"Taking Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren

[NW Mailing List]

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with 11 of the Brethren 
and Friends of the Virginian Railway. Our guest was Eddie Mooneyham, 
vice-president of the Roanoke Chapter NRHS. Eddie told us about upcoming 
activities of the Chapter and other rail related items. One item relating 
to last week's report was highlighted by Eddie. He says that The Virginia 
Museum of Transportation is considering placing a locomotive cab, similar 
to the one already inside the Museum, on the Rail Walk that goes between 
the VMT and the Art Museum in downtown Roanoke. He says that it will be a 
General Electric cab. Attending for the first time was Kinsey Jordon, 
sister of Keegan and daughter of NS Engineer Chad Jordon. Both are 
grandchildren of Bill Daniel, whose father and grandfather worked for the VGN.

The ebay report this time includes the following: Virginian Adlake 
semaphore signal lamp with "VRy"(identified by Jeff Sanders and Landon 
Gregory)went for $225.00; Matchbox Ford Model A Van with VGN logo $8.51; 
Loose pile of "VGN" date nails $36.00; VGN Railway Electric Westinghouse 
Special Bulletin #1733 May 1925 for $14.29; Color slide of VGN Trainmaster 
#126 for $24.50 and a hardback Book on "Steam of N&W and VGN" by R. E. 
Prince for $190.00.

At the N&W (and VGN ) Historical Society Archives work session last week, I 
discovered in the VGN Acceptance of Bids, a 1917 contract that had all of 
the wooden trestles at the Sewells Point Coal Pier "whitewashed". Wonder 
how long they stayed white...

Last week there was a discussion about what the VGN Station at Hardy, VA 
was. I researched this and found that it was a Combination Freight and 
Passenger Station, built in June 1925 by W. B. English. His winning bid was 
$1,450.00 for the 24 by 60 foot structure at MP 233.9. It contained the 
standard seats, furniture and Ticket Window and Outhouse outlined in the 
VGN Standard Station Drawings. The location of this Station can be observed 
from Hardy Road just west of the Hardy Road Bridge at the Roanoke, Franklin 
County Lines where it crosses the old VGN tracks.

I passed on to the Brethren an update about the old Roanoke Yard Office VGN 
pendulum clock donated by Superintendent Hank Kinzel to the N&W (and VGN) 
Historical Society. This is the clock that "was released on its own 
recognizance" in the middle of the night and "replaced by one from the N&W 
Passenger Station under similar circumstances". This clock is being 
repaired by the same clock repair service that maintained the Railroad 
Clocks of the N&W. Mr. Martin, who worked with his father in the past, told 
me that just after they completely overhauled twenty some pendulum clocks 
out of the N&W General Offices, the rail line converted over to Quartz 
time- keeping devices. The newly overhauled, cleaned, polished and precise 
pendulum time pieces were then sold to Rail Officials "as scrap"...

At the Virginian Station Capital Campaign Sub-Committee on Tuesday, renown 
Roanoke area Historian George Kegley was voted chairman of the sub-committee.

Landon Gregory was conspicuously absent last night. Raymond East said that 
Landon told him he was going to a "Tea Party" that would "sip no tea or eat 
any crumpets": "Roanoke's version of the Boston Tea Party" on this year's 
tax deadline day.

Wis Sowder brought for "Show and Tell" a notebook that Jimmy Whittaker made 
and gave him on his retirement day. This book contained his employee 
records that started with this full name: Wister Cornealous Sowder and 
included his VGN Application for employment as a Caller, Bulletins of all 
of the Jobs that he Bid, as well as the Bulletin of his "position to be 
vacated". On the last page was listed all of his sick days taken (very few) 
with a note saying "Poor guy became seariously ill with the thought of 
leaving this fine company".

Time to pull the pin on this one!

Departing Now from V248,

Skip Salmon

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