Operations on the Shenandoah Division

[NW Mailing List]

I have to chime in here.  When I was at Ferrum Junior College, fall  1961 
through June 1963, I got to know the N&W agent at Ferrum on the Pumpkin  
Vine, a Mr. Lemons. Early in that time frame I trained for and worked a  little 
as an extra "agent, operator, leverman, telegrapher" on Southern's  Danville 
Division. I worked during the summers and holidays.   Mr. Lemons was still 
handing up orders using the wooden hoops and then  huffing it down the track 
to find them after the trains passed.  He had the  "new" yellow train order 
delivery sticks but he didn't know how to tie the slip  knots. After I 
taught him, he had a new best friend, me.  An another note,  one day I walked 
north from the station, around the curve, for about 2 miles.  Near the end of 
the passing track I saw a nice reminder that steam's passing had  not been 
all that long before, a "rail burn."  The next day after  classes I went back 
with a folding rule and measured the distances between  the individual rail 
burns. Yep, at some time, a 2-8-8-2 had slipped its drivers  there.  After 
my time at Ferrum, I was at Lynchburg College and didn't work  on Southern 
any more.
 
Aubrey  Wiley

You are  invited to visit these blogs:
VIRGINIAN RAILWAY Heritage  Trail: 
_http://virginianrailwayheritagetrail.blogspot.com/_ (http://virginianrailwayheritagetrail.blogspot.com/) 
Wiley Railroad Relic Garden:_ http://junkmanwiley.blogspot.com/ _ 
(http://junkmanwiley.blogspot.com/) 
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