Roundhouses in Roanoke
NW Mailing List
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Wed Sep 25 13:15:23 EDT 2019
John,
Between the time that I finished school in May 1956 and the time that I
was drafted into the Army in September 1956, I was employed as a Shop
Inspector in the Shaffers Crossing roundhouse. One of my jobs was to
escort railfans around Shaffers Crossing--at least those who checked in
at the office. Others just wandered around until someone directed them
to the office. There were no release papers to sign--it was a simpler time.
After two years in the Army I was again assigned as a Shaffers Crossing
Shop Inspector in September 1958, and I again was assigned to escort
railfans around Shaffers Crossing roundhouse, and this led to an
interesting coincidental encounter. I remember one day when I escorted
two gentlemen from New Jersey, Tom Taber and Halsey Tilton. I remember
them because they seemed a notch above the ordinary railfan in
conversation and demeanor. A couple of years later, in May 1970, I took
a two-week tour of Switzerland by rail conducted by Swissair, and you
can imagine my surprise when I walked into the Swissair boarding area at
JFK in NY and found Tom Taber and Halsey Tilton who were taking the same
tour. I enjoyed their companionship throughout the tour. The enclosed
picture shows their reaction to the initials of the train that took us
from Locarno, Switzerland, to Domodossola, Italy, where a connecting
train took us through the Simplon Tunnel back into Switzerland.
Gordon Hamilton
On 9/24/2019 11:18 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>
> Thx. Nice. Was it easy to get permission to be in the roundhouse? Were
> you guided or allowed to roam? John Garner
>
> *From:*NW Mailing List [mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 24, 2019 7:58 AM
> *To:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> *Subject:* Re: Roundhouses in Roanoke
>
> Yea John, that visit would have been about 1956, I recall about 3
> 4-6-2s sidelined outside the roundhouse and across the turntable was
> some new looking Virginian motors black with a bright yellow stripes.
> I have given the Arrow some poor quality b&w photos of the Pacifics
> but none have been printed . Ron Hash
>
> On Monday, September 23, 2019, 9:57:32 AM EDT, NW Mailing List
> <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
>
> Ron, Any particular memories stand out? Were the steamers still in
> storage at that time? John Garner
>
> *From:*NW Mailing List [mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]
> *Sent:* Sunday, September 22, 2019 5:53 PM
> *To:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
> <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>>
> *Subject:* Re: Roundhouses in Roanoke
>
> I remember walking in the old Virginian roundhouse -- Ron Hash
>
> On Friday, September 20, 2019, 6:21:47 AM EDT, NW Mailing List
> <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
>
> A sad sight Ken. Look forward to the Arrow article.
>
> Abe, thanks for taking and sharing these photos with us. I’m sure it
> was all gone in less than a week. Rare photos indeed.
>
> So now we know Roanoke had 6 roundhouses for 14 years; 1920-1934. What
> a busy place! Amazing.
>
> John Garner
>
> *From:*NW Mailing List [mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 19, 2019 5:38 PM
> *To:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
> <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>>
> *Subject:* Re: Roundhouses in Roanoke
>
> John
>
> Those photos will be in a future Arrow, but show the place being torn
> down. Abe seems to recall it was August 1960, but could be anytime
> that summer. The N&W had no use for the place, servicing was going to
> Shaffers Crossing or the electrics to the Motor Barn.
>
> Shaffers Crossing roundhouse was completed in 1920 according to the
> annual report.
>
> Here is Abe’s slide of the VGN roundhouse being demolished. Have to
> wait for the Arrow in the future for the larger image! :)
>
> Ken Miller
>
> On Sep 19, 2019, at 4:45 PM, NW Mailing List
> <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
>
> Ken,
>
> These dates you've given would seem to indicate that there were 6
> roundhouses standing in Roanoke for ten years 1924-1934. From my
> memory I'm thinking Shaffers Crossing roundhouse was built in
> 1924. I've not looked up to confirm however.
> To my knowledge the remaining roundhouse in East End Shops is the
> last original building of the Roanoke Machine Works. There was a
> portion of the original RMW foundry standing (later became part of
> the Research Lab) until a few years ago. It was attached to the
> east end of the Boiler Shop.
>
> John Garner
>
> P.S. Do Abe's slides show it being torn down or just abandoned. I
> haven't seen them. Thx.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NW Mailing List [mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]
> Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2019 1:36 PM
> To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
> <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>>
> Subject: Re: Roundhouses in Roanoke
>
> John
>
> The roundhouse for the VGN was taken down in summer 1960 as per
> Abe Burnett’s slides. The two at 12th Street came down in 1934
> just before year end from a file I have somewhere on them. The
> Shaffer Crossing one stood until about 1982, the passenger car one
> at Roanoke Shops is still standing, the one at the Shops turntable
> was still there, late steam era, like 1957, but I don’t know
> exactly when it was taken down.
>
> Best
> Ken Mller
>
> On Sep 19, 2019, at 9:58 AM, NW Mailing List
> <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>>
> wrote:
>
> For general interest.
>
> Portion of a Roanoke map c.1930 by Sone Printing Co.
>
> For a relatively small city . . . six roundhouses are shown
> standing
> at that particular time. Not sure for how many years that was
> true. Ten at most?
>
> John Garner, Newport VA
>
>
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