"Takin' Twenty" with the Virginian Brethren by Skip Salmon

[NW Mailing List]

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with seven of the 
Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway. I passed on to the 
Brethren that I got a response about last week's report from Robert 
"Little Abner" Glass, VGN clerk. He reported that he was the "treasurer 
of the first VGN Federal Credit Union in Roanoke". Since Landon Gregory 
was a member of this credit union in Norfolk, does anyone out there know 
if this service was available on the west end of the VGN?

I spoke to the Brethren again about any experiences they remember about 
the Fairbanks Morse H24-66 Trainmasters for Frank from Cleveland. W. W. 
Scott recalled the steep ladders that had to be used to get on board 
one. He said that after the merger when switching with one of the slugs 
made from a Trainmaster, a brakeman was killed while riding on the steps 
when the Clarence was too tight on an entrance into an occupied track. 
Landon Gregory remembered as dispatcher, that the "VGN road crews loved 
them". I worked on most of these in Roanoke Shops when they were still 
running after the merger and when we made remote-powered slugs out of 
them. Each of these slugs required approximately 35 cubic yards of 
concrete for ballast. Seems that every one of the concrete truck drivers 
asked the same question: "you want the concrete IN that engine?"

There was a lot of discussion about the special train that NS is making 
up of double stacks to officially open the Heartland Corridor Project 
this afternoon, at Cowan Tunnel at the Radford Arsenal. Mr. Wick Moorman 
will be kicking off this event. For you VGN fans, it will be directly 
across the New River from Whitethorne.

The ebay report this time includes these VGN items: 1956 Norfolk 
Division Timetable for $56.57; "Virginian in Color" for $33.61 ("bargain 
of the day");Several slides of VGN: #907 for $10.50; FM #33 for $12.87; 
and "Dixie" for $13.49.

The Jewel from the Past is from September 9, 2004: "It seems that the 
policy on the VGN was to tolerate hobos. 'Slick' Inge remembered once 
seeing one riding between the tender and baggage car of a passenger 
train. At Slab Fork Bridge 'Slick' was making a cut at 4 AM, when 
someone said 'Boss, ain't this car goin' to Page?' He also said that 
many times he would see whole families riding. The deputies would get $3 
and the Justice of the Peace would get $3 for each hobo taken off 
trains, so there were a lot of confrontations".

Yesterday I spoke to Raymond East, VGN hogger, who is home sick. He was 
impressed when I told him about NS purchasing some more Progress Rail 
PR43C diesel locomotives. Progressive Rail (bought out EMD)uses 
Caterpillar engines in these 4300 horsepower locos. Raymond really liked 
the arrangement of power used on these beauties. When the power is first 
applied, the 700 hp C-18 engine is used in notches one through three. 
When the throttle is moved to notch #4, the 700 hp engine is taken off 
line and the 3600 hp C175 is "turned loose". When more power is needed 
and notches 7 & 8 are used, the 700 hp engine is added back to the mix 
for the rated 4300 hp.

Passed around was the Monday's "Roanoke Times" "100 years ago today" 
article which had three "snippets" involving the two Roanoke rail lines 
in 1910: (1) "Intoxicated by free feeding of corn mash from the tanks of 
refuse at the Casper distillery, a horse, fell yesterday near the hack 
stand at the crossing of Jefferson street and the N&W tracks, and lay in 
a drunken stupor some time". (2) "The Mill Mountain Incline Company 
received yesterday six beautiful Angora goats from the Norfolk & Western 
farm at Ivor, VA. The object in securing the goats is to clear the 
undergrowth on the mountain. They will eat anything there but rocks". 
And my favorite(3)"A train crew on the Virginian Railway saw the Mill 
Mountain searchlight against the sky while forty miles east of Roanoke 
last night" (the crew would have been near Leesville).

I encouraged the Brethren and now I am asking you: Please fly the US 
Flag this Saturday to remember those who were killed nine years ago when 
our enemies flew two planes into the Twin Towers in New York City, one 
into the Pentagon, and were rebuked in PA. Remember, YOU AND I WERE ALSO 
ATTACKED, September 11, 2001!

Time to pull the pin on this one!

Departing Now from V248,

Skip Salmon

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