dismal about seventeen miles to reach a large tract of timber. The company's offices are at Huntington, W. Va., while its working plant is now located at Whitewood, Va. The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, the Rockcastle Lumber Company and the Tug River Lumber Company have joint offices in Huntington. ------ [I have seen old pictures of wooden track lumber railroads, but I never had any idea that there would be 54 miles of such track in one operation. The attached picture of a C. L. Ritter Climax locomotive at Whitewood is from the collection of C. T. Stoner, and is presented here by courtesy of climaxlocomotives.com. It appears to be on wooden rails. Whitewood is in Buchanan County, Virginia, on Dismal Creek in an area that was remote in 1910, so it would be interesting to know how the lumber from that plant got to market. According to Blackstock and Wilson's article in the July/August issue of The Arrow, W. M. Ritter's Big Sandy and Cumberland narrow gauge railroad reached Matney on Slate Creek in 1910, and Matney would be only three to four miles north of the C. L. Ritter line down Dismal Creek. Could there have been a connection over the divide between Dismal and Slate creeks for C. L. Ritter lumber to go out on the BS&C? Incidentally, the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. is still in existence in Huntington according to the websites such as www.manta.com. ] Gordon Hamilton ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 14:23:56 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 14:23:56 -0400 Subject: Crossing gates References: <315594.26485.qm@web111203.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <002701ca4548$4006cdb0$6500a8c0@Dad> Message-ID: <80A8479C07D14167BC7A9F4CE8182792@DellVostro> Faulty though my memory may be, I remember when N&W crossing gates in Roanoke had flashing neon tubing along practically the full length of each arm. Here's where the faulty part comes in. I think I remember that the neon tubes were in a zig-zag configuration, i.e., like a bolt of lightening. Gordon Hamilton ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 7:13 PM Subject: Re: Crossing gates While we're on the subject, my memory growing up in Farmville during the 1950's and 1960's is that the flashing lights on crossing gates then were neon tubes that ran the length of the gate. Sections of clear glass alternated with sections that were painted black. Of course, they flashed red in the clear sections. Can anyone corroborate this, or is my memory faulty. Thanks, Sam Putney ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Friday, October 02, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: Re: Crossing gates The state pays for the installation of a new crossing. Then it becomes the railroad's responsibility from then on to maintain it, test it, and keep it working. The oldest equipment I know of was the Magnetic Flagman, more commonly known as the wig-wag signal. As for gate mechanisms and flashing lights, they used Western Railroad Supply (WRRS) quite a bit, as there's still some of that equipment out there. They also used some Union Switch & Signal crossing equipment, Western Cullen Hayes, and Safetran. NS is currently using Safetran for its crossing equipment. Ben Blevins On 10/1/09, NW Mailing List wrote: > Did the N&W or now NS show a preference for the type or manufacturer of > crossing gates used? Are they the railroad?s or highway > dept's responsibility? > Mike Shockley > > > ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 15:47:07 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 15:47:07 -0400 Subject: photo of NS battery-powered locomotive References: <4AC7AFE8.1050808@vt.edu> Message-ID: <76C98F8DA65C45E8A1640239C187A1D2@NichsDen> Tom, What I do know is that is an attractive picture, thank you - I decided to use it as my desktop for awhile! "Railpictures" always has a wealth of great examples to choose. And, thanks to "Bruce in Blacksburg" for the very informative explanation. Bob Nichols ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2009 4:11 PM Subject: Fw: photo of NS battery-powered locomotive > Anybody know anything about this loco. > > -- Tom Anson > > [moderator] > See NS #999 at railpictures.net > http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=299004 > ________________________________________ > NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org > To change your subscription go to > http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list > Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at > http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 15:20:46 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 15:20:46 -0400 Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 References: <01A41C56A20D4E6A8242A8628DDAD508@DellVostro> <89451276E92847EB8971AF50D6842EFE@DHKYT081> Message-ID: <2B9784391E774CA1A42F50E2240A16EB@DellVostro> Alex, Thanks for the additional info, but I need some clarification. In order to familiarize myself with somewhat unfamiliar territory I have tried to follow your descriptions on a map, but I have trouble understanding how the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. mill at Gordon on the Clear Fork that flows south into the Guyandotte River upstream of Bailey Reservoir relates to a different Clear Fork a lot farther south which flows north into Tug Fork between Roderfield and Wilmore. It was this latter Clear Fork which was followed by the N&W Clear Fork Branch. Incidentally, in a online biography of C. L. Ritter it states that he relocated from Pennsylvania, "...and in 1889 came to West Virginia and entered the lumber business at Oakvale on East River." So, it looks as though the N&W probably got his first business. Gordon Hamilton ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: NW Mailing List Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 9:07 AM Subject: Re: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 The R.E. Wood Lumber Co had 27 miles of wooden track from Wyoming County down Buffalo Creek and then down to Sandy Huff where the the N&W connection was made. My new book, "Billion Dollar Coalfield", will have a picture of Climax on wooden rails on that particular railroad. C. L. Ritter took over that property in the 1920s and kept the mill going at Sandy Huff through the 1920s. C.L. Ritter also had the first mill at Gordon and timbered along the Cleak Fork. He probably had a lumber railroad running down the Clear Fork which formed the basis of George L Carter's West Virgina Southwestern Railway that eventually became the Clear Fork Branch. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: 3N&W Mailing List Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 10:06 PM Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 16, 1910 STEEL RAILS ------ Replacing Wooden Ones on Track of Lumber Company The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, Inc., is rushing work on its Virginia plant and is replacing as fast as possible all the wooden track which it inherited from the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company, which it recently bought out. The old company had Fifty-four miles of wooden rails and it is the intention of the new company to replace this track as rapidly as circumstances demand with steel rails. The company will also go down Dismal about seventeen miles to reach a large tract of timber. The company's offices are at Huntington, W. Va., while its working plant is now located at Whitewood, Va. The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, the Rockcastle Lumber Company and the Tug River Lumber Company have joint offices in Huntington. ------ [I have seen old pictures of wooden track lumber railroads, but I never had any idea that there would be 54 miles of such track in one operation. The attached picture of a C. L. Ritter Climax locomotive at Whitewood is from the collection of C. T. Stoner, and is presented here by courtesy of climaxlocomotives.com. It appears to be on wooden rails. Whitewood is in Buchanan County, Virginia, on Dismal Creek in an area that was remote in 1910, so it would be interesting to know how the lumber from that plant got to market. According to Blackstock and Wilson's article in the July/August issue of The Arrow, W. M. Ritter's Big Sandy and Cumberland narrow gauge railroad reached Matney on Slate Creek in 1910, and Matney would be only three to four miles north of the C. L. Ritter line down Dismal Creek. Could there have been a connection over the divide between Dismal and Slate creeks for C. L. Ritter lumber to go out on the BS&C? Incidentally, the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. is still in existence in Huntington according to the websites such as www.manta.com. ] Gordon Hamilton ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 16:00:37 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 16:00:37 -0400 Subject: Crossing gates In-Reply-To: <80A8479C07D14167BC7A9F4CE8182792@DellVostro> References: <315594.26485.qm@web111203.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <002701ca4548$4006cdb0$6500a8c0@Dad> <80A8479C07D14167BC7A9F4CE8182792@DellVostro> Message-ID: <8ae8c7d20910051300y4f769c45k51125fcaf1929bdb@mail.gmail.com> I think this Link photo shows that. Wish it was not such an oblique angle. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/2567355412_ff2c46cea3.jpg On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 2:23 PM, NW Mailing List wrote: > Faulty though my memory may be, I remember when N&W crossing gates in > Roanoke had flashing neon tubing along practically the full length of each > arm. Here's where the faulty part comes in. I think I remember that the > neon tubes were in a zig-zag configuration, i.e., like a bolt of lightening. > > Gordon Hamilton > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" < > nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> > To: "NW Mailing List" > Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 7:13 PM > Subject: Re: Crossing gates > > > While we're on the subject, my memory growing up in Farmville during the > 1950's and 1960's is that the flashing lights on crossing gates then were > neon tubes that ran the length of the gate. Sections of clear glass > alternated with sections that were painted black. Of course, they flashed > red in the clear sections. Can anyone corroborate this, or is my memory > faulty. > > Thanks, > > Sam Putney > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" < > nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> > To: "NW Mailing List" > Sent: Friday, October 02, 2009 6:26 AM > Subject: Re: Crossing gates > > > The state pays for the installation of a new crossing. Then it > becomes the railroad's responsibility from then on to maintain it, > test it, and keep it working. > > The oldest equipment I know of was the Magnetic Flagman, more commonly > known as the wig-wag signal. As for gate mechanisms and flashing > lights, they used Western Railroad Supply (WRRS) quite a bit, as > there's still some of that equipment out there. They also used some > Union Switch & Signal crossing equipment, Western Cullen Hayes, and > Safetran. > > NS is currently using Safetran for its crossing equipment. > > Ben Blevins > > > On 10/1/09, NW Mailing List wrote: > >> Did the N&W or now NS show a preference for the type or manufacturer of >> crossing gates used? Are they the railroad?s or highway >> dept's responsibility? >> Mike Shockley >> >> >> >> ________________________________________ > NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org > To change your subscription go to > http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list > Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at > http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ > > ________________________________________ > NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org > To change your subscription go to > http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list > Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at > http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 > 06:19:00 > > ________________________________________ > NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org > To change your subscription go to > http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list > Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at > http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ > -- Jonathan Swift - "May you live every day of your life." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 15:44:26 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 15:44:26 -0400 Subject: Crossing gates References: <315594.26485.qm@web111203.mail.gq1.yahoo.com><002701ca4548$4006cdb0$6500a8c0@Dad> <80A8479C07D14167BC7A9F4CE8182792@DellVostro> Message-ID: <001001ca45f4$3f066180$ff7c63ae@nc.rr.com> I seem to remember that as well, Ken Tanner ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 2:23 PM Subject: Re: Crossing gates Faulty though my memory may be, I remember when N&W crossing gates in Roanoke had flashing neon tubing along practically the full length of each arm. Here's where the faulty part comes in. I think I remember that the neon tubes were in a zig-zag configuration, i.e., like a bolt of lightening. Gordon Hamilton ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 7:13 PM Subject: Re: Crossing gates While we're on the subject, my memory growing up in Farmville during the 1950's and 1960's is that the flashing lights on crossing gates then were neon tubes that ran the length of the gate. Sections of clear glass alternated with sections that were painted black. Of course, they flashed red in the clear sections. Can anyone corroborate this, or is my memory faulty. Thanks, Sam Putney ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Friday, October 02, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: Re: Crossing gates The state pays for the installation of a new crossing. Then it becomes the railroad's responsibility from then on to maintain it, test it, and keep it working. The oldest equipment I know of was the Magnetic Flagman, more commonly known as the wig-wag signal. As for gate mechanisms and flashing lights, they used Western Railroad Supply (WRRS) quite a bit, as there's still some of that equipment out there. They also used some Union Switch & Signal crossing equipment, Western Cullen Hayes, and Safetran. NS is currently using Safetran for its crossing equipment. Ben Blevins On 10/1/09, NW Mailing List wrote: > Did the N&W or now NS show a preference for the type or manufacturer of > crossing gates used? Are they the railroad?s or highway > dept's responsibility? > Mike Shockley > > > ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 16:46:36 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 16:46:36 -0400 Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 References: <01A41C56A20D4E6A8242A8628DDAD508@DellVostro><89451276E92847EB8971AF50D6842EFE@DHKYT081> <2B9784391E774CA1A42F50E2240A16EB@DellVostro> Message-ID: <5DABFB0FF0D54D83A1015244CDE411B4@DHKYT081> C.L. Ritter, who was W.M. Ritter's cousin, had the milll at Gordon which was across the Tug River from the mouth of Clear Fork in McDowell County. This was located between Roderfield and Wilmore. To add to the confusion, C.L. Ritter established the community of Ritter on the south side of the Tug Fork at the mouth of the Clear Fork. Gordon siding was located opposite Ritter on the north side of the Tug Fork. W.M. Ritter established one of his saw mills at Ritter on the Dry Fork which empties into the Tug Fork at Iaeger. However Ritter on the Dry Fork could not have a post office named Ritter, because C.L. Ritter already had one named Ritter at the mouth of the Clear Fork. So the post office at Ritter on the Dry Fork was named Avondale, even though everyone called the location Ritter. C.L. Ritter bought the 40,000 acres the Flat Top Land Association had in Wyoming/Boone/Raleigh County that was not contiguous with their other propertties, which is why he probably reopened the Sandy Huff mill. Mary Bowman wrote in her book on Wyoming County, "From 1922 to 1927, The C.L. Ritter Lumber Company operated a band mill at Sandy Huff to manufacture lumber from timber cut over the same 5,000 acres which R.E. Wood removed timber from 1898 to 1908, employing 100 to 150 men. Two-thirds of them worked at the mill and in the yards, the remainder in the woods. Logs were transported across the mountain from Huffs Creek in Wyoming County with a 35-ton Shay Locomotive and a 20-ton Climax locomotive on steel rails . Total cut at this set, 60,000,000 feet." R.E. Wood had cut nearly 72,000,000 feet from the same property from 1898 through 1908. C.L. Ritter is probably remembered more for his hardware sales in WV, rather than for his lumber business. C.L. Ritter also had extensive lumbering in Virginia. There was aslo a large saw mill at Ada on the East River run by W.M. Ritter (I think). I would have to look up which Ritter operated which mill. One of the confusing things are the multiple rivers with the same names in the same county as well as different counties. As an example the Greenbrier Coal and Coke Co on North Fork Branch was named after the Greenbrier Branch (creek) that emptied into the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek. However there is a Greenbrier Branch that runs into Panther Creek that was more famous for timbering. I won't tell you how many times I have been confused about where some place was or which river or creek was actually being talked about. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: NW Mailing List Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 3:20 PM Subject: Re: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Alex, Thanks for the additional info, but I need some clarification. In order to familiarize myself with somewhat unfamiliar territory I have tried to follow your descriptions on a map, but I have trouble understanding how the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. mill at Gordon on the Clear Fork that flows south into the Guyandotte River upstream of Bailey Reservoir relates to a different Clear Fork a lot farther south which flows north into Tug Fork between Roderfield and Wilmore. It was this latter Clear Fork which was followed by the N&W Clear Fork Branch. Incidentally, in a online biography of C. L. Ritter it states that he relocated from Pennsylvania, "...and in 1889 came to West Virginia and entered the lumber business at Oakvale on East River." So, it looks as though the N&W probably got his first business. Gordon Hamilton ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: NW Mailing List Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 9:07 AM Subject: Re: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 The R.E. Wood Lumber Co had 27 miles of wooden track from Wyoming County down Buffalo Creek and then down to Sandy Huff where the the N&W connection was made. My new book, "Billion Dollar Coalfield", will have a picture of Climax on wooden rails on that particular railroad. C. L. Ritter took over that property in the 1920s and kept the mill going at Sandy Huff through the 1920s. C.L. Ritter also had the first mill at Gordon and timbered along the Cleak Fork. He probably had a lumber railroad running down the Clear Fork which formed the basis of George L Carter's West Virgina Southwestern Railway that eventually became the Clear Fork Branch. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: 3N&W Mailing List Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 10:06 PM Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 16, 1910 STEEL RAILS ------ Replacing Wooden Ones on Track of Lumber Company The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, Inc., is rushing work on its Virginia plant and is replacing as fast as possible all the wooden track which it inherited from the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company, which it recently bought out. The old company had Fifty-four miles of wooden rails and it is the intention of the new company to replace this track as rapidly as circumstances demand with steel rails. The company will also go down Dismal about seventeen miles to reach a large tract of timber. The company's offices are at Huntington, W. Va., while its working plant is now located at Whitewood, Va. The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, the Rockcastle Lumber Company and the Tug River Lumber Company have joint offices in Huntington. ------ [I have seen old pictures of wooden track lumber railroads, but I never had any idea that there would be 54 miles of such track in one operation. The attached picture of a C. L. Ritter Climax locomotive at Whitewood is from the collection of C. T. Stoner, and is presented here by courtesy of climaxlocomotives.com. It appears to be on wooden rails. Whitewood is in Buchanan County, Virginia, on Dismal Creek in an area that was remote in 1910, so it would be interesting to know how the lumber from that plant got to market. According to Blackstock and Wilson's article in the July/August issue of The Arrow, W. M. Ritter's Big Sandy and Cumberland narrow gauge railroad reached Matney on Slate Creek in 1910, and Matney would be only three to four miles north of the C. L. Ritter line down Dismal Creek. Could there have been a connection over the divide between Dismal and Slate creeks for C. L. Ritter lumber to go out on the BS&C? Incidentally, the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. is still in existence in Huntington according to the websites such as www.manta.com. ] Gordon Hamilton -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 19:09:13 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:09:13 -0400 Subject: NW Bicentennial Info Needed References: Message-ID: <845FBCEADC384DAA85B9917FCA084422@customerpc> I am only aware of two published photographs of the bicentennial hopper. The back cover of Andrew Dow's N&W coal car book has a great color side view in pristine paint. The N&W equipment color guide from Morning Sun has an angled view, but the car is heavily weathered. Marty Flick ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 11:23 AM Subject: NW Bicentennial Info Needed Hello, I am currently upgrading my HO119 N&W Bicentennial set. Currently the set will letter two SD-45's in that scheme. We are changing the set to do only one locomotive, but we are adding the hopper, caboose and trailer. I have the information I need for the trailer. It is at the VA Museum of Transportation and other than some graffiti it still has all of the original graphics. I am also covered on the caboose. What I need is information of the hopper. If anyone has perpendicular side or end shots they would be willing to share I would be grateful. Copies of drawings would also work. Does anyone know if they are available in the archives? Sincerely, Richard D. Shell ShellScale Decals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.420 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 19:11:26 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:11:26 -0400 Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 References: <01A41C56A20D4E6A8242A8628DDAD508@DellVostro> <89451276E92847EB8971AF50D6842EFE@DHKYT081> Message-ID: <1F1C0CB1B1844153920B89D6CBB052A0@customerpc> Mr. Schust, I don't want to get this post off topic, but who is publishing your book? Marty Flick -My new book, "Billion Dollar Coalfield", will have a picture of Climax on wooden rails on that particular railroad. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: 3N&W Mailing List Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 10:06 PM Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 16, 1910 STEEL RAILS ------ Replacing Wooden Ones on Track of Lumber Company The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, Inc., is rushing work on its Virginia plant and is replacing as fast as possible all the wooden track which it inherited from the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company, which it recently bought out. The old company had Fifty-four miles of wooden rails and it is the intention of the new company to replace this track as rapidly as circumstances demand with steel rails. The company will also go down Dismal about seventeen miles to reach a large tract of timber. The company's offices are at Huntington, W. Va., while its working plant is now located at Whitewood, Va. The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, the Rockcastle Lumber Company and the Tug River Lumber Company have joint offices in Huntington. ------ [I have seen old pictures of wooden track lumber railroads, but I never had any idea that there would be 54 miles of such track in one operation. The attached picture of a C. L. Ritter Climax locomotive at Whitewood is from the collection of C. T. Stoner, and is presented here by courtesy of climaxlocomotives.com. It appears to be on wooden rails. Whitewood is in Buchanan County, Virginia, on Dismal Creek in an area that was remote in 1910, so it would be interesting to know how the lumber from that plant got to market. According to Blackstock and Wilson's article in the July/August issue of The Arrow, W. M. Ritter's Big Sandy and Cumberland narrow gauge railroad reached Matney on Slate Creek in 1910, and Matney would be only three to four miles north of the C. L. Ritter line down Dismal Creek. Could there have been a connection over the divide between Dismal and Slate creeks for C. L. Ritter lumber to go out on the BS&C? Incidentally, the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. is still in existence in Huntington according to the websites such as www.manta.com. ] Gordon Hamilton ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.420 / Virus Database: 270.14.4/2416 - Release Date: 10/05/09 18:23:00 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 19:51:07 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:51:07 -0400 Subject: Crossing gates References: <315594.26485.qm@web111203.mail.gq1.yahoo.com><002701ca4548$4006cdb0$6500a8c0@Dad><80A8479C07D14167BC7A9F4CE8182792@DellVostro> <8ae8c7d20910051300y4f769c45k51125fcaf1929bdb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Still won of my all-time favorite portraits. I believe that this is the first N&W photo that he won an award for (in 1958); somebody can correct me on that. Truly an eerie but beautiful shot of night railroading at its finest! Mike Weeks Greenville NC -----Original Message----- From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org on behalf of NW Mailing List Sent: Mon 10/5/2009 4:00 PM To: NW Mailing List Subject: Re: Crossing gates I think this Link photo shows that. Wish it was not such an oblique angle. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/2567355412_ff2c46cea3.jpg On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 2:23 PM, NW Mailing List wrote: Faulty though my memory may be, I remember when N&W crossing gates in Roanoke had flashing neon tubing along practically the full length of each arm. Here's where the faulty part comes in. I think I remember that the neon tubes were in a zig-zag configuration, i.e., like a bolt of lightening. Gordon Hamilton ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 7:13 PM Subject: Re: Crossing gates While we're on the subject, my memory growing up in Farmville during the 1950's and 1960's is that the flashing lights on crossing gates then were neon tubes that ran the length of the gate. Sections of clear glass alternated with sections that were painted black. Of course, they flashed red in the clear sections. Can anyone corroborate this, or is my memory faulty. Thanks, Sam Putney ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Friday, October 02, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: Re: Crossing gates The state pays for the installation of a new crossing. Then it becomes the railroad's responsibility from then on to maintain it, test it, and keep it working. The oldest equipment I know of was the Magnetic Flagman, more commonly known as the wig-wag signal. As for gate mechanisms and flashing lights, they used Western Railroad Supply (WRRS) quite a bit, as there's still some of that equipment out there. They also used some Union Switch & Signal crossing equipment, Western Cullen Hayes, and Safetran. NS is currently using Safetran for its crossing equipment. Ben Blevins On 10/1/09, NW Mailing List wrote: Did the N&W or now NS show a preference for the type or manufacturer of crossing gates used? Are they the railroad's or highway dept's responsibility? Mike Shockley ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -- Jonathan Swift - "May you live every day of your life." -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4507 bytes Desc: not available Url : From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 20:29:59 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 20:29:59 -0400 Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 References: <01A41C56A20D4E6A8242A8628DDAD508@DellVostro><89451276E92847EB8971AF50D6842EFE@DHKYT081><2B9784391E774CA1A42F50E2240A16EB@DellVostro> <5DABFB0FF0D54D83A1015244CDE411B4@DHKYT081> Message-ID: Alex, Thanks again for clearing matters up. When I searched for Gordon, WV, I came up with the modern community of Gordon in Boone County and noticed a Clear Fork south of there, so I assumed these were the two names that you referred to. I knew of Gordon Tunnel on the N&W main line near Clear Fork junction, but failed to associate these two names with your description. Gordon Hamilton ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: NW Mailing List Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 4:46 PM Subject: Re: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 C.L. Ritter, who was W.M. Ritter's cousin, had the milll at Gordon which was across the Tug River from the mouth of Clear Fork in McDowell County. This was located between Roderfield and Wilmore. To add to the confusion, C.L. Ritter established the community of Ritter on the south side of the Tug Fork at the mouth of the Clear Fork. Gordon siding was located opposite Ritter on the north side of the Tug Fork. W.M. Ritter established one of his saw mills at Ritter on the Dry Fork which empties into the Tug Fork at Iaeger. However Ritter on the Dry Fork could not have a post office named Ritter, because C.L. Ritter already had one named Ritter at the mouth of the Clear Fork. So the post office at Ritter on the Dry Fork was named Avondale, even though everyone called the location Ritter. C.L. Ritter bought the 40,000 acres the Flat Top Land Association had in Wyoming/Boone/Raleigh County that was not contiguous with their other propertties, which is why he probably reopened the Sandy Huff mill. Mary Bowman wrote in her book on Wyoming County, "From 1922 to 1927, The C.L. Ritter Lumber Company operated a band mill at Sandy Huff to manufacture lumber from timber cut over the same 5,000 acres which R.E. Wood removed timber from 1898 to 1908, employing 100 to 150 men. Two-thirds of them worked at the mill and in the yards, the remainder in the woods. Logs were transported across the mountain from Huffs Creek in Wyoming County with a 35-ton Shay Locomotive and a 20-ton Climax locomotive on steel rails . Total cut at this set, 60,000,000 feet." R.E. Wood had cut nearly 72,000,000 feet from the same property from 1898 through 1908. C.L. Ritter is probably remembered more for his hardware sales in WV, rather than for his lumber business. C.L. Ritter also had extensive lumbering in Virginia. There was aslo a large saw mill at Ada on the East River run by W.M. Ritter (I think). I would have to look up which Ritter operated which mill. One of the confusing things are the multiple rivers with the same names in the same county as well as different counties. As an example the Greenbrier Coal and Coke Co on North Fork Branch was named after the Greenbrier Branch (creek) that emptied into the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek. However there is a Greenbrier Branch that runs into Panther Creek that was more famous for timbering. I won't tell you how many times I have been confused about where some place was or which river or creek was actually being talked about. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: NW Mailing List Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 3:20 PM Subject: Re: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Alex, Thanks for the additional info, but I need some clarification. In order to familiarize myself with somewhat unfamiliar territory I have tried to follow your descriptions on a map, but I have trouble understanding how the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. mill at Gordon on the Clear Fork that flows south into the Guyandotte River upstream of Bailey Reservoir relates to a different Clear Fork a lot farther south which flows north into Tug Fork between Roderfield and Wilmore. It was this latter Clear Fork which was followed by the N&W Clear Fork Branch. Incidentally, in a online biography of C. L. Ritter it states that he relocated from Pennsylvania, "...and in 1889 came to West Virginia and entered the lumber business at Oakvale on East River." So, it looks as though the N&W probably got his first business. Gordon Hamilton ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: NW Mailing List Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 9:07 AM Subject: Re: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 The R.E. Wood Lumber Co had 27 miles of wooden track from Wyoming County down Buffalo Creek and then down to Sandy Huff where the the N&W connection was made. My new book, "Billion Dollar Coalfield", will have a picture of Climax on wooden rails on that particular railroad. C. L. Ritter took over that property in the 1920s and kept the mill going at Sandy Huff through the 1920s. C.L. Ritter also had the first mill at Gordon and timbered along the Cleak Fork. He probably had a lumber railroad running down the Clear Fork which formed the basis of George L Carter's West Virgina Southwestern Railway that eventually became the Clear Fork Branch. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: 3N&W Mailing List Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 10:06 PM Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 16, 1910 STEEL RAILS ------ Replacing Wooden Ones on Track of Lumber Company The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, Inc., is rushing work on its Virginia plant and is replacing as fast as possible all the wooden track which it inherited from the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company, which it recently bought out. The old company had Fifty-four miles of wooden rails and it is the intention of the new company to replace this track as rapidly as circumstances demand with steel rails. The company will also go down Dismal about seventeen miles to reach a large tract of timber. The company's offices are at Huntington, W. Va., while its working plant is now located at Whitewood, Va. The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, the Rockcastle Lumber Company and the Tug River Lumber Company have joint offices in Huntington. ------ [I have seen old pictures of wooden track lumber railroads, but I never had any idea that there would be 54 miles of such track in one operation. The attached picture of a C. L. Ritter Climax locomotive at Whitewood is from the collection of C. T. Stoner, and is presented here by courtesy of climaxlocomotives.com. It appears to be on wooden rails. Whitewood is in Buchanan County, Virginia, on Dismal Creek in an area that was remote in 1910, so it would be interesting to know how the lumber from that plant got to market. According to Blackstock and Wilson's article in the July/August issue of The Arrow, W. M. Ritter's Big Sandy and Cumberland narrow gauge railroad reached Matney on Slate Creek in 1910, and Matney would be only three to four miles north of the C. L. Ritter line down Dismal Creek. Could there have been a connection over the divide between Dismal and Slate creeks for C. L. Ritter lumber to go out on the BS&C? Incidentally, the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. is still in existence in Huntington according to the websites such as www.manta.com. ] Gordon Hamilton ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 21:06:03 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 21:06:03 -0400 Subject: Virginian in 1910--Roanoke shops Message-ID: <620912CE05794B2E9137C0A7479ADE41@DellVostro> Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 20, 1910 VIRGINIAN REPAIR SHOPS ------ Building to be Erected at Roanoke to Cost $200,000 Roanoke, Va., March 19 (Special)--It was authoritatively announced today that the Virginian Railway will at once begin the erection of repair shops here to cost $200,000. ------ Gordon Hamilton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 21:39:27 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 21:39:27 -0400 Subject: N&W in 1910--Various Message-ID: Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 22, 1910 IN CITY AND COALFIELD ------ More Light at Depot The Norfolk and Western is considering a plan for putting a little more juice in the electric lights in the depot. How it can be done without more drops is a job for their engineers, but some change will be made. Men from the general superintendent's office were looking over the situation last night and thought that if a little more light were thrown on the people who use the depot, things would be better. ------ New Turntable Nearly Finished The Norfolk and Western force have nearly finished the new turntable in the yard. The new one is about twenty-five feet longer than the one which was displaced and is of the modern type. As soon as the cement work sets, which will be by Wednesday, it is expected that it will be used. ------ [According to the 1910 N&W Annual Report this new turntable was an 85-foot turntable. The X1 and Y1 Mallets were delivered in 1910, and Jeffries' book on the N&W lists the overall wheel base as 72' 10" and 83' 3", respectively, so the new turntable apparently was intended to accommodate these new locomotives. The Y2 Mallets delivered starting in 1918, however, had an overall wheel base of 97' 3", meaning that with regard to turntables, the plot thickened as the saying goes.] Gordon Hamilton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 22:42:39 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 22:42:39 -0400 Subject: Dixon, Parker, & Huddleston's new book In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: All - My copy of the new N&W's Y Class Articulated Steam Locomotives arrived today. It is well worth the wait! A great volume that starts w/ the initial articulated locomotives - B&O and describing the evolution of the Y's until they were sold or scrapped. It is a great addition to my library. Bill Smith Atlanta, GA From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Mon Oct 5 22:01:26 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:01:26 -0400 Subject: RR radios In-Reply-To: <1AA197FAA8D44ECAB5A9D4D764FF875A@DellVostro> References: <1AA197FAA8D44ECAB5A9D4D764FF875A@DellVostro> Message-ID: <4ACAA4F6.8050306@verizon.net> In theory...if you have a receiver that accepts a signal 25kHz wide, and the transmitters are sending a signal that's 6.25KHz wide, you'd be listening to four adjacent channels at once. And if only one of those channels were active it could be very quiet or distorted. Truth is I've been listening to narrow signals with a wide receiver for years (2 to one, not 4 to one) with no noticeable difference as long as the adjacent channels weren't busy as well. Tom Cosgrove Amateur Extra Class NW Mailing List wrote: > This question is for the radio experts out there. I read in /Railway > /Age magazine where the FCC is requiring railroads and other > commercial communications shift to narrow-band radios (shift from 25 > kHz to 12.5 kHz) by 2013, with the possibility that the FCC soon will > require a shift to "narrow-narrowband" (6.25kHz), or all-digital radios. > > What effect will these changes have the decade-or-so old scanners that > some of us have? > > Gordon Hamilton > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > ________________________________________ > NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org > To change your subscription go to > http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list > Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at > http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -- Tom Cosgrove N2VFK NREMT-B SKYWARN Spotter LME002 Red Cross Disaster Volunteer since 1995 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Tue Oct 6 09:09:07 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 06:09:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Dixon, Parker, & Huddleston's new book In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <693748.2715.qm@web52501.mail.re2.yahoo.com> How much extra text is added from the original book? I have the first one and don't want to duplicate copies if not needed. Thanks. Brian Dembinski ________________________________ From: NW Mailing List To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Sent: Monday, October 5, 2009 10:42:39 PM Subject: Dixon, Parker, & Huddleston's new book All - My copy of the new N&W's Y Class Articulated Steam Locomotives arrived today.? It is well worth the wait!? A great volume that starts w/ the initial articulated locomotives - B&O and describing the evolution of the Y's until they were sold or scrapped. It is a great addition to my library. Bill Smith Atlanta, GA ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Tue Oct 6 09:12:25 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 09:12:25 -0400 Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 References: <01A41C56A20D4E6A8242A8628DDAD508@DellVostro><89451276E92847EB8971AF50D6842EFE@DHKYT081> <1F1C0CB1B1844153920B89D6CBB052A0@customerpc> Message-ID: <31531C2520F6419EABA0B4902007D994@DHKYT081> Two Mule Publishing (my own company) will publish the book. It will be available through the commissary. My other books, "Gary Hollow" and "Coalwood" are also available through the commissary. "Billion Dollar Coalfield" will cover the development of the mining industry in McDowell County, WV, from 1888 through 1988, by following the mainline and branch lines of the Pocahontas Div in McDowell County. In some place the lumber business was the precursor to the coal industry and coexisted with the coal industry for a number of years, especially inthe western part of the county from Roderfield to Wyoming City on the mainline and on the Dry Fork Branch. I am working to get the new book published in the first quarter of 2010. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: NW Mailing List Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 7:11 PM Subject: Re: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Mr. Schust, I don't want to get this post off topic, but who is publishing your book? Marty Flick -My new book, "Billion Dollar Coalfield", will have a picture of Climax on wooden rails on that particular railroad. Alex Schust ----- Original Message ----- From: NW Mailing List To: 3N&W Mailing List Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 10:06 PM Subject: Lumber company in BS&C territory in 1910 Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 16, 1910 STEEL RAILS ------ Replacing Wooden Ones on Track of Lumber Company The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, Inc., is rushing work on its Virginia plant and is replacing as fast as possible all the wooden track which it inherited from the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company, which it recently bought out. The old company had Fifty-four miles of wooden rails and it is the intention of the new company to replace this track as rapidly as circumstances demand with steel rails. The company will also go down Dismal about seventeen miles to reach a large tract of timber. The company's offices are at Huntington, W. Va., while its working plant is now located at Whitewood, Va. The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, the Rockcastle Lumber Company and the Tug River Lumber Company have joint offices in Huntington. ------ [I have seen old pictures of wooden track lumber railroads, but I never had any idea that there would be 54 miles of such track in one operation. The attached picture of a C. L. Ritter Climax locomotive at Whitewood is from the collection of C. T. Stoner, and is presented here by courtesy of climaxlocomotives.com. It appears to be on wooden rails. Whitewood is in Buchanan County, Virginia, on Dismal Creek in an area that was remote in 1910, so it would be interesting to know how the lumber from that plant got to market. According to Blackstock and Wilson's article in the July/August issue of The Arrow, W. M. Ritter's Big Sandy and Cumberland narrow gauge railroad reached Matney on Slate Creek in 1910, and Matney would be only three to four miles north of the C. L. Ritter line down Dismal Creek. Could there have been a connection over the divide between Dismal and Slate creeks for C. L. Ritter lumber to go out on the BS&C? Incidentally, the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. is still in existence in Huntington according to the websites such as www.manta.com. ] Gordon Hamilton -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.420 / Virus Database: 270.14.4/2416 - Release Date: 10/05/09 18:23:00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Tue Oct 6 10:35:57 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 10:35:57 -0400 Subject: Dixon, Parker, & Huddleston's new book References: <693748.2715.qm@web52501.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <9DDD8474A7CE4E4D887F306297AEE4A0@Jimmy> "How much extra text is added from the original book? I have the first one and don't want to duplicate copies if not needed. Thanks. Brian" Brian, The new book is completely different in that it has much more text and twice the pages. That said and depending on what books you already have in your library, text wise, there is nothing ground shaking in the new book. At times I found the explanations confusing or at least not very clear. There are a number of different photos added and some left out ( and at least one mislabeled ). A couple of nice HO scale drawings by Bob Hundman grace the inside covers. I would suggest that you look the book over for yourself, then decide. As long as I'm handing out my two cents, the definative Y Class book is yet to be written. Something along the lines of Ed King's "A" or Huddleston's "Allegheny" is in order. Jimmy Lisle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Tue Oct 6 14:10:26 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 14:10:26 -0400 Subject: Crossing gates References: <315594.26485.qm@web111203.mail.gq1.yahoo.com><002701ca4548$4006cdb0$6500a8c0@Dad><80A8479C07D14167BC7A9F4CE8182792@DellVostro><8ae8c7d20910051300y4f769c45k51125fcaf1929bdb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <00d501ca46b0$4799ca50$6500a8c0@Dad> Thanks Richard, Gordon, John and Mike for your input. The Link photo bears out what was said about the individual lengths of neon and the zig-zag pattern. However, I wonder if there was more than one design. The image impressed on my young brain during several years of waiting for 100+-car hopper trains to cross Main Street in Farmville is of one long tube with blacked out sections. Does anyone else's recollection agree with that? I don't recall if there are any such drawings in any of the standards books. (My office is a mess right now so my copies are buried.). Richard, concerning your statement about our age and memories ("You and I have reached the age where we have learned a lot... just can't remember much of it!"), speaking for myself, the older I get the more I find that I have "learned" a lot that never happened and that my mind is good at manufacturing memories that I am absolutely convinced are real until someone presents me with convincing proof otherwise. This forum is good at relieving me of some of my deeply held misconceptions. Occasionally I am a bit embarrassed, but I am always happy to learn new facts. Mike, concerning the photo, it has always been one of my favorites too. Especially because it was the first Link photo I ever saw. One of the Richmond papers featured it prominently because it was a national contest winner and, or course, for its Virginia interest. I think that was during the time--the late '50's--when Link was engaged in his N&W project and several years before the recordings and published photos made him a household name to railfans. Sam ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 7:51 PM Subject: RE: Crossing gates Still won of my all-time favorite portraits. I believe that this is the first N&W photo that he won an award for (in 1958); somebody can correct me on that. Truly an eerie but beautiful shot of night railroading at its finest! Mike Weeks Greenville NC -----Original Message----- From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org on behalf of NW Mailing List Sent: Mon 10/5/2009 4:00 PM To: NW Mailing List Subject: Re: Crossing gates I think this Link photo shows that. Wish it was not such an oblique angle. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/2567355412_ff2c46cea3.jpg On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 2:23 PM, NW Mailing List wrote: Faulty though my memory may be, I remember when N&W crossing gates in Roanoke had flashing neon tubing along practically the full length of each arm. Here's where the faulty part comes in. I think I remember that the neon tubes were in a zig-zag configuration, i.e., like a bolt of lightening. Gordon Hamilton ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 7:13 PM Subject: Re: Crossing gates While we're on the subject, my memory growing up in Farmville during the 1950's and 1960's is that the flashing lights on crossing gates then were neon tubes that ran the length of the gate. Sections of clear glass alternated with sections that were painted black. Of course, they flashed red in the clear sections. Can anyone corroborate this, or is my memory faulty. Thanks, Sam Putney ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" To: "NW Mailing List" Sent: Friday, October 02, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: Re: Crossing gates The state pays for the installation of a new crossing. Then it becomes the railroad's responsibility from then on to maintain it, test it, and keep it working. The oldest equipment I know of was the Magnetic Flagman, more commonly known as the wig-wag signal. As for gate mechanisms and flashing lights, they used Western Railroad Supply (WRRS) quite a bit, as there's still some of that equipment out there. They also used some Union Switch & Signal crossing equipment, Western Cullen Hayes, and Safetran. NS is currently using Safetran for its crossing equipment. Ben Blevins On 10/1/09, NW Mailing List wrote: Did the N&W or now NS show a preference for the type or manufacturer of crossing gates used? Are they the railroad's or highway dept's responsibility? Mike Shockley ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.14.3/2415 - Release Date: 10/05/09 06:19:00 ________________________________________ NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org To change your subscription go to http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ -- Jonathan Swift - "May you live every day of your life." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ________________________________________ > NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org > To change your subscription go to > http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list > Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at > http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/ From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Tue Oct 6 22:14:07 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 22:14:07 -0400 Subject: N&W in 1910--Accident Message-ID: <2B9FDF9FB8B24430B2CD686C49D02B4D@DellVostro> Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 22, 1910 TWO FIREMEN DEAD AND TWO BADLY HURT ------ Eighteen Loaded Cars Piled in a Heap As Result of Head-on Collision Near Glen Alum Sunday morning abut 4 o'clock another disastrous wreck occurred at Glen Alum, due to lapped orders. Two firemen were killed at their posts while two engineers were badly injured. The dead: C. J. JESSE, Carterton, Va. D. R. MARTIN, Narrows, Va. William Hatcher and Leonard Akers were injured. They were given medical attention and are now in the hospital. It is not thought that their injuries are serious. Eighteen loaded cars on one train were wrecked while a number of empties on the other were also smashed up. The wrecked trains were an extra and No. 84. No. 84 was being pulled by engine No. 875 [W1, 2-8-0, blt. 1901], while engines 1091 [M1, 4-8-0, blt. 1907] and 404 [M, 4-8-0, blt. 1906] pulled the extra. No. 84 was eastbound while the extra was going west. Conflicting orders were issued with the result that the wreck occurred while both trains were making fairly good speed. Both firemen were throwing coal into their engines when the head on collision came and they were buried underneath. The engineers saw the smash coming and Hatcher and Akers were injured although they succeeded in jumping. Engineer J. W. Buchanan, who was on the pusher, jumped and was not injured, although four cars in front of the engine were all smashed up. Fireman Martin's remains were taken to his home Sunday night on No. 16 while those of Mr. Jesse were taken to his home yesterday morning. Train No. 4 was delayed for several hours while all movement was delayed until the wreckage could be cleared up. The wreck was one of the worst which has occurred in some time on the road. Cars were smashed and thrown on all sides while three engines were put out of commission. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Wed Oct 7 11:51:24 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2009 11:51:24 -0400 Subject: Heartland Corridor Message-ID: <58ED63E00D00453BBCB83602A1E70AC2@DellVostro> The following from the online edition of Railway Track & Structures magazine may be of interest because of the detail that it provides on increasing clearance in the tunnels on the Corridor. Gordon Hamilton Crews enlarge tunnels for taller trains Tuesday, October 06, 2009 Opening a new rail gateway for double-stacked containers is taking place across southern West Virginia 20 grueling feet at a time, according to the Charleston Daily Mail. Every weekday, Norfolk Southern shuts down a portion of its main line between the East Coast and the Midwest so crews can raise the roofs in the line's tunnels. It's part of the $151-million Heartland Corridor project, which will allow the railroad to ship double-stacked containers between the port of Hampton Roads and Chicago. The project will cut 233 miles and more than a day's travel time for trains moving between the two locations. "Big Sandy 1," near here, is one of the tunnels where work is under way. The nearly half-mile-long tunnel has a concrete liner. The sides and arched roof are smooth and, to the naked eye, seem perfect. "The workmanship is 104 years old," said Robert Billingsley, Norfolk Southern's director of structural projects. "It's pretty darned good!" But the distance from the top of the rails to the roof is 19 feet, 6 inches. Double-stacked containers are 20 feet, 3 inches tall. The railroad wants a 9-inch safety margin so it is having the height raised to 21 feet. At 2 a.m. each weekday contractors enter the tunnel on rubber-tired aerial lifts or rail flatcars loaded with equipment. Wearing facemasks, helmets with lamps and coal-mining overalls with reflective stripes, the workers maneuver the lifts high above the tracks and start sawing the liner where the straight, smooth sides begin to arch Billingsley said that when Heartland Corridor work began two years ago, workers didn't make much progress in one shift. Now they typically finish a 20-foot section in one shift. Every time the workers move equipment, they blow horns to alert everyone. That's a good precaution because space between the flatcars and the tunnel walls is tight, it's pitch dark, and you can't easily be heard. The noise made by the equipment is magnified as it reverberates off the tunnel's walls. After the workers saw through a 20-foot length of liner, they use a machine called a "road header" - a drum encrusted with drill bits - to rip out the arched portion of the liner, raising the tunnel's height. Sometimes it rains grit in the dark. No wonder road headers have been featured in the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" television show. A fan is installed at one end of the tunnel to blow fresh air past the workers. There aren't any cave-ins because another crew preceded the workers, drilling 20-foot-long roof boltholes in a carefully laid out pattern: six bolts across, six feet apart. The bolts are installed as soon as the cutting crew passes. The sides don't collapse because they've already been reinforced with 8- to 16-foot-long bolts. The shift is finished after a crew sprays liquid concrete on the freshly cut roof to stabilize it. Instead of a smooth concrete arch, the heightened roof looks like a moonscape. The roof must be secured and the tunnel cleared by noon, when the rail line reopens. On a typical morning trains can be seen idling on tracks near the tunnel, waiting for the reopening. Billingsley said a lot of preparation work is done before crews even begin to raise a roof. Ballast is spread over the tunnel floor up to the height of the rails so workers don't have to stumble over ties or through mud and rubber-tired vehicles as well as rail equipment can operate. "Holes are drilled to determine how thick the liner is, whether there are any voids, and to determine the quality of rock," he said. "We put a camera up every hole and document what is found." Usually there's sandstone behind the liner but crews have found shale, a few coal seams and, occasionally, a void. "In the Cooper Tunnel near Bramwell they discovered a 20-foot void over the roof liner," Billingsley said. "They're building a steel arch liner to secure the space." After a roof is raised, crews spray a thick finishing coat of liquid concrete on it. Then Norfolk Southern workers replace the ballast, rails and ties. Some tunnels require special work. U.S. Route 52 runs atop one end of Big Sandy 1 and an abandoned portion of Route 52 runs across the top of the other end. Billingsley said both ends of the tunnel would be reinforced with steel to make sure the roadways above are secure. A total of 28 tunnels - four in Virginia and 24 in West Virginia - are being modified. Workers have encountered a variety of issues. Two tunnels are lined with brick. One is natural rock. Most were drilled through sandstone but at least one in Virginia was drilled through limestone. In some cases the track has been lowered instead of raising the roof. But this isn't common because the job shuts down the line for an extended period. In some of the tunnels the entire roof doesn't need to be raised. Instead, the side of the liner can be notched to provide adequate clearance. Billingsley said safety is the railroad's top priority and there haven't been any serious injuries. "During the two years there's been one accident that delayed a train," he said. "That was due to a rock fall - one rock." The tunnel work began on Oct. 20, 2007, at the Cowan Tunnel near Radford, Va. The Williamson (Mingo) Tunnel was completed in December 2009. Four tunnels in the area are expected to be finished in 2010: The Cooper Tunnel in January, Big Sandy 4 in June, Big Sandy 3 in July and Big Sandy 1 in August. LRL Construction of Tillamook, Ore., is working on the Cooper Tunnel. Johnson Western Constructors of San Leandro, Calif., worked on the Williamson (Mingo) Tunnel and is working on Big Sandy 1 and 3. R.J. Corman Railroad Construction of Nicholasville, Ky., is working on Big Sandy 4. The West Coast companies brought some managers to the projects but hired mostly local people, including many with mining experience, Billingsley said. A crew typically consists of 25 to 30 workers. Robin Chapman, NS manager of public relations, said the company's line across southern West Virginia - "The N Line" - "was built to move coal." It handles less coal than in the past but also handles mixed freight and, currently, one single-stack train each day. "Double stacks will double our capacity," he said. Funding for the Heartland Corridor includes $95 million from the federal government, $51 million from Norfolk Southern, $5 million from the state of Virginia and $800,000 from the state of Ohio. Norfolk Southern donated 78 acres at Prichard in Wayne County for an $18 million terminal that is being developed by the West Virginia Public Port Authority. Ohio already has a terminal operating near Columbus. Proponents say the Heartland Corridor will provide an efficient alternative to trucks and will reduce highway congestion. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 278 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 291 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 282 bytes Desc: not available Url : From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Wed Oct 7 16:43:08 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2009 16:43:08 -0400 Subject: N&W in 1910--Maud Message-ID: <8CE91583A4634F5F9E8413B49DE02FA9@DellVostro> Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 22, 1910 NO ONE KNOWS WHY MAUD LEFT TOWN ------ People Gathered About Passenger Station Could Not Help Admiring Her Voice As train No. 3 pulled into the station last night a regulation long-eared Maud set up a hee-hawing which would do credit to twenty mules. She was standing in a crate waiting to be put in the express car so that she could get started on her way to Charleston. Even above the clanging of the bell on the engine and the rushing sound of escaping steam the mule made herself heard, and after the train had stopped, Maud's shouts and screams could be heard above all the noise. She seemed to be endowed with a lovely voice half way between a soprano and a basso and every time she opened her mouth the soprano note was shouted only to be followed by the basso in such regularity and with such increasing crescendo that all of the people about the station were forced to laugh. Later on, when ten men tried to force the crate with Maud in it into the express car, there was plenty of fun. Only two men had nerve enough to get up on the express truck behind that part of Maud's anatomy where her heels were located. After they got up there they stood on one side until they found that Maud was more interested in seeing the box pushed into the car than she was in kicking. Although several inquires were made no one was able to say why Maud left town. Why she would want to leave Bluefield to go to a dry town like Charleston is beyond comprehension, but then mules are a hard lot anyhow. Maud evidently has a very even temper, for she never even once kicked and the people who stood around the truck watching for her to make strenuous objections to being handled like a piece of baggage had to go away without even seeing her raise her objectors even once. The last word Maud said on leaving town was the regulation by-by sent out by mules. ------ Gordon Hamilton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Wed Oct 7 16:50:41 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2009 16:50:41 -0400 Subject: N&W in 1910--Accident Message-ID: <079FCFD05DE74BC38B7C5C35D939B695@DellVostro> Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 23, 1910 OPERATOR BLAMED ------ Miscopied Train Order Cause of Fatal Wreck at Glen Alum The local head of departments on the Norfolk and Western held a meeting yesterday in the superintendent's office for the purpose of investigating the freight wreck of last Sunday at Glen alum. No official statement was given out but it is reported unofficially that operator Epling, who it is claimed miscopied a train order, will not serve in the capacity of operator any longer. The train crews on both trains and all operators who had anything to do with the orders of the trains were summoned as witnesses. Sunday mooring at Glen Al;um, owing to lapped orders, two freight trains came together and two men were killed. Both men were firemen who were throwing coal in the fire boxes when the smash came. ------ Gordon Hamilton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Thu Oct 8 08:31:27 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:31:27 -0400 Subject: "Taking Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren Message-ID: <4ACDDB9F.7010607@vt.edu> Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with 10 of the Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway. We signed a card for George Raymond East on his 85th Birthday. Raymond started his Virginian Railway career in Victoria in 1951 as a fireman on steam locomotives, and retired in 1987 as a yard engineer with Norfolk Southern in Roanoke, with 36 years service. Raymond is the senior member of our regular "Takin' Twenty" Brethren, but with his 6' 4" frame, always neatly dressed, he is one of the most active. We discussed last Saturday's trip to Victoria to be with the Brethren there and celebrate the 100th birthday of the town. I showed a my video recording most of the activities including the reading of those who "took the west bound" since last October that included: Thomas "Cornbread" Victory, Keith "Slim" Sowder and Bob Rowland. Shown were the three Brethren from Roanoke, Ruf Wingfield, Raymond East and Landon Gregory as they were recognized by the Mayor of Victoria as former VGN employees. Also attending from our group were Jeff Sanders, Ernie Hubble and yours truly. The ceremony at the Rail Park included visits from "Henry Huttleston Rogers, Mark Twain and Booker T. Washington". Town Councilman, Greg Elam, dressed in period attire, was quite "spiffy". I passed on to Raymond East a reply from one of our readers, Noah Tickle, who responded about Raymond "field dressing that biscuit". Noah says that Raymond should be more concerned with the "trans-fat, which is worse that cigarettes". I told the Brethren about last Thursday's pre-bid walk through at the VGN Station in Roanoke of contractors who plan to bid on the Renovation Project. There were 30 men and women representing 18 different companies attending. Bids are due for the project at 2 PM next Tuesday. Work should start soon after. Passed around were several items for the Brethren to observe. A photo of Norfolk Southern's new "green" yard locomotive that runs only on 1,080 12-volt batteries was the most popular. The 999 can run three shifts on one charge and is the "only all-electric, plug-in locomotive in the world" and workers at the Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, PA built it. It's new green, black and white color scheme is quite a difference from the regular NS livery. The news release stated that "NS expects to build an over-the-road version with more batteries by 2011". Also passed around was the November 2009 "Trains" magazine with most of it covering "Time for electric trains". The Virginian Railway is highlighted with a large color photo of three EL-Cs pulling a coal train east near Clarks Gap, WV September 9, 1960 still in VGN colors. This article also has a large futuristic vision of electric powered (overhead lines) trains featuring a Norfolk Southern electric locomotive pulling a "real" TOFC train(including the tractors) with a Powhatan Arrow type car on the front. The Brethren also enjoyed "Trains" writer Fred W. Frailey's "Kindness to Employees" Award to Norfolk Southern for furloughing the least number of train and engine employees this year even though NS business was down the most of the "Big Four" (UP, BNSF, CSX and NS). Attending last night was Doug Phillips, retired NS Computer Programmer whose father Richard Phillips ran the Sands and Company Store in Roanoke for the VGN. Doug remembered taking groceries from Sands to VGN employee's homes. He also told us about parking cars for the annual VMI-VPI Thanksgiving Day football game at Victory Stadium in Roanoke across from the VGN Roundhouse. He said that when he parked some at the VGN Station, "he was run off the property". I also showed some more of Raymond East's interview for the Depot Archives and future viewing. Raymond said that his favorite memory of the VGN was firing on a westbound out of Victoria early in the morning and watching the smoke from one of the steam engines hover over the train. "It looked like the flowing blond hair of a beautiful woman" he said. Raymond, standing track side behind the VGN Station told of firing the #3 and #4 Pacifics. He recalled as a lad in Altavista, he worked for his father who moved freight between the Southern Station and the Virginian Station. I asked him what type of stuff did they transfer. He answered "some furniture from Lane, candy, farm equipment etc.". When asked what was the most difficult item transferred, he immediately replied "elevator shafts". Time to pull the pin on this one! Departing Now from V248, Skip Salmon ============= From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Thu Oct 8 08:45:38 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2009 08:45:38 -0400 (EDT) Subject: An Exciting Announcement Message-ID: <1102741559957.1102037581941.652.8.140845FF@scheduler> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link Documentary Film "What A Picture I Got" will make an exclusive premiere in the Museum Store. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are proud to announce that the O. Winston Link documentary, "What A Picture I Got," will be available for purchase both online and in our store this November. The official release will happen in coordination with The New York Prints [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102741559957&s=652&e=0013nv5Hc4jLTZk-qpB_4mwxP17P2lyWYEuIosXfuKUT_n7FZ_xuVIn5l5GFZynFhhp7K-Wf0AIjTPwIAGukUuTPPglc5waqV6acxFVLGnDfgYHM40Ro2k-6cnKbcN4vpvQCV0ptSooUzbX0j74lPVhwQ==] exhibition and fundraiser on November 19 [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102741559957&s=652&e=0013nv5Hc4jLTZMn2mpd9qjsEkMxC-JOpy2dRhxJeAiCHwZ176DdSiOuEeje1FmGeQ3y_yu4Vmc9GlmazX2FoBTSf4h12DUiUKnNK5tfpXrLZuv4k967GfomAHOKWImEgR5aoxPdDkzXwy7IIBXtYTXfQ==]. (Just in time to be a perfect holiday surprise.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What A Picture I Got On a cold night in January of 1955, self taught commercial photographer O. Winston Link, of Brooklyn, NY captured an image that would change his life. Shooting on assignment in Staunton VA, Link ventured to Waynesboro, VA to watch the Norfolk and Western Railway, the last mainline steam railroad in operation. After conversation with the station agent and making that first image, Link embarked on a project that would take five years and great dedication and financial investment. Shooting predominantly at night, Link set out to document the end of an era and way of life. Using interviews, narratives and a deep knowledge of the material, Ted Stone of WDBJ 7 created this award winning documentary detailing Link's life, love, trials and tribulations. Featuring some of the final interviews made with Link, this documentary shares the passion of the man. Preorder "What A Picture I Got" now for $14.95. All orders received before November 13 will get free shipping and will be mailed before November 19. Call us at 1-540-982-5465 or preorder online. [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102741559957&s=652&e=0013nv5Hc4jLTYFaCKtGdNamrn8WrY-G5E15hG_xegMtrEz-_n2ZDHhSjpB-o3nJ72QAEFKLkV8s_ij2uFIf4Y0bHG_txMhtwyIjiUsr5g-Vl9RVsM4t-_TCA==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ O. Winston Link Museum 101 Shenandoah Ave Roanoke, Virginia 24016 540-982-5465 www.linkmuseum.org [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102741559957&s=652&e=0013nv5Hc4jLTaCQEIK3vkNo5w5jo_PW6xvpoPqXeM2ZSaY6mEU3Pu1ItAQpExsgW5gxn3EJnVDg-GyS6zrz38QFe3yceO0FleoFF1HqYg-Ens2PoaFFq2BgQ==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forward email http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1102037581941&ea=nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org&a=1102741559957 This email was sent to nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org by programs at linkmuseum.org. Update Profile/Email Address http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=0016kgdmuAR3nDd10OkCRJamFipq861sxHcLST4AgPw2nVt-VpLdsFRaEK1EJBAVC2Y&p=oo Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe(TM) http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=0016kgdmuAR3nDd10OkCRJamFipq861sxHcLST4AgPw2nVt-VpLdsFRaEK1EJBAVC2Y&p=un Privacy Policy: http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp Email Marketing by Constant Contact(R) www.constantcontact.com O. Winston Link Museum | 101 Shenandoah Ave | Roanoke | VA | 24016 From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Thu Oct 8 09:41:47 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:41:47 -0400 Subject: Historic Appomattox Railroad Festival this weekend Message-ID: <4ACDEC1B.5060905@vt.edu> Appomattox is having a Railroad Festival this weekend (Oct. 10 & 11). NWHS will have a table near the N&W station (now the Appomattox visitors center). NWHS will be there Saturday *only*. We plan to have calendars and a few other commissary items available for sale. If your in the area stop by! http://www.appomattoxfestivals.com/ From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Thu Oct 8 11:37:29 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2009 11:37:29 -0400 Subject: N&W in 1910--Vandalism Message-ID: Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 23, 1910 MISPLACED SWITCHES ------ Serious Wreck Might Have Been Caused at Landgraff Monday night at Landgraff some one, supposed to be either an ex-railroad man or one who had secured some switch keys, opened the switches, with the result that the tracks were so set that if any train should have come along they would have been sent into the yards of the Empire Coal and Coke Company. Fortunately no train was passing until the Vivian and Williamson freight happened along and discovered the misplaced switches before any harm was done. If a train had come along at a high rate of speed it is likely that it would have caused a serious wreck before the misplaced switches were discovered. No trace has been found of the man who threw the switches. ------ Gordon Hamilton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Sat Oct 10 11:08:33 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:08:33 -0400 Subject: Virginian in 1910--Bluefield Message-ID: <0B2B5414E9364C86ABCF026F18E75FA2@DellVostro> Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 26, 1910 Bluefield Could Afford to Buy Right-of-Way and Build Branch ------ A prominent wholesale man told a Daily Telegraph representative recently that it would pay the people of Bluefield to buy a right-of-way for a railroad from this city to Princeton and then turn it over to the Virginian if the latter road would guarantee to run trains into Bluefield. He said that by doing this Bluefield would get a better freight rate into and from this city and would also gain in many other ways. If the proper amount of enthusiasm is worked up by the chamber of commerce there is no reason why Bluefielders could not build such a railroad, paying the entire cost or perhaps half of it. This matter can be taken up with the Virginian officials and if they are willing to enter into it, Bluefield should be willing to do something towards helping herself. A town with one railroad is generally known as a jerkwater town and Bluefield will be a jerkwater town unless she gets another railroad when one is as near by as is the Virginian. ------ Gordon Hamilton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org Sat Oct 10 11:21:45 2009 From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org (NW Mailing List) Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:21:45 -0400 Subject: N&W in 1910--Various Message-ID: <12FED0A08FE8446DA6540700D62B85B1@DellVostro> Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 27, 1910 IN CITY AND COALFIELD ------ Became Ill on Engine Engineer J. W. Simpson was brought to this city last night on account of illness which developed during his day's run on his engine in the Elkhorn territory. Mr. Simpson left this city yesterday morning about 9:30 and developed the illness during the day. He is now at his Bluefield avenue home. Railway Clerk Examinations L. H. Fisher, of Washington, secretary of the third civil service district, was in the city yesterday. Mr. Fisher in conference with the postmaster stated that Bluefield would be selected as one of the points at which the examinations for railway postal clerks would be held. Fire Delays Train Train No. 3 was delayed over three hours last night by a fire at Pamplin, Va. A box car loaded with lumber caught fire in some way and the flames spread to lumber which was stacked nearby. The blaze became so hot that the train could not pass. Wreck at Ingleside Eight freight cars loaded with coal were thrown from the track at Ingleside by a broken flange and as a result No. 1 was laid out of the city a little over four hours. The wreck occurred in a cut where it was hard to reach. ------ Gordon Hamilton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: