Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon

[NW Mailing List]

Tonight, the last Wednesday of Summer 2013, I had the pleasure of "Takin'
Twenty" with eight of the Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway.
We talked a lot about the passing last week of beloved Bill "Sarge"
McGhee.  "Sarge" will forever be remembered as a Friend of the Virginian
Railway for the murals he painted of Virginian Railway scenes on buildings
in Mullen, WV, his cartoons, and his volunteer work.  Some time ago,
"Sarge" gave me his "blessing" to use several dozen of  his cartoons, about
life on the railroad, with my embellishments.  I have a notebook of these
that I have taken to rail events and shared with rail enthusiasts all over
the country.  One of my favorites shows several railroaders around an old
pot bellied stove in a rail yard talking.  One says, "Virginian merge with
the N&W?  I guess a man will also walk on the moon some day!"  I have
posted a tribute to "Sarge" (using one of his best cartoons) on this site.
"Sarge" was 92 when he took his last west bound.

 For Show and Tell, I took a photo found in the N&W (and VGN) Historical
Society Archives at last week's work session, of a west bound hopper train
passing the sub-station at Merrimac, VA.  In the background there is a
track coming off the VGN main line heading north.  I asked Louis Newton,
famed N&W Historian, if this track "interchanged" with the old N&W
"Huckleberry" Blacksburg line there?  He said "Yes it did, and once when
the electric line was down near the tunnel, VGN #4 Passenger train detoured
on to the Huckleberry, up to Cambria, went to Walton and turned on the wye
track and traveled on to Roanoke!"

 Also shown was the "Trains" "Locomotive 2013 special magazine.  Listed as
#10 in its "Top 10 must-see preserved diesels" on page 89, is the Canadian
Pacific Fairbanks Morse Train Master #8905.  The #8905 is the only
surviving Train Master left, and is at the Exporail in St. Constant,
Quebec, Canada.  "When the first Train Master appeared in 1953, their 2400
HP, six-motor configuration was unmatched among first-generation diesels.
It would take competitors Alco and EMD until 1956 and 1958 to match the
Train Master's power".  The VGN purchased theirs, starting in March 1954.
Ken Goslett went on to say "No other first-generation diesel could match
the appeal of the Train Master, and only Exporail has one.  All other
contenders can fold.  Nothing beats a Train Master".

 Amtrak stopped supplying passengers with pillows on August 1 this year.
When I found out they now sell patrons a "passenger comfort kit", I ordered
one from the Amtrak web site for $8 plus shipping.  Tonight I showed the
Brethren the navy pull stringed bag with the Amtrak logo and its contents:
navy polyester 39" X 64" blanket, eye mask (silky material with two elastic
bands), inflatable neck pillow and two ear plugs. I don't think the VGN
even provided pillows....

 The Jewel from the Past, like those in a Hamilton 974 "Electric Interurban
Special" 17 jeweled with Montgomery dial, hinged case with dust cover, is
from August 16, 2007: "VGN #6, 44 tonner, was designated a '44 tonner' so
it would be under the 90,000 pound weight limit agreed by unions, that
would require a fireman on board.  Russell McDaniel tells a great story
about the time he had to go to Suffolk, VA to troubleshoot this loco.
Seems it had just been overhauled in the Princeton Shops, and when it was
first used at the Planters peanut Plant, it would not shove the two box
cars up the ramp, as it had done before the overhaul.  Russell found that
the Main Generator 'shunt field' had been hooked up incorrectly after
repairs.  Within minutes, he had her working just fine.  He called
Princeton to tell them it was fixed, and was told to 'stay a while
longer.  We don't want everybody to think we can fix them all so quickly!'"

 Then there's this from George Harmon:  Second Place in the Degrees of
Blond:  What did the blond ask her doctor when he told her she was
pregnant?  "Is it mine?"

 Time to pull the pin on this one!

 Departing Now from V248,

 Skip Salmon

 CDLXXXIX
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