Glenvar Helpers and Elliston Helpers

[NW Mailing List]

The only information that I can add would be a old company drawing I saw many years ago, but was not able to acquire a copy of, showing Salem, and the area around the (Present) passenger station, and west to the original station. I don't recall this drawing being highly detailed, or a date on it specifically. But the area just west of the bridge, now occupied by a concrete plant was designated as a "wood yard" of which I can only interpret as a service area, it seems there was a siding into it as well. In addition, east of there about a half mile were water tanks. I vaguely recall asking my father about it because it seemed sort of out of place and he said it was occasionally used, but had originally been built for pushers. That must have been something he had been told, as he was a 1947 hire.

Now it seems kind of odd to be separated from the wood yard by that far, but I do not have an answer to that. You can still see the concrete pilings for the water tank on the embankment there.

Ken Miller

On May 12, 2013, at 11:16 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:


> Some years ago I posted to the list a question about Glenvar and Elliston helpers.  There was no response at that time, so I'll re-post the question.

> 

> Tom Kegley, a 1906 hire Radford Division Engineman told me that when he hired helpers were stationed at both Glenvar and Elliston.  The normal procedure was for the Glenvar helper to assist westward trains as far as Elliston, then cut off and return to Glenvar.  At Elliston, the Elliston helper(s) would couple on and assist westward trains to Christiansburg.

> 

> Bill Harman gave an additional piece of information that may come into play here.  His father told him that, in the 1880s, engines were serviced at Salem.  I'm wondering if these might have been the Glenvar helper engines.

> 

> Has anyone found any information that might elucidate these matters?

> 

> -- abram burnett

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