Fwd: [VirginianRailwayEnthusiasts] "Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren"

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--
Skip Salmon

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To: VirginianRailwayEnthusiasts at yahoogroups.com
From: "Charles E. Salmon, Jr." <gkholine at cox.net>
Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 11:08:00 -0000
Subject: [VirginianRailwayEnthusiasts] "Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren"

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with 8 of the
Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway. Yesterday, those who
could, attended a Memorial Service for Virginian Clerk Jimmy
Whittaker, one of our faithful regulars to our Wednesday meetings.
Jimmy was 75 and passed away last Sunday. We gave tribute to Jimmy
at the Country Cookin' by placing his photo and obituary along with a
lighted Virginian lantern, at his regular place setting. I have put
a photo of this tribute on this site under "Memorial Photos of
People".

Attending for the first time since his hip replacement, was
Tom "Cornbread" Victory. He was cheered when he came in behind his
walker. Cornbread "livened-up" the session with stories of his
absence, including showing the group a worn piece of paper with the
name of his lady friend inscribed. Her name is Ngoc Clic Thi Cao
AKA "Choo Choo".

I passed around the March-April 2008 copy of Roanoke Chapter
NRHS newsletter "Turntable Times" with my photo on the cover of four
coal trains, with power, waiting for a signal beside the VGN Station
in Roanoke. Also passed was the May 2008 Winston-Salem Chapter NRHS
newsletter "The Rail" that featured one of my photos. It is the one
that was rejected by railpictures.net showing light units from the
VGN South Yard passing the new $66 million dollar (last week's
$600,000 is not correct) Art Museum in Roanoke. "The Rail" is quoted
as saying the rejection was for "Museum as having extreme angles not
worthy for a rail photograph".

Also mentioned was this weeks "75 years ago" 1933 comment in
the "Roanoke Times": "A mysterious explosion which occured about five
minutes after he entered his small Virginian Railway workshop here
carrying a box, which had been found on a express cart...this morning
caused the death of Grover Cleveland 'Cam' Price".

A photo was passed showing a Commonwealth Coach bus sitting
between the VGN Station and main line tracks in Roanoke with Bev
Fitzpatrick and Brian Crosier, talking in front of it. Fitzpatrick
(Roanoke City Councilman)is director of Virginia Museum of
Transportation and Crosier is president of Roanoke Chapter NRHS. This
bus carried a group on a local trip sponsored by the newly formed
Coalition of Roanoke Rail groups including O. Winston Link, Virginia
Museum of Transportation, N&W Historical Society and the Roanoke
Chapter NRHS. This was the first in many upcoming events by the
Coalition. This one spotlighted "remains" and sites of the 16 rail
lines that at one time served Roanoke and the Valley.

Wes Sowder recalled a supply of carbide in the Yard Office in
Roanoke for brakeman who used carbide lights instead of kerosene
lanterns. He said that it gave a much better light and they strapped
them to their hats. Anybody else out there recall carbide lights
used by VGN brakemen?

I hope to see many of you this weekend in Mullens at our Friends
of the Virginian Railway at Milepost 2008. Again, I would like to
thank all who have helped in planning it and give special thanks to
Tom Marshall and Aubrey Wiley for their work preparing for this
Virginian Railway Experience.

Departing Now,

Skip Salmon

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