More on the Buchanan VA Stations

[NW Mailing List]

I can add a little bit to the story of the N&W Buchanan station.  Ren Heard, 
a local contractor who did renovation/reconstruction jobs of old and 
historic buildings in Roanoke, bought it from the railroad and disassembled 
it in the manner that Richard relates below.  I believe that Ren told me 
that he had deposited the "kit" in a field outside of town somewhere with 
the understanding that Explore would buy it from him and he would 
reconstruct it for them at the park.  I knew Ren because he renovated the 
building in the first block of South Jefferson Street that I moved Roanoke 
Rails into in 1986.  Ren worked for Explore for a while when they were 
planning to develop a zoo of North American animals.  Ren's mother bought 
some bison to donate or sell to Explore; Ren and his kids, dressed in 
colonial backwoods garb, marched with one or two of the bison in a parade in 
Roanoke about that time.

If the station stayed on the trailers, then I would guess Ren might have 
stored them in his "construction yard" just west of 10th street in the first 
couple of blocks south of the N&W yard.  The city has since rehabbed that 
area and I have no idea where the trailers might have gone.  Ren ran into 
some serious legal problems in the mid-1990's and I haven't heard anything 
about him since.

And as any of you who live in the Roanoke area know, Explore has never 
fulfilled any of the proposals that have been floated for it over the years 
and is now closed and in limbo.

Sam Putney


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 6:55 AM
Subject: More on the Buchanan VA Stations



> Just a little more information on the stations at Buchanan, VA.

>

> The C&O Station was lost to the "Flood of 1985". This flood was what is 

> called a 100 year flood. The station was actually lifted from it's 

> foundation and rotated about 90 degrees and slammed into another brick 

> building.

>

> The N&W station, on higher ground, was spared from the ravages of the 

> flood waters. It was taken apart in 1985 board by board to be rebuilt as 

> part of the Virginia Explorer Park. The "kit" was loaded into three 

> trailers and never reassembled. In the attached photos you can see the 

> part number and spray paint lines that will help in the reassembly. You 

> can also see trailer number one in one of the photos.

>

> Maybe someone else can give an update as to what happened to the N&W 

> station after that.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Richard D. Shell

> Nace, VA

>

>

> [Moderator]

> See images at following:

>

> N&W station:

> http://nwhs.org/wiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=53

> http://nwhs.org/wiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=54

> http://nwhs.org/wiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=55

>

> C&O station:

> http://nwhs.org/wiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=56

> http://nwhs.org/wiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=57

> http://nwhs.org/wiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=58

> http://nwhs.org/wiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=59

>

>

>

>

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