"Taking Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren

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Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with 8 of the Brethren and 
Friends of the Virginian Railway. Most of the discussion concerned 
tomorrow's dedication ceremony of our new flag pole at the Virginian 
Station at 11 AM. Since Landon Gregory is representing the Brethren, and 
making "a few remarks", they asked me to seat him between Mayor Bowers of 
Roanoke and State Senator Edwards. Ruf said that this will make him "sort 
of a politician".

As we left the Restaurant last week, Landon Gregory overheard a 
conversation, while in the cashier's line, about the Shenandoah Division 
and stopped to talk to three gentlemen. Turns out the elderly gentlemen was 
Claude Woolfolk, who started out on the Virginian in the MW gang, Norfolk 
Division. Mr. Woolfolk was hard of hearing so his son did most of the 
talking for him. Seems that Mr. Woolfolk's father, when he found out he had 
gotten a job on the VGN, gave him a $40 mule. Mr. Woolfolk used the mule to 
clean out ditches along the right of way and was paid 47 cents an hour for 
himself and 3 cents an hour for the mule. He went on to be an N&W MW 
supervisor after the merger in the Engineering Department, Shenandoah 
Division. As the conversation continued, Mr. Woolfolk asked Landon "Do you 
know Landon Gregory?" Seems that they had communicated when Landon was an 
operator and dispatcher but had never met face to face until last week!

I showed the Brethren photos taken of them by Doug and Marcelle Bess who 
visited us last week from Lithonia, Georgia. Also passed around was a photo 
I got off railpictures of a BNSF work train taken last month with a 
caboose, crane, flat and 10 hoppers pulled by a large high rail truck at 
Grand Forks, ND. To see this photo go to:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=296580

The DVDs included one showing the actual setting of our new 30' flag pole 
into its base and the first "test flag" raised on it. Also one DVD showed a 
very picturesque passing of a "fast flying" coal train at Kumis.

Also passed around were two of the Virginian Railway Standard Drawings 
books, available at the N&W (and VGN) Historical Society. They were Book 
"B" Masonry, and Book "C" Trestles.

Rufus Wingfield and Raymond East remembered that right after the merger in 
'59, a drilling was done across and under South Yard for fiber optic cable 
by N&W.

Frank Breedlove, VGN Brakeman and Conductor, also played third base for the 
Virginian Baseball Team. Once after a game with a team that had a very 
fast, but wild, pitcher, Frank was asked if he got any hits. He answered 
"yes, one in the gut, one in the butt and one in the back". Most agree that 
the best VGN player was Elmer Gene "Bunk" Gibson. Gibson once inquired 
about an ad in the Roanoke paper for ballplayers for the Roanoke Red Sox of 
the Pro Piedmont League. He tried out and they asked him to play the next 
day in a game at Maher Field, just across Naval Reserve Avenue from the 
Virginian Yard. "Bunk" who worked in the yard, marked off sick and went to 
the afternoon game. When he hit a triple, the PA blasted out his name and 
the yardmaster said "here I am paying a brakeman time and a half and 'Bunk' 
is playing ball". Frank said that "Bunk" was also an avid deer and turkey 
hunter and consider himself a professional sportsman. Once he and Frank 
were on their way hunting to Watts Creek in "Bunk's" 1961 American Rambler. 
When they arrived, "Bunk" was anxious and loaded his Model 12 Winchester in 
the Rambler and accidentally shot out the back window. Frank said that he 
took the car to the deer checking station and told the warden that "he 
wanted to check in a 2 point Rambler".

Time to pull the pin on this one!

Departing Now from V248,

Skip Salmon

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