Rorer Iron/Narrow Gauge RR Crossing at Roanoke Alms House

[NW Mailing List]

St

Great find.  It makes me wonder what else is in that book.  It was my 
opinion that the crossing of the NG and W-S line would have been the 
junction.  With the other information looks like the junction may have 
been just south of the Alms House.  We may be talking about two 
different locations.

Has your research found the date the NG bridge in Wasena was converted 
to a foot bridge?  It appears from the recent photo the NG bridge did 
not have the guard rails.  The photos that show the bridge with guard 
rails could indicate they were established to protect people using it as 
a walkway.

Keep up your research great research. Always  more questions than answers.

Jim Blackstock



On 1/26/2019 5:27 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
> At the GOB-E Archives work session today, I found an artifact in the 
> back room which needs restoration due to its rough condition. It is an 
> oversized book of folded section maps for the N&W's Winston Salem 
> Division, based upon the Roanoke & Southern Rwy which opened for 
> service in 1891. The date of this map is uncertain, but it shows the 
> crossing of the Rorer Iron Company's narrow gauge railroad at exactly 
> the spot I've been trying to confirm. Gordon Hamilton was present to 
> keep my bearings straight, literally, because I could not make out the 
> direction of travel at first.
>
> In the photograph attached here, it crosses the N&W just past the Alms 
> House, and heads toward modern-day Colonial Avenue. The Alms House 
> (Poor House) building is still existing, and serves as a student 
> resource center on the campus of Virginia Western Community College. 
> It is called the Thomas House. I looked this up and took a screen shot 
> to show how this section looks today.
>
> PS - rumor has it the Alms House was haunted for several decades until 
> a ghost whisperer made contact with the spirits back in the early 
> 2000's and talked them into leaving. True urban legend...
>
> Stephen Warren, Roanoke
>
> NW Section Maps of Roanoke-Southern RR.jpg
> Rorer Narrow Gauge RR Crossing at Alms House 1891.jpg
> Alms House 2019.jpeg
>
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