Agent Glade Spring: W.E. Belcher

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

No. 18 held the longest SCHEDULED psgr run on the N&W.  In '47,  there
was a conditional stop at Radford, otherwise No. 18 could run 151  miles
Bristol to Roanoke in 2 hrs. 27 mins.   Before traffic  control, Glade Spring
was the last open office that the dispatcher could issue a "meet"  order
for No. 18 to meet No. 17.  No. 18 normally made a stop at Glade  Spring,
as mentioned, and one night an operator known in some circles at
"Aunt Suzie"  became the target of a tantrum pitched by one of No.  18's
trainmen.   
 
It takes a little bit of talent to deliver a "19" order on the fly ---  
knowing how
close to stand,  positioning the hoop for pick up, and knowing when to  let
go.  "'Aunt Suzie" received a "19" order for No. 18 several days  later.  
Since
he worked the extra board, it may not have been at Glade Spring.  He  was
in the right place at the right time.  In the vestibule was the  bickering 
trainman,
hand extended to snatch the hoop.  "Aunt Suzie" held on to the hoop a 
nanosecond too long and put a knot on his bicep.
                                                            Harry Bundy
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