Virginian Electric Photo 8

[NW Mailing List]

As stated before, the Electric Railroaders' Association of New York has produced a series of CD's with copyrighted images from the ERA's Sprague Library depicting electric streetcars, interurbans, and locomotives.  The attached photo is the eighth one on the VGN that I have posted from the Deep South Traction, Part 1 CD.

The attached photo shows two EL-C's westbound on the Glen Lyn, VA, bridge over New River with an impressive string of "box freight," to use a term I have heard the Virginian employees use.  If you look closely at the right-hand side of the photo you can see the turnout for a spur leading into the Appalachian Power Co. generating station at Glen Lyn.  Of course, the bridge and the track in this picture are gone (the station is now served from the former N&W on the lower level), but those of us who toured this generating station as part of the NWHS 2007 convention viewed the roadbed where this Virginian spur had been, including an electrification pole or two that were still standing.  We also viewed the roadbed of an earlier spur off the Virginian that came in from a turnout farther west than the one in this photo.

There is one historical question that needs to be documented about this photo.  I have heard that the "golden spike" driven at the completion of the Virginian occurred at the west end of this bridge.  Is that true, and if so could this photo possibly show that exact spot?

Gordon Hamilton
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