Sundays and holidays

[NW Mailing List]

Mike

That truly depends on the time you consider “the glory days.”

I can tell you in the days prior to the end of passenger service, not really. Passenger trains continued to run 24/7/365.

In looking at my father’s time book for Thanksgiving 1944, November 24, that he was called for the Salem Shifter at 6:30 am, and they were off at 2:30 pm, with S1 No. 278.

For December the shifter worked Christmas Eve, called at 8:00 am, back in at 12:20 pm with the 278 again. But that was a Saturday, the Shifter did not normally work on Sundays. The job was laid in on Monday the 26th.

For 1956, Thanksgiving was November 22, the Shifter was called at 7:15 am, and was back in at 1:30 pm, once again with 278.

For Christmas 1956, they worked Christmas Eve, called at 6:45 am, back in at 4:00 pm, this time with 277.

They were not called out on Christmas Day, which was a Tuesday.

On Thanksgiving day, 1957, November 28, he was called out as Conductor on a work train out of Roanoke at 5:30 am and back at 5:30 pm this time with 2149.

I’ll skip ahead to 1977, they still worked Thanksgiving. He noted in his time book that the railroad shut down for holiday, making a trip east with No. 86 on the 23rd, and not going back out until the 27th at 4:30 in the morning.

I could go on, but this gives you a good idea.

It was really not until the 1970s that the railroad shut down for Christmas, but I did not know them to shut down for Thanksgiving.

Usually at that point, they tried to get crews home working normal jobs on Christmas Eve, but on occasion had to deadhead crews home from Bluefield.

This is just my memories and his time book, which i am thankful he kept such detailed notes.

Best
Ken Miller

> On Nov 22, 2023, at 12:08 PM, NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
> 
> Were there any days when trains didn’t run in the glory days of the N&W?
> 
> Mike Shockley 
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