Blue Ridge

[NW Mailing List]

Frank,
Your directions for the Blue Ridge station area will be very helpful. I 
could use a little more help for the second  "photographer's bridge" though. 
Does the road leading to the bridge have a name? And what is Blue Ridge 
Stone Corporation's landmark crushed limestone "cone" ?  Is it something 
quite large? Thanks.
Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 10:07 PM
Subject: Blue Ridge



> Nathan:

>

> To get to the ex-Blue Ridge station site, take US 460 east out of Roanoke 

> toward Lynchburg, or the reverse from Lynchburg west.  At Blue Ridge, get 

> on CR 805 south off  Rte 460 (should the road have been renumbered, just 

> ask locals for "old 805" that goes to the NS bridge-overpass near the 

> station site) and head in about .3 mi.  When in sight of the overpass, 

> park along the roadside (little traveled).   Walk east up a rise to the 

> still-active NS tracks, just a minute or two's walk.  The station site is 

> east just several hundred feet from the overpass, between the mainline and 

> a spur off the WB main that circled around the station on the north side. 

> When I last visited the site early in this decade the spur was still 

> active for stone crusher service, within sight to the east;  a track still 

> departed north from the station site (above-referenced curved track) to 

> part of the limestone complex.  The station occupied a fairly tight 

> squeeze between the WB main and the curved track.

>

>

> There actually were two "photographer's bridges".  The most celebrated, at 

> the eastern end of a .75-mi s-curve and about .4 mi. west of the station, 

> was on  CR 616  about .3 mi south off Rte 460.  The bridge was dismantled 

> decades ago and not replaced.  CR 616 ends near the bridge site,  but 

> you'd have to make your way through lots of thicket to reach the track.  I 

> actually have walked  west along the track from the station site to the 

> bridge site, admittedly not so prudent.  But the trek evokes an epic 

> story.

>

>

> The second bridge sought by photographers in N&W's steam era still stands 

> (to my knowledge) just east of Buford's Gap (last and first Appalachian 

> challenges for EB and WB traffic, respectively; .7 mi east of the station 

> site) just east of the Blue Ridge Stone Corporation's landmark crushed 

> limestone "cone" on the south side of Rte 460.  Turn south off Rte 460 on 

> a private road leading to the bridge, a hop and a skip away. The limestone 

> "cone" will be in sight to your right.

>

>

> At Blue Ridge trackside  you'll find a bounty of aging, rusting track 

> hardware all over, dating back to the "glory days".  Also ankle-deep 

> cinder residue from the bowels of N&W's legendary fleet.  Mute 

> testimonials to a grand rail saga..

>

>

> The area signal tower, long gone, was at Villamont, about two miles east 

> of Blue Ridge, hard by the WB main.

>

> Frank Gibson

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