"Takin' Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon

[NW Mailing List]

The mention of a Virginian passenger train backing into a Roanoke Railway & 
Electric streetcar reminds me of the attached photo that I turned up while 
researching info for Jim Dalmas' book on the Roanoke streetcars (available 
from the N&WHS Commissary).  The photo shows one of the 1926 Brill 
streetcars after an encounter with a Virginian switcher that occurred in 
1941 on the day before Pearl Harbor.

Gordon Hamilton

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 8:01 AM
Subject: "Takin' Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon



> Last night, the mid-point in this year of our Lord 2010, I had the

> pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with 9 of the Brethren and Friends of the

> Virginian Railway. I passed on to them the news that Eddie Mooneyham

> called me earlier in the day about Norfolk Southern's news release,

> relating to their allowing "steam to ride the Norfolk Southern rails

> again". I showed the Brethren the NS news release including photos of

> the SOU #4501, SOU #630 and the Tennessee Valley Railroad #610. Most

> conceded to someone's remark that " a rising tide raises all ships"

> indicating that this could be the start of something even bigger...

> could possibly lead to other steam engines being used... like the N&W J

> #611?

>

> Landon Gregory came in well equipped for "Show and Tell". Recently at

> the K&W Restaurant, he was wearing his newly acquired "Friends of the

> Virginian Railway" cap that I had just sold him, when a man approached

> and asked if he worked for the VGN. Turns out that this fellow, Myron C.

> White, Jr. worked at the Union Station Office of the VGN in Norfolk, in

> the Freight Traffic Department in 1948. He was transferred to the N&W

> General Office in Roanoke after the merger. Landon, on Monday this week,

> when we both attended our monthly meeting of the Sons of Confederate

> Veterans, asked if I had any more of the hats to sell. He purchased one

> and took it to Mr. White at his home. This lead to Mr. White's donating

> four items to our VGN Station Project for future display at the Station.

> The items shown to the Brethren last night were: A framed copy of C. D.

> Poage's 1930 "The Depot" that Landon said reminded him of the N&W Depot

> at Blue Ridge, VA; A Norfolk Union Station (in the background) framed

> Casey Hitzinger painting with VGN, N&W and Norfolk Portsmouth Belt Line

> steam engines in the foreground; A framed Lima Builder's Photo of the

> VGN Blue Ridge Class #900 and a framed Virginian Railway 1955 bowling

> league orange, blue and white patch. More on this patch next week. Mr.

> White also made a contribution to the Station Restoration Fund.

>

> The Jewel from the Past, like one in Harry Bundy's Hamilton 992B is from

> October 28, 2004: "Tom 'Cornbread' Victory said that the Roanoke Railway

> and Electric (street cars) had their motor barn under the Walnut Street

> Bridge. Their light rail tracks crossed the N&W and the VGN. He

> remembered that once a VGN passenger train that was backing up, to line

> up with the station, actually struck one of the street cars. He said

> that 'no one was hurt but there was some hurt feelings'. The street cars

> were treated like autos crossing the tracks, in that they had to yield

> to the trains and 'look out for moving equipment'".

>

> Raymond East shared with us a news article from the Fredericksburg, VA

> "The Free Lance-Star": "Troop trains may connect A. P. Hill, Fort Lee;

> Army believes rail can be used to transport 800-1000 soldiers as

> alternate to I-95". The article said that the train would run an

> estimated 37 to 40 weeks in a year. Currently several dozen buses are

> being used to transport the soldiers from south of Petersburg at

> Milford, VA to Fort A. P Hill at Caroline, VA. Amtrak, Virginia Railway

> Express and the Virginian Department of Rail and Public Transportation

> are now working on this. If this works, the army "may expand the use of

> trains elsewhere".

>

> I showed the Brethren a photo of one of the "lost engines of Roanoke",

> the #917 which was the first one that was "rescued" near the old City

> Mills and ended up in the "Buckeye Express Diner" in Bellville, Ohio,

> exit 165 off I71. The photo shows her on display at the Restaurant with

> a "pitiful" example of tender. One of the Brethren described it as a

> "little wagon that a boy would pull behind him". I checked out this

> restaurant's menu. For $12.95 you can get a one pound of beef burger,

> with 4 slices of bacon, 4 cheese slices and trimmings called a

> "LocoBuckeye Pounder".

>

> I asked Rufus Wingfield about trainmen and their watches. He said that

> when the train crews checked in at the Yard Office, they calibrated

> their watches with the clock in the office.(This clock is now on display

> at the N&W & VGN Historical Society Archives). Each road conductor had

> to sign the Register Book and verify that he had calibrated his watch

> with the office clock. When I talked to Harry Bundy about using his

> watch in the "Jewel from the Past" segment, he responded with the

> following: "No doubt you've seen pictures where the engineer and

> conductor are comparing time shown on the watch. By recollection,

> railroad watches are to vary no more than 20 seconds. When I was working

> on the old Norfolk Southern at Marsden (now Chocowinity), there was a

> head-end crew that arrived from Raleigh. The engineer's watch was at the

> jewelers for repair. The fireman had hocked his. The brakeman was making

> use of his wife's wrist watch..."

>

> Time to pull the pin on this one!

>

> Departing Now from V248,

>

> Skip Salmon

>

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