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

[NW Mailing List]

Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with six of the 
Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway. We discussed this 
Saturday's Rail Day in downtown Roanoke with the many activities 
available to rail fans. The Virginian EL-C #135 will be moved to the O. 
Winston Link Museum area for display, and a special night shoot session 
for photographers. She will be "the centerpiece of the Link Museum 
Celebration". This photo night session costs $50 per person, and for 
details of this event call 540 982 5465. On Saturday, the Roanoke 
Chapter NRHS will give train rides on the N&W caboose #518409 and N&W 
tool car #1407. These rides are scheduled to be from the VMT up to 10th 
Street and return on the Warehouse lead, and will feature the Chapter's 
EMD GP-30 #522 and Alco T-6 #41. Also the NS Exhibit Car will be on 
display as well as N, HO and On3 gauge model layouts of the Roanoke 
Valley Model Engineers. The James N. Gillum Archives of the N&W (and 
VGN) Historical Society will be open to the public on Saturday from 8 AM 
to 4 PM.

Passed around for the Brethren to peruse were the following: Roanoke 
Chapter NRHS activities March and April newsletter "Turntable Times" and 
the Summer 2011 "Classic Trains". The April "Turntable Times" cover 
shows a Dorr Tucker photo of the Budweiser beer car that was destroyed 
in a yard accident earlier this year, as it was being moved to VMT 
across the diamond and VGN past "JK" Tower in May 1981. The "Classic 
Trains" has a great VGN shot in Mullens 1955, on page 82. The Brethren 
also enjoyed a photo on page 85 of the Chesapeake Western #661 and #662 
Baldwin DS-4-4-660 switchers in Harrisonburg, VA, November 5, 1958. 
These two switchers are being cosmetically restored by the Roanoke 
Chapter NRHS, at their 9th Street Yard in Roanoke at this time.

The Jewel from the Past is from April 7, 2005: "L. G. Glenn, VGN fireman 
and engineer, brought an old Roanoke newspaper of April 14, 1980. It had 
an article about the bridge the Virginian Railway built over the Yard 
and Roanoke River, so the people in the Wasena area could reach 
downtown. Seems the building of the VGN railroad created an obstacle for 
the ford operation, that allowed a route to the heart of the city. The 
VGN built it on the old piers the original narrow gauge iron ore rail 
line bridge used. The article said people would stand on the bridge and 
watch the long coal trains come into the yard. Later about 1912, the 
city built a better bridge, and the current steel and concrete structure 
was built in the 1940s."

Relating to the Wasena Bridge in the "Jewel form the Past", the VGN "AG" 
tower and scale house was located just below this bridge. Some rail 
historians feel that this spot was the center or dividing line of the 
Norfolk and New River Divisions of the VGN. For "Show and Tell" I 
brought to show the Brethren, the telephone control box that Abram 
Burnett graciously cleaned up and donated to the VGN Station Project. 
This box came from "AG" tower. Wis Sowder remembered using it to call 
the dispatcher, yard crews, tell the Power Director in Narrows that he 
was sending some empties west, and listen to the company line that was 
"almost always active". Thank you Abe , for allowing us to show 
Virginian fans this precious piece of VGN history!

Glen McLain told of working in the Yard Offices in Roanoke and Norfolk 
under the 25 cycle lights, powered by the Narrows Power Plant. He said 
that the "blinking was hard on the eye balls".

In this Monday's "Roanoke Times, 75 years ago today" article was 
"excavation for the steel and concrete bridge that will span the 
Virginian tracks at Franklin Road crossing was started yesterday". Note: 
This is the second of the three highway bridges that crosses the VGN at 
South Yard: Wasena, Franklin Road and Jefferson street at the Station. 
Also now Interstate I-581 crosses the yard and river.

When we were discussing the "AG" phone box, Glen McLain told us about 
another communication device that was used in the Yard. There was an air 
line with a reservoir positioned just outside one window in the Yard 
office attached to an air horn (off an old EL-3A) that was used to 
summoned the Yardmaster, in case of an emergency when he was out in the 
yard. This prompted me to tell of a similar operation in Williamson, WV. 
They had an "in-yard" intercom with speakers and mikes on light poles 
throughout the yard. The Yardmaster, who told me the story will not be 
named, said that when he was on the property, it was known that the 
phrase to softly announce his presence was "The bull's in the corn". He 
told me that when he wanted to make a surprise visit on weekends and 
other times, he would go to a distant post and whisper "the bull's in 
the corn" and then go home, knowing all were "on their toes.".

Time to pull the pin on this one!

Departing Now from V248,

Skip Salmon

CCCLXVII

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