Watchman building or shanty

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John: Bridge 5 on Norfolk Terminal was a draw span over Eastern Branch.  It was controlled from a 3-story brick tower on the east side of the river.  The bridge tender not only controlled the draw, but the junction where the Lamberts Point Branch separated from the main line to Terminal Station AND the crossing of the Lamberts Point Branch and the old Norfolk Southern over which VGN had trackage rights. Bridge 7 had the operator shanty attached to the bridge and the relief operator parked on the west side of South Branch and made sure the draw was committed to the down position to get to the shanty.  There was one instance where a barge loading at a nearby fertilizer plant drifted away unattended and the bridge tender watched it collide with the draw span.  The Bridge 7 operator could also hold eastbounds out at the edge of the Dismal Swamp if Norfolk Terminal could accept the loaded coal trains.    Harry Bundy
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