East End Tower, Roanoke, in 1895

Thu Mar 7 12:25:35 EST 2019

Abe:

Mr. Blackstock is on the money.

We had a meeting of the minds here at the archives this morning, Mr. Blackstock, Mr. Bundy, Mr. Gregory, Mr. Schlotthober and myself. We talked about your question, since this is such arcane knowledge which we all love to pick apart and dig for useless information. I remember seeing a drawing in the files showing signal towers. So, before everyone got here, I did a short bit of digging, and found Drawing HS_HS-T10010.200.24b. 

https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=109597 <https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=109597>

So on examining the drawing, I studied east of the passenger station, when the others arrived, I showed them what I had found.

We looked at the drawing, which the portion we are interested in is a small part. The looked at the view on Google Maps. Mr. Bundy went back and pulled a 1897 Norfolk Division timetable, which shows 1.6 miles from Jefferson Street station, and another .8 miles to Vinton.

So, based on the drawing which shows a signal tower and water tank located on the south side of the track, based on my crude calculations roughly 1,310 feet east of the abutment of the bridge over Tinker Creek.

According to the diagram, there was a crossover at this location. And it appears today there is a signal bridge there, just east of the tower site.

Ken Miller

> On Mar 6, 2019, at 7:50 PM, NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
> 
> Abe
> 
> I think you are on the money.  Below are stations East of the passenger station at Roanoke from various time periods.  Tinker creek Jct. showed up in 1963.  East Roanoke was listed as late as 1929. I have not seen any miles to Roanoke from either station. We would need miles to see if Tinker Creek Jct. was actually East of East Roanoke. The station numbers are from different time periods and do not indicate actual location.  Just a guess on location.
> 
> 
> 737	
> Tinker Creek Jct.	VA	
> 740	
> 
> 
> East Roanoke	VA	RO
> 754	740	
> 252.3	Roanoke 	VA	JN, MH
> 
> Not sure why there was a Tinker Creek Jct. at any time period.  I do remember in the late 50's there were two bridges over Rt. 460.  Heading east out of Roanoke the first bridge was for the Shenandoah line to Roanoke.  The next bridge perhaps 75 feet east on 460 carried a track to the East End of the Shops that ran behind American Bridge Works and the old scrap wharf.  Not sure if this track ever connected with the lines to the Norfolk Division at the East end of Roanoke Shops.  But if Tinker Creek Jct. is any indication, there was a connection.  No idea what it would have been used for other than American Bridge traffic.
> 
> Don't know anything about East Roanoke other that they had an operator and the call was RO.  If the building was actually a tower I would assume the operator could throw the switches from the building. I would guess the tower or building would be on the north side of the tracks at East Roanoke.
> 
> Like you too many guesses on this..  I think we have discussed JN at some time.
> 
> Jim Blackstock
> 
> 
> On 3/5/2019 8:41 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>> Railroad Telegrapher (the magazine of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers) carries this information in the November 2, 1895 issue (page 121.)
>> 
>> 
>> > Chas. Graves, originally of MH... is now doing the owl act at East End Tower, at Roanoke, Virginia.<
>> 
>> 
>> NOTES:  MH was the Train Order telegraph office on the first floor of the Roanoke depot.  'Doing the owl act' signifies working the night shift.
>> 
>> 
>> Mr. Bundy & Mr. Blackstock -  Do you take this to reference to 'East End Tower at Roanoke"  to mean  'RO' office, which sat on the west side of Tinker Creek, at the east end of double track?
>> 
>> 
>> If it does refer to RO at Tinker Creek, we now have a contemporary name for the facility, as it is specifically cited as East Roanoke Tower by the N&W's correspondent to Railroad Telegrapher magazine.
>> 
>> 
>> I suspect this is the same facility listed as E.End D.T. Roanoke Tower in Statement of Block Signals in Use Upon the Road, September 1896.  My surmise is that this station was a Block and Train Order office only, without any interlocking.  I also figure that this station only blocked eastward trains (with Bonsack, the next station shown as having block signals in the 1896 list,) and westward trains operated under Rule 93 Yard Limits to Roanoke proper.  I would also guess that the switch was hand operated and handled by the operator.
>> 
>> The scraps of information are so few, and we must make such giant assumptions in trying to piece together the larger picture.
>> 
>> 
>> This still leaves me looking for an article on the installation of the interlocking plant at Randolph Street... for which I have long searched.
>> 
>>  
>>                     --  abram burnett
>> 
>> Amalgamated Order of Turnip Workers, AFL-CIO
>> 
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>> 
>> 
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