Last Westward Extension of Roanoke Yard... When ?

[NW Mailing List]

What's a 'trimmer track' for?

Interesting to see three towers in such close proximity.

Carl Barna
Emmaus, PA
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From: NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> on behalf of NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Monday, June 3, 2024 10:52 AM
To: N&W Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Subject: Re: Last Westward Extension of Roanoke Yard... When ?

THANK YOU, MR. MILLER, for coming up with this information concerning the 1960-1961 expansions of Roanoke Yard : You are nothing short of a miracle worker...

I would like to comment on one item from the first article cited, that from the N&W Magazine, September 1961, page 394. Here the writer says that the Phase I improvements will "permit simultaneous switching of two freight trains over our Shaffers Crossing Hump."

The writer's meaning here is not clear to me, as double leads had been installed over the Hump during the 1943 improvements. Attached is a photo showing those double leads in place, scanned from a book published in 1946 (S. Kipp Farrington, Railroading from the Rear End, facing p. 146.)  "Double Humping" (humping trains over both leads at the same time) was an operational nightmare, but presented a real spectacle of sights and sounds... especially at night.

I believe another part of this improvement package, not mentioned in the magazine articles, was the implementation of Rule 261 ("reverse signaling") on both Eastward and Westward Main Tracks between Commerce Street, Roanoke, and WB, a distance of more than four miles.  This reverse signaling afforded a nice way to separate freight and passenger traffic.  Freights in both directions used the Westward Main Track, and Passenger trains in either direction used the Eastward Main Track.  This accounts for those very few photographs taken from 10th Street Bridge in the early 1960s, showing Bristol Line passenger trains, behind Southern RR Diesels, running westward on the Eastbound Main Track.

Passenger traffic rapidly declined, and sometime in the mid-1960s the decision was made to retire the signal system from the Eastward Main Track over this entire territory, and operate the track as non-signaled yard track.  Thereafter, all passenger trains, in both directions, operated over the Westward Main Track between Commerce Street and WB.

Our friend, Mr. Tommy Duncan, remembers working as the Operator at "DO" 16th Street, West Roanoke, in the early 1960s, and using the little CTC machine located there to line signals for passenger trains to operate in both directions over the Eastward Main Track between Commerce St and WB.  This arrangement was gone by then time I hired in 1964 (or very shortly thereafter,) but the foundations for intermediate automatic block signals could be seen at the the Radford Division Pull In Switchtender location, and also somewhere around 19th Street.

Permit me, if you will, to make one other comment on the photograph, concerning a topic which you and I have thrashed around for several decades: the "crossing" referenced by the name "Shaffers Crossing."  A portion of the road which once crossed the Virginia & Tennessee RR at this point is shown in the photograph. It is the light-colored road at the extreme right, and extends between the numbers 12 and 13, which I placed upon the photo with my notes. Before the construction of the yard trackage at this point, the road extended diagonally across what is now the yard. A portion of that road still exists, as shown here, and presently has the name Westport Road. Although information is very sketchy, it appears that this overall road may have been called Salem Road, on the early maps.  On its north end, the little road connected with the Salem Turnipke somewhere in the viscinity of present 30th Street, Northwest.

At the time this road crossed the Virginia & Tennessee RR, the main track ran through about the middle of the present yard. The road crossed the V&T approximately at the coordinates shown below, which one may copy and paste into the Google Maps search box. I believe these coordinates are almost perfect on a north/south axis, and on an east/west axis nail down the location of the original "Shaffers Crossing" within +/- 150 feet.  These coordiantes may be copied and basted into the Google Maps search box.

37.27976, -79.97549

It is also interesting that the N&W Magazine articles do not mention the creation of WB Interlocking at the west end of the terminal facilities (near the present Veterans' Hospital.) The name "WB" had been in use since around 1906-1910, referring to a location a mile to the east of present WB, but prior to this expansion project WB had never been an interlocking.  I am glad they recycled the name "WB," or would have been lost forever.

Our good friend Mr. Tommy Duncan, retired Radford Division Operator and Train Dispatcher with seniority back to the 1950s, informs me that, during this period of expansion, there was also discussion of extending the Park Street Yard from the Pull Up at 16th Street, westward to about 24th Street, and creating a new hump for the westbound Time Freight operation.  That, of course, never happened.

Thank you again, Mr. Miller !

Attachment of one photo and also of my list of Radford Division Telegraph Calls.

-- abram burnett
Our Turnip Groats Enhance Customer Experience and Shareholder Value
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