Regarding Car hoists and the like

[NW Mailing List]

Regarding car hoists:

Something often neglected regarding the gauge differences and car
hoists is that Roanoke's situation was not unique by any stretch of
the imagination, nor even odd even back in the day.

There were approximately 15,000 miles of 5' or Southern gauge track in
1886 and wherever those lines met somewhere up 'nawth, there were
often car hoists. I suspect there were several dozen when they would
all be added up and likely varying in style and sophistication.

Within the realm of close-in and N&W or near N&W, Witness the car
hoists that were in place in Lynchburg where the 5' N&W
intersected/interchanged with the old Orange Alexandria, then becoming
the Virginia Midland in 1881. There were also car hoists of some sort
in Danville, Va. involved with the Richmond & Danville. I suspect and
likely in or around Richmond, Va. you had the RF&P from the north
which was standard gauge and the 5' Richmond & Danville heading west.
I don't know what the West Point line's gauge was, but you also had
the Richmond-Petersburg to contend with.

Even at Franklin Junction (today's Gretna, there was some sort of
switching around of trucks but there it was between standard gauge and
the 3' gauge of the Franklin & Pittsylvania RR which went 37 miles to
Rocky Mount. The gauge was changed to standard gauge around 1887
before the Roanoke & Southern came around, the Punkin Vine.

For a more modern and sophisticated way of such things there was the
East Broad Top at Mt. Union, Pa. which continued doing its thing there
until the EBT shut down in 1956.

Lastly and surely not the least, don't forget Mason Cooper's fine work
on the SV line which is now out of print, but an excellent resource of
reference material and specifically associated with the Shenandoah
Valley RR and its association with the N&W.

The 1886 gauge changes made them all obsolete of course. In 1876 the
Lackawanna changed over from the broad gauge 6' to standard and in
1883 the Erie did likewise. Even the B&O's Ohio & Southwestern was 6'
gauge until changed, so there's a lot of material to go chasing down,
each little piece of that proverbial puzzle adding to the greater
understanding of what was done and how before there were really BIG
ways to make such modifications.

Bob Cohen