"Taking 20 with the Brethren"

[NW Mailing List]

Skip:

This your BEST report of "Taking Twenty with the Brethren yet." Keep
them tales a rollin' bruddah! Right on!

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>

> Message: 4

> Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:53:47 -0400

> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: "Taking Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren

> To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Message-ID: <4AA8DABB.8090609 at vt.edu>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

>

> 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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> End of NW-Mailing-List Digest, Vol 47, Issue 17

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