Vol. 24 February 2017 No. 2

Transcription

1 Vol. 24 February 2017 No. 2 Our February program will be presented by special guest and C&O Historical Society s founder, Thomas W. Dixon, Jr., and will feature Michigan s C&O Car Ferry Operations! So, anchors aweigh! Put on your sea legs and plan to attend the next meeting of the Blue Ridge Chapter, NRHS. Wednesday, February 8, :00 p.m. Charley's Restaurant. 707 Graves Mill Rd. Lynchburg, VA.

2 Blue Ridge Chapter, NRHS Minutes of Meeting January 11, 2017 President Rick Johnson called the meeting to order at Charley s Restaurant at 7:30 pm. Rick welcomed 22 members and 7 guests for a total of 29 in attendance. Our guests for the evening were Jeff Hawkins (our program presenter), Tim Witt, Dona Duvall, Jerry Glover, Mary Guthrow, Brandon Evans and Roy Evans. Brandon, Roy and Tim joined the BRC during our meeting tonight! Although not present, Rick also welcomed new members Felix Freeman and Ian Whaley. John Tanner updated us on Norris Deyerle s continued improving condition at home. Rick shared a Christmas card from Galen Wright, and letters from Friends of High Bridge Trail State Park and Virginia Blue Ridge Trail thanking us for our donations made. Rick asked that the reading of the December 2016 minutes be dispensed. The minutes were approved as published in the Blue Ridge Dispatcher with no additions or corrections. Treasurer John Tanner then reported Old Business: Rick thanked everyone that attended our BRC Christmas Party at Lynchburg s Kemper Street Amtrak Station on Saturday, December 17th and thanked Garland Harper for hosting us. There were plenty of trains to watch and waiting passengers were invited to join us for the great food and fellowship! Rick stated that he was accepting payment for local BRC dues which are $ He also stated that everyone was responsible for paying their National dues directly to NRHS, not the BRC. New Business: None Vice President s Report: Gale McKinley Absent Blue Ridge Chapter, NRHS Chairman of Virginia s Rail Heritage Region Partners: Norris Deyerle - absent due to illness Blue Ridge Chapter, NRHS National Representative: Bob Leslie Reminded everyone that he would be attending the spring director s meeting. Webmaster Report: John Siegle - No report Editor s Report: Garland Harper - Absent - Rick thanked Garland for getting the newsletter out. Programs: Our January 25th Fun Meeting will be digital format. Everyone was asked to bring digital images to share. Our February 8th meeting will bring in special guest speaker/presenter, Tom Dixon to provide our program. Our special guest, Jeff Hawkins, presented the evening s program encompassing drone photography along with "now-and-then" compositions that have generated great interest on social media! If you weren t there, you missed a great show!!! hanks Jeff!!! 50/50 Raffle: There was a 50/50 winner, however, Rick didn t take note. The business meeting was adjourned at 7:52 pm. Respectfully submitted by Rick Johnson, acting BRC Secretary WELCOME NEW BRC MEMBERS The Blue Ridge Chapter would like to welcome Tim Witt, Roy Evans and son Brandon Evans to its membership!! 2017 BRC DUES BRC dues are now being collected with many members already paid. BRC yearly dues are again $ We hope that you will also continue your National membership; however, National dues must be paid directly to NRHS. National dues will not be accepted by the BRC.

3 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to cease operations. As you probably have heard by now the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will cease operations in a few months. For railfans this means the end of the two circus trains, known as the Red Unit and the Blue Unit, that have criss-crossed the nation for years. The bulk of this issue of the BRD will be focused on remembering the circus (reporting marks "RBBX") with photos of the trains in and around the Lynchburg area. Below is the bittersweet announcement made on the circus's website, ringling.com. A message from Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, the producer of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will hold its final performances in May of this year. Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining, but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop. This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company. Nearly 50 years ago, my father founded our company with the acquisition of Ringling Bros. The circus and its people have continually been a source of inspiration and joy to my family and me, which is why this was such a tough business decision to make. The decision was even more difficult because of the amazing fans that have become part of our extended circus family over the years, and we are extremely grateful to the millions of families who have made Ringling Bros. part of their lives for generations. We know Ringling Bros. isn t only our family business, but also your family tradition. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Circus XTREME will conclude its tour at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., on May 7, 2017, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Out Of This World will conclude its tour at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on May 21, We hope you will come to celebrate this American icon for one last time before our tours conclude. Our company provides quality, live family entertainment, and we invite you to bring your family to one of our other events, including Marvel Universe LIVE!, Monster Jam, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross, Disney On Ice and Disney Live!, as well as future productions. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has served as inspiration for all of the live entertainment produced at Feld Entertainment. We learned from the circus, and applied those learnings to our other productions. Without Ringling Bros., we wouldn t have the vibrant live entertainment company that we have today. Ringling Bros. will always be part of Feld Entertainment, and its spirit will live on in every production and project we do. Sincerely, Kenneth Feld

4 The shows' schedules for 2017 Blue Unit Raleigh, NC February 09, February 12, 2017 Philadelphia, PA February 16, February 20, 2017 Brooklyn, NY February 23, March 03, 2017 Newark, NJ March 08, March 12, 2017 Trenton, NJ March 17, March 19, 2017 Richmond, VA March 23, March 26, 2017 Washington, DC March 30, April 02, 2017 Fairfax, VA April 07, April 16, 2017 Baltimore, MD April 20, April 30, 2017 Charleston, WV May 04, May 07, 2017 Uniondale, NY May 12, May 21, 2017 Red Unit Greensboro, NC February 08, February 12, 2017 Atlanta, GA February 15, February 20, 2017 Duluth, GA February 23, March 05, 2017 Cincinnati, OH March 10, March 19, 2017 Norfolk, VA March 23, March 26, 2017 Hampton, VA March 29, April 02, 2017 Wilkes Barre, PA April 05, April 09, 2017 Worcester, MA April 14, April 16, 2017 Manchester, NH April 21, April 23, 2017 Hartford, CT April 27, April 30, 2017 Providence, RI May 04, May 07, 2017

5 REMEMBERING RINGLING BROS. All photos by your Editor. Crossing Blackwater Creek. April SOU 3245 leading. Editor's son, Taylor (age 3), watches the train pictured above at the west leg of the wye at Woodall Road. April 1989.

6 Westbound on CSX at Doswell, VA. April 16, This was NOT a good day for Ringling! 85-foot equipment flats on the ground on the interchange at Doswell, VA. April 16, This was the second of two derailments the train suffered as the train negotiated the sharp curve interchanging southbound off the RF&P and westbound onto the CSX. The dining car, aka, the Pie Car, had derailed earlier, but rerailed itself passing over a frog.

7 A The Pie Car had to be set off at Doswell following its derailment. All the perishable food was given away to the circus folk on the train. A block of cheese is seen sailing in mid air. April 16, Elephant on CSX in downtown Charlottesville. April 1997.

8 Two LU coeds shoot the train at the now-closed crossing off Wards Rd. Feb. 12, Servicing the animals on North Yard 3 at Montview. Feb. 16, 2009.

9 Crossing Cotton Mill trestle. Feb. 16, Westbound at Control Point Lee (east end of double track through Appomattox) Feb. 23, 2009.

10 Blue unit crosses the James River. April 20, Red Unit southbound as seen from Fifth St. April 19, 2010.

11 Red unit northbound as seen from River Road in Amherst county. Feb, 14, 2011 Red Unit crossing the James River as seen from Huron Av. In Lynchburg. April 25, 2011.

12 The Blue Unit southbound at Kemper Street with Glen Lawhorne, Ricky (Dash-II) Johnson and Trudy. April Both trains passed though town this day. Northbound at Montview Tower. Feb. 13, 2012.

13 Westbound on the CSX along Hydro St. at Reusens. April 22, Your Editor's Chief Dispatcher, the one who governs his movements, initials MRS, grabs a shot of the westbound circus train at the west end of Reusens siding. April 22, 2013.

14 Red unit with CSX power southbound at NS's Montview Tower. March 3, Blue Unit southbound at Kemper St. April 21, 2015.

15 Ricky (Dash-II) Johnson and the Blue Unit at Kemper St. April 21, Icy RBBX blue unit (go by the globe's color, not the banner) passenger cars exit Park Avenue Tunnel at Kemper St. Feb. 15, 2016.

16 NS double tracking project nears completion For many months now, Norfolk Southern in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Virginia, has been installing double track (actually reinstalling double track. It was removed about 1962.) in a ten mile stretch between Green (MP 202) and Smothers (MP 212) on the Danville District, roughly between Altavista and Chatham, VA. The return of double track here will help NS relieve a traffic bottleneck that has existed since the new connection off the ex-vgn at Hurt, VA, was constructed. Once complete, NS will have a 32-mile stretch of unbroken double track between Deal (MP 190) and White (MP 222). Your editor has visited the area a few times and was there January 30 to watch NS forces remove the turnout at Smothers, eliminating this spot at a control point thus setting the stage for the completion of the project. A few pictures are below. A compilation of the day's activities can be found at The last train to pass through CP Smothers, NS 214, What SP Smothers (now former CP Smothers) looked about 8:30 a.m. on January 30, like toward the end of the day. January 30, A visit four days later revealed rail laid and ballasted up to the point where the turnout used to be. They're almost ready to run trains over it. (Note that the SMOTHERS sign is now absent.) February 3, 2017.

17 Amtrak in Roanoke on schedule for October launch The Roanoke Times Amtrak passenger rail service out of Roanoke is on track to begin in October after a final council action Tuesday to clear the way for construction of the boarding platform and track siding for the train. The council approved granting an easement allowing Norfolk Southern Railway to build a retaining wall on the right-of-way for Norfolk Avenue downtown. The wall is necessary to allow construction of the tracks where the train will stop, adjacent to platform that will run along Norfolk Avenue between Jefferson and Second Streets. The easement was the last action necessary by the city to allow the project to go forward. Previously, city officials have said generally that Amtrak would come to Roanoke in the fall of 2017, but Tuesday during discussion at the council meeting, city leaders said it would begin in October. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city of Roanoke... Amtrak train has new parking place in Roanoke By Jeff Sturgeon jeff.sturgeon@roanoke.com Amtrak plans to park its passenger train for overnight servicing in a fenced compound that s been built southeast of downtown Roanoke. The facility at Williamson Road at Albemarle Avenue has about 900 feet of new track for parking the train and an office building for crew use. Crews were seen spreading hay outside the perimeter fence this week in what appeared to be finishing touches for the $4.9 million project. This is the first of two new primary facilities necessary for Amtrak to begin picking up and dropping off people in Roanoke this fall. The service is scheduled to begin in October. Crews also plan to build a $10.9-million raised waiting and boarding platform near Norfolk Avenue, according to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. A view of the facility as seen underneath US 220 while sitting on Albemarle, Ave. SE. (G. Harper)

18 CHAPTER OFFICERS AND STAFF President Rick Johnson, 104 Mowry Ln. Lynchburg, VA Vice President Gale McKinley, 1186 James View Dr. Lynchburg, VA Secretary Vacant Treasurer John Tanner, 209 Pocahontas Dr., Forest, VA National Representative Bob Leslie 3844 Peakland Pl. Lynchburg, VA Editor Garland R. Harper, 3920 Harbor St. Lynchburg, VA Historian Rick Johnson, 104 Mowry Ln. Lynchburg, VA Webmaster John Siegle 1225 Krise Cir. Lynchburg, VA BRC Chairman. VA Rail E. Norris Deyerle, Jr. 744 Chinook Pl. Lynchburg, VA Heritage Region Partners Rail Day Chairman Barry Moorefield The BLUE RIDGE DISPATCHER is published by the Blue Ridge Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. Opinions expressed are those of the editor and contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Blue Ridge Chapter or the National Railway Historical Society unless otherwise stated. Blue Ridge Chapter, NRHS P. O. Box Lynchburg, VA Lynchburg Rail Day August 12, 2017.