RD and other Pocahontas Towers

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Wed Aug 25 11:13:38 EDT 2021


A small version of the attached photo appeared with my letter in the 
"From the Railway Post Office" in the April - June 2019 issue of /The 
Arrow/.  I scanned this photo from the publication, "/Comprehensive City 
Plan - Roanoke, Virginia 1928/."  The view is looking west along the 
VGN.  The bridge just beyond the tower is the Walnut Avenue bridge.

Gordon Hamilton

On 8/24/2021 5:09 PM, NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List wrote:
>
> Jimmy
>
> At one time JK was a two story building.  Not many photos of that 
> building.  Perhaps one or two in the archives.
>
> Jim Blackstock
>
> On 8/23/2021 9:19 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>> I was looking through an old timetable the other day and read where 
>> the the N&W referred to that little building between the VGN & N&W 
>> (JK) as "Walnut Tower".
>>
>> Jimmy Lisle
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
>>
>>
>> -------- Original message --------
>> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
>> Date: 8/23/21 9:12 PM (GMT-05:00)
>> To: 'NW Mailing List' <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
>> Subject: Re: RD and other Pocahontas Towers
>>
>>
>> Thanks for the replies.  I would have responded sooner but haven't 
>> had much time to sit and spend on email lately.
>>
>> I guess from a modeling perspective, when I say tower, in this case I 
>> am looking for a structure that's primary or sole purpose was 
>> controlling train movements at a yard, junction, crossing, or other 
>> such location, to see what options I have for including such a 
>> structure on my layout, which I guess you could say is loosely based 
>> on or inspired by the Pocahontas Division.  I have seen pictures of 
>> SU/Bluestone, DY/Iaeger, Tug, KX/Kenova, Cowan, and RD, and was 
>> wondering if any other structures would have been standing and in use 
>> in the 1950s.
>>
>> That being said, it is also helpful to know what locations were 
>> controlled remotely or by a tower integrated with a station or other 
>> building, so that way I know I don't have to spend time trying to 
>> find pictures of a structure that never existed.
>>
>> Marty Flick
>>
>> -----------------------------------------
>>
>> From: "NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List"
>> To: "NW Mailing List"
>> Cc: "NW Mailing List"
>> Sent: Sunday August 15 2021 8:37:43AM
>> Subject: Re: RD and other Pocahontas Towers
>>
>> Larry you hit the nail on the head.  The N&W called it a tower.  That 
>> gets to the point of how do you define a tower.  By the building or 
>> by the function. Or perhaps what the RR wanted to call it.  Jim B
>>
>> On 8/14/2021 7:33 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>>
>>     Add Kermit it wasn’t  exactly a tower  one level
>>
>>     Larry Evans
>>
>>     *From:* NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org]
>>     *On Behalf Of* NW Mailing List
>>     *Sent:* Saturday, August 14, 2021 12:21 PM
>>     *To:* 'nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org' <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
>>     *Subject:* RD and other Pocahontas Towers
>>
>>     Pages 240-241 of Alex Schust's "The Norfolk And Western In West
>>     Virginia 1881-1959" describe and show a picture of RD Tower, on
>>     the east end of Bluefield Yard.  What isn't clear to me is if it
>>     controlled only the east end of the yard or both ends? If RD only
>>     controlled the east end of the yard, was there another tower that
>>     controlled the west end, perhaps Graham/RQ?
>>
>>     While we're on the subject, how many towers were there on the N&W
>>     main, particularly between Bluefield and Kenova?  I know there
>>     was SU tower at Bluestone Junction, TUG at Welch, DY at Iaeger,
>>     and KX at Kenova.  I believe the Devon depot contained the
>>     controls for the Buchanan Branch.  Are there any others?  I've
>>     tried browsing the online Archives, but haven't had much success,
>>     maybe using the wrong search terms.
>>
>>     Thank you
>>
>>     Marty Flick
>>
>>
>>
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