[N&W] Re: Va Tech Photo #20

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Looking toward Pulaski from Austinville.  (The lead works are to the 
photographers back.)
Ed Painter Jr.
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Could it possibly be a littly longer tunnel here is a picture of the New 
River tunnell along the trail on the trail web site.
Thomas McCracken
Danville, Va

http://www.cccyclery.com/ccjstbg.htm#Tunnel
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The tunnel shown on the North Carolina Branch is Austin-
ville Tunnel -- length 193 feet, natural lining. The tunnel near
Fries Jct. is Chestnut Creek Tunnel -- 195 feet, natural and
timber lining.
Telltales ? They were still around in 1972. They really played
havoc with automobile shipments (before the bi and tri-levels
were covered). N&W was paying claims for dents on vehicles
arriving at Walkertown. Ford disclosed where they were hiding
the vehicle keys and N&W had a trainmaster ride the top car
on the tri-level first out behind the engines. Sure enough, the
automobile got dinged at one of the Roderfield Tunnels. The
ropes had been weighted down with washers and bolts. En route,
the trainmaster just rolled the window down, rested his arm on
the window and left the driving to the engineer. The guy waiting
at the crossing at Davy did a double take.
Harry Bundy


 >
 > From: N&W Mailing List <mailing-list at nwhs.org>
 > Date: 2002/04/07 Sun PM 08:13:27 EDT
 > To: N&W Mailing List <mailing-list at nwhs.org>
 > Subject: Va Tech Photo #20
 >
 > Thanks to all who provided input on the last photo.
 >
 >                         TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS PICTURE #20
 >
 > http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/norfolksouthern/F1/NS4008.JPG
 >
 > VT information:  track scene on Galax line
 >
 >   I find this picture very interesting and this tunnel would be great to
 > model.  It looks like the railroad was following a nice level shelf along
 > the river, when BAM, a big nasty ole hill jumped right out in front of it
 > all the way up to the water s edge.  It wasn t a thick hill as the bore
 > doesn t look very deep, and I would estimate only fifteen to twenty feet of
 > rock wall left for the river-side of the tunnel.  What a pain-in-the-butt
 > from a RR construction point of view, but what a picturesque scene from a
 > rail fan view.
 >
 >   ***Prominent in the foreground is a device that I have a couple questions
 > about.  I believe it to be a height/clearance gauge, but I can t figure out
 > exactly how it is supposed to have worked.***
 >
 >   Well, I was able to answer my own question when my May Model Railroader
 > showed up with an article on telltales.  It seems these devices were to
 > warn brakemen to hit the deck or risk being knocked off the train by a
 > bridge, or as in this case, a tunnel portal.  This may help us narrow down
 > the possible range of dates for this picture.  The rope fringes seem to be
 > in fine shape in the photo.  I don t know exactly, but wouldn t think it
 > would take too many years of weathering to rot a dangling bit of rope, so I
 > would assume the device is still being maintained at the time it got its
 > beauty struck.  That would imply that brakemen were still walking the tops
 > of cars at that point.  The first box cars I can find without full-length
 > ladders and roof walks were delivered in 1966, but I suspect that the
 > practice of having brakemen walk the roofs would have been discontinued
 > before then.  Does anyone know exactly when this practice ended?  That
 > would put a no-later-than date on our shot.
 >
 > Can somebody familiar with this area pinpoint the location for us?
 >
 > Thanks,
 >
 > Jim Cochran
 >
 >