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

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Thu Nov 3 08:24:15 EDT 2011


Last night I had the pleasure of "Takin' Twenty" with eight of the
Brethren and Friends of the Virginian Railway. We signed Happy Birthday
cards for Landon Gregory and Felix Price. Landon, 75, started his career
on the VGN June, 1956 as an operator at "AN", Abilene, VA, M. P. V143.
He actually had to learn to send code, but used the land line phone as
much as he could. Landon moved on up the ladder and retired from NS with
37 years service in 1993, as Chief Dispatcher, Virginia Division. Felix
Price started as a laborer in the Power Plant in Narrows, VA in May,
1949, and worked his way up to Relief Power House Director. In 1962 when
the wires came down, he came to Roanoke and retired from NS with 36
years service, as an Electrician in the Line Gang in Roanoke Shops.
Felix is 86.

Passed around was a photo Tom Marshall gave me in Mullens of the last
stages of life for the Motor Barn. Also passed was a brick that Tom gave
me from the Motor Barn that will be proudly displayed in our Station in
Roanoke. Passed around for the Brethren to peruse was the December 2011
"Trains" magazine with a great article about "NS 21st Century
steam-powered public relations" and "A 50th birthday, Southern style".
My favorite photo is on page 21 of a freshly painted SD40-2 #3461, one
of the 20 that NS recycled from mainly Burlington Northern to be
upgraded and added to the fleet. Winter 2011 "Classic Trains" was also
passed. This one has articles about "Riding backwoods lines in West
Virginia, 1948" featuring the Buffalo Creek & Gauley; Nicholas, Fayette
& Greenbrier; and Elk River Coal & Lumber. Also this issue has an
article on steam and diesel tourist trains that keep the WV railroad
past on the move "Riding through the Mountain State".

During our meal, I got a call from our good friend Jeff Sanders,
reporting the old Virginian Railway Derrick B37 (now NS 540037) was
about to be used to re-rail NS Dash 8 32B #3558 on the Coca-Cola spur
track behind VMT. I left the session early and got the photo seen at:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=379810

It was with sadness that I told the Brethren about VGN Turbine Operator
at Narrows Power Plant, W. Cliff Cawley's "taking the west bound" at age
86, October 26, 2011. Cliff worked for me as an Electrician in Roanoke
Shops.

I showed the Brethren the latest Roanoke Chapter "Turntable Times" which
highlights our own Raymond East, with a photo of him posing beside old
Number 4, the last VGN steam engine standing. The article also tells of
the Brethren's part in the "Virginian Railway Day" at the Virginia
Museum of Transportation, September 24, 2011.

For "Show and Tell" I brought the first of many to come, VGN items given
to me by Greely Wyatt, Electrical Foreman-Mullens. This week's book is
"The Virginian Railway Company Electrification, Electric Power System
Roanoke-Mullens effective December 1925, revised 1931". Inside is the
name Albert Mooney, number 632, Princeton, WV, "Description of Power
Supply System, Rules and Instructions for its Operation and Maintenance,
and for the Protection of Employees and the Public". This book shows the
entire distribution of the 88,000 volt primary and 24,000/12,000/440/220
volt secondary (11,000 volts between trolley wires and the rails, and
22,000 volts between the balance wires and the rails) along with every
place there are trolley wires above spur tracks with power.

Then there's this: "Slick" Inge told this one July 21, 2005: "Two VGN
men, on their day off, were fishing from the Wasena Bridge in the
Roanoke River beside the VGN Yard. A funeral procession started across
the bridge. One of the men took his line out of the water, took off his
cap and held it over his heart until the procession passed by. The other
man told him he thought it was great that he showed that much respect to
someone he did not know. Oh, he said, 'I should show some respect, after
all, I was married to her for 25 years'".

Time to pull the pin on this one!

Departing Now from V248,

Skip Salmon

CCCXCII

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