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, 05 Jun 2008 11:35:26 -0000
Subject: [VirginianRailwayEnthusiasts] "Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren"

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with 11 of the
Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway. Robert "Little Abner"
Glass, VGN clerk from Sewells Point, traveled the 260 miles from
Norfolk to be with us. Also attending for the first time in a while
was the "Yardmaster", Rufus Wingfield. Ruf introduced his current
lady friend, Jane to the Brethren.

The manager of the Country Cookin', Todd Bodine, presented a
proposition to the Brethren. He had recently purchased a brightly
colored red caboose bird house from a retired N&W workman. He said
the he thought of the Brethren who have been meeting weekly in his
restaurant for over 5 years now. He had a drawing and Robert Scott
was the luck winner of the shinny new NS caboose with grab irons and
all. Cornbread said "it looks better that the cabooses NS are using
today in transfer service"...

I passed around the July "Trains" magazine. Also passed was the
latest (April-June) "The Arrow" magazine-newsletter from the N&W
(and VGN) Historical Society. It has a tribute that I wrote to our
Russell "Slick" Inge and a photo of "Roanoke's Other Railway" at VMT.

Yesterday I posted on this site a photo that Raymond East gave
me showing some familiar faces of names previously mentioned in this
report. The photo was taken on the steps of the Roanoke Yard Office
sometime in the early 1950's. It is in the "Skip's Photos" section.
You can also click on "new photo" on the home header. The men are
back row left: Grandville "Rooster" Royster, conductor;
George "Stinky" Creasy, clerk; Jim "Killer" Barbari, carpeck;
Bruce "Ballast Spreader" Muskgrove, brakeman; E. G. "Pap" Stone,
conductor; middle: Bob Scott, brakeman; I. M. "Windy" Ayers,
brakeman; Micky Martin, clerk; front row: Bob "The Fifth" Rowland,
clerk; Ed "Short Handle" Moles, fireman; Lazemby, brakeman; Charlie
Ridgeway, brakeman and Clearence, "8th Notch" Wells, engineer.

The Brethren were impressed with a recent "Roanoke Times"
article "Clogging the line" explaining how "demand for freight trains
is expected to double over the next 25 years.

Ruf Wingfield, who turned 80 in April, was in great spirits
after a long illness and recovery. He relayed several stories. The
best one was a 1952 account when he was in the US Army in Germany
getting ready to come home. He went to the PX and purchased a gross
(12 dozen) of condoms for 90 cents. When he got to Fort Meade he
realized "I can't go home will all of these, so I threw away all but
a dozen".

Cornbread, 85, said the he read recently about Japan having a
train that runs over 300 MPH. He then proceeded to tell for the
umteenth time, his story of having to "deadhead" back to Roanoke from
Mullens once and was told to catch the next coal train. He took on
the grab irons of a Squarehead going 14 MPH and almost pulled his arm
off. Last night's comment was "reckon nobody deadheads on the
Japanese train".

It's time to pull the pin on this one!

Departing Now,

Skip Salmon

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