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

[NW Mailing List]

I have a heavy gauge steel shop-made and riveted tool box that has some  
N&W marked wrenches and chisels in it. There is a name and date plate  riveted 
on one end with the name J. Arthur and the date 3-37. It sat for many  
years on the garage workbench at our house in Victoria, and went with us when we 
 moved to Florida in '62. Now it sits on the workbench at my house in  
Fredericksburg. Granddad (VGN engineer W.R. Bloyd) said the box was there in the 
 garage in Victoria when they bought the house in '41. 
If there are existing seniority rosters of N&W shop crafts from the  
1930's, I'd love to know if J. Arthur is on one of them.
 
Greg Harrod
===========================================================

 
 
In a message dated 04/30/2015 9:03:55 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:

Last night I had the pleasure of  "Takin' Twenty" with six of the Brethren 
and Friends of the Virginian Railway.  We welcomed back VGN Clerk Wis Sowder 
who is recuperating from heart  surgery.  I gave Wis his file of VGN and 
N&W seniority rosters that I  was able to enter into the N&W (and VGN) 
Historical Society data base.  Some of the VGN crafts entered were:  Janitors, 
Stowers, Truckers,  Station Hands, Firemen, Agents , Telegraphers, Yardmasters, 
Secretary's,  Stenographers, Rate Clerks, Training Analyst, Cleaners, 
Cashiers, and  Dockmasters.


I showed the  Brethren a response I got from VGN Clerk Bob "Little Abner" 
Glass of Norfolk  about last weeks comments on the "Blue Goose" watering hole 
in Roanoke.   Bob said " One night the Police walked into the front door of 
the Blue Goose  and two VGN Brakemen took the back door off, screen and 
all".  "One  morning a Brakeman was drinking what he said was water but it was 
"spring  water" from Bent Mountain...you know what that was!".


The ebay report  this time has the "bargain of the year" so far, an H. Reid 
"Virginian Railway"  soft cover for $5.;  A VGN tall globe lantern with "V. 
Ry." embossed with  clear globe went for $495 and an 1915 article about the 
new Elmore coaling  Station sold  for $21.


We discussed the upcoming excursion trips with  the N&W J-Class #611 and 
this prompted several comments about steam engine  explosions.  Wis Sowder 
recalled a friend of his who was a Brakeman on  the "W" side being killed when 
a boiler exploded on the Radford (Bourbon)  Division.  Raymond East 
remembered firing on the road on VGN steam and  his engineer chastising him for 
using too much water in fear of a low water  incident.  He said  the Engineer 
told him "Boy back off on that  water....it's just going out the stack".


The Jewel from the Past is from July 24,  2008:  "Several saw our own Wis 
Sowder, VGN Clerk, on the local news  shows this week selling his peaches, 
cukes and squash at the Salem Farmer's  Market.  Wis is a very shy man but 
accepted the accolades well.   Cornbread kidded Billy Daniel about telling 
Billy's Dad, George B. Daniel Jr.,  a VGN carpeck, that he would check an 
incoming coal train on a cold, rainy  night for him. Cornbread said George, Jr. 
told him to 'check for bad grab  irons, cut levers and leaking roofs'.  
Billy's grandfather was George B.  Daniel, VGN Superintendent."


Then there's this from the "I never knew"  department:  In the old west, a 
.45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents  and so did a glass of whiskey.  
If a cowhand was low on cash he would  often give the bartender a cartridge 
in exchange for a drink.  This  became known as a 'shot' of whiskey"


Time to pull the pin on this one!


Departing Now from  V248,


Skip  Salmon


DLXI
=============



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