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

[NW Mailing List]

Last night I had the honor of "Takin' Twenty" with five of the Brethren and
Friends of the Virginian Railway.  I told the Brethren not to forget to
come join us at the Virginia Museum of Transportation this Saturday and
Sunday to welcome Santa by train.  We will furnish a former Powhatan Arrow
coach and two red N&W cabooses for rides, both days.  Come and bring your
children and grandchildren and get a picture of Santa and the train.
Details on the VMT web site.


 I told the Brethren since the famous AEP coal fired power plant is being
taken out of service at Glen Lyn, VA, one of the locomotives used to switch
out coal cars there, may be headed to the Virginia Museum of
Transportation, for display.  This plant was served by the Virginian
Railway for many years and still has evidence of the VGN unloading
facilities.  More on this later.


 The Jewel from the Past, like those in a Peoria Duber case size 18,
15-jewel lever set, full plate "for railway service" is from November 19,
2008:  "Someone mentioned how cold it has been lately, and watching their
grandchildren wait in the cold for their school busses.  Scotty said he
remembers school and that he stayed in the first grade for so long, the
teacher brought HIM apples.  Cornbread Victory said he had a friend in
Tennessee who never graduated from high school, even though he was there
for only two terms, 'Truman's and Eisenhower's".


 For Show and Tell I took the latest Roanoke Chapter NRHS "Turntable
Times".  This issue has my photo of the VGN Heritage unit 1069 "posing" by
the VGN Station under the Walnut Ave. Bridge on the cover.  Also it
features photos from the 1950s when Santa rode into Roanoke on the Powhatan
Arrow.  Also included is a spoof ot he Norfolk Southern-Canadian Pacific
logo and a great article about the Chapter's picnic at Apple Ridge Farms in
Copper Hill, VA.  Apple Ridge Farm is a camp for underprivileged children
run by Chapter member Peter Lewis.  He has established, with the help of
the Roanoke Chapter, the Apple Ridge Railroad, a collection of cars and
cabooses on rail.  This in now the first and only railroad in Floyd County,
VA.  I also took a Will Jordan 11-19-15 photo from railpictures.com,
showing the Virginian Heritage 1069 crossing a trestle at Clemson, SC.


 I passed on to the Brethren about the Motive Power Building in downtown
Roanoke now being the main office complex for the railway in our fair
city.  I worked there first in 1964 in the basement shop of the Coach Yard
as an Electrician Apprentice and my main job was to "test the cookies" on
#4 each day.  I returned in 1968 and 1969 to work in the Locomotive Design
Office of this now headquarters building....


 Then there's this:  As we Silver Surfers know, sometimes we have trouble
with our computers.  Yesterday, I had a problem, so I called Georgie, the
11 year old next door, whose bedroom books like Mission Control, and asked
him to come over.  Georgie clicked a couple of buttons and solved the
problem.  As he was walking away, I called after,  "So what was wrong?"  He
replied, "It was an ID ten T error."  I didn't want to appear stupid, but
nonetheless inquired, "An ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to
fix it again."  Gorogie grinned: "Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T
error before?" "No", I replied.  "Write it down, he said and I think you'll
figure it out.  So I wrote down :ID10T


 Time to pull the pin on this one!


 Departing Now from V248,


 Skip Salmon


 DLXXXIV








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