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

[NW Mailing List]

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with nine of the 
Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway. In response to several 
emails from last weeks discussion about a recent photo of South Yard 
that was in the "Roanoke Times", Rufus Wingfield and I recorded his 
memory of each of the tracks in the photo. The plan is to mark the photo 
with this information and make it available to you.

I showed the Brethren my latest ebay purchase, a photo of two VGN 
Fairbanks Morse H16-44s pulling a string of G-4 hoppers somewhere east 
of Roanoke. When I showed it to Ruf, he immediately said "14,428". This 
is the tonnage restriction on coal trains when the VGN changed from 
using one AG 2-6-6-6 to the two diesels to pull east bound coal trains.

Also shown was a builder's "class plate" donated by VGN Superintendent 
Hank Kinsel to the N&W (and VGN) Historical Society. It is "EL-3I". The 
VGN squarehead three unit sets were designated as EL-3A and single units 
as EL-1A. Anybody out there know what the story is about this obviously 
VGN plate marked "EL-3I"? I have posted a photo of this plate on this 
site under "Skip's Photos".

Also I shared with the Brethren some interesting information discovered 
at the N&WHS Archives work day about the VGN DE-SA 44-ton GE switcher #6 
with two 190 HP Caterpillar engines. She was purchased July 27, 1954 
from R. C. Stanhope, Inc. NY, NY. This VGN unique piece of motive power 
was bought "for use on Sewalls Point-Morgan Switcher, including Suffolk 
Terminal". The VGN AFE #2478 that authorized the purchase also included 
as "expenses for the sale: July 16, 1954 telephone calls totaling $8.53 
to Beloit, Wisconsin (Fairbanks-Morse) and a $23.00 expense for 5 
gallons of Dupont yellow #2542490 paint".

The ebay report this time includes the sale of VGN items: FM Operators 
Manual for H16-44 $74.99; FM Operators Manual for Trainmaster H24-66 
$74.99; and a VGN 2-6-6-2 AG brass Lima desk weight for $125.57.

This weeks "Roanoke Times" on Monday had two snippets about our beloved 
VGN: "100 years ago today (1910)-City Engineer Gibboney yesterday issued 
a permit to the Virginian for a round house, machine shop, store house 
and electric power house on the property of the company on South 
Jefferson Street to cost $30,000". "75 years ago today (1935)-Roanoke 
yesterday was allocated $282,769.58 by the state highway department for 
the construction of a bridge over the Virginian railway tracks on 
Franklin Road".

I showed the Brethren photos and an email from our friend Abram D. 
Burnett. He sent the email in response to my reference to "AG" with an 
offer to donate a 6 hole Jack Box (for telephone)off the operator's desk 
at "AG" for our Archives at the Depot. Thanks Abe!

Bud Jefferies, world renowned N&W steam locomotive author and cattle man 
from Radford, responded from Ruf's photo of South Yard saying that his 
grandparents lived on Maple Ave near the Yard and in the late 40s and 
early 50s "would run up the street one block to watch the VGN Yard. The 
spot I watched from was on the bluff. I remember steam power and 
electrics from that spot".

The Jewel from the Past, like one in Bob Cohen's 1904 Elgin Veritas 23 
jewel with a double sunk dial and 10K Stellar case is like one from 
November 18, 2004: "Toby Hodson told us about working on the power lines 
above the rails and once falling with a 11,000 volt line laying across 
his legs. He instructed someone to get a long wooden 'stick' and knock 
it off him. He got burned but recovered. 'Slick' Inge told of a 
blacksnake shorting out the lines at Merrimac Tunnel and 'shutting down 
the whole railroad'"

I showed the Brethren a copy of the May 2010 Greensboro NRHS newsletter 
"Roundhouse". It has an article about US Border Patrol agents 
intercepting a white truck painted as a Union Pacific work truck with 
bales of pot in the tool box.

Harry Bundy responded to Abe Burnett's "AG" Jack Box that has a 
"designation strip" listing what each phone line connects to such as 
"YM" for Yardmaster and "PD" for Power Director. Harry said that there 
was a phone box at Oakwood Yard in Detroit that had six switches and its 
designation strip read: 1-Yardmaster, 2-Crew Clerk, 3-Yard Clerk. 4-West 
end tower, 5-Trainmaster, 6-God. I responded to Harry that I always 
though on the railroad, if you wanted God, you called the dispatcher....

Time to pull the pin on this one!

Responding Now from V248,

Skip Salmon

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