Pole line removal on the Bristol Line

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

July 28, 2004

Thank you for the update, Ben.  Periodic notes about
current location would be helpful in the future.

If you see the contractor's supervisor again, could
you ask two things.  First, who is the "contract
officer" or "contract officer's representative" at
Norfolk Southern with whom he coordinates the removal
work.  Second, there was a crew working north out of
Roanoke on the Shenandoah Division.  Was it his, or a
different crew managed by the same contractor?  I'm
trying to find out their present location, too.

My email address is below, if you want to pass along
this information off-list.  Also, are you related to a
Blevins family that lives next to the track at Glade
Spring?

Best wishes,

Frank Scheer
f_scheer at yahoo.com
MP H46.1, Boyce



Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 09:19:47 -0700 (PDT) 
To: "NWHS mailing list" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> 
CC:  
From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org  Add to Address Book 
Subject:  Pole line removal on the Bristol Line 

    
Hello again all,
Yesterday I spoke directly with the contractor
dismantling the pole line.  They are from Illinois,
and regularly do fiber optic cable.  The man was very
friendly and spoke with me for a few minutes.  He told
me that the poles are selling very good, but the
copper clad wire is only bringing a couple cents a
pound.  He's selling the cross arms for a dollar each,
and folks are using them for landscaping and such. 
The insulator collecting was unsuccessful, as folks
were stealing them as soon as the poles were cut down.
 They seem to think they are of some value.
 
The poles with transformers are still standing, and I
asked him why he had left them.  He said the
transformers contain a cancer causing agent and it
will spill out if the case is ruptured.  So, they have
to obtain a permit to take them down, and contain the
chemical if any of it spills.  
 
These folks are real nice, and unlike the man I spoke
to a few weeks ago, the contractor himself was very
friendly.
 
As for the pole line, they are still working in Marion
and the surrounding area.
 
Ben Blevins