Vol. 16, No. 6 November / December 2000  Issue Select 
Issue Details
Cover Title: Mr. Percival's Island, The fascinating story of N&W Island Yard in Lynchburg
Cover Subtitle: Death of a Pelican, Trains 41/42, from A-powered to sad demise
On the Cover: We are inside Island Yard, one of the most unusual rail yards ever built. This view is of the engine service area, looking east. The machine shop is on the right, attached tot he rear of a two-stall engine house. Note the standard N&W 50,000 gallon water tank with double spouts.
Articles In This Issue
"My Train, My Whistle!" / A Legendary engineer remembered - Ed King
  Photo Engineer F.T. Nichols is a the throttle of #382 on 6/14/1957...happy in the knowledge that folks along the way would soon hear a symphony only he could create (Ed King Collection)
Mr. Percival's Island / N&W's Island Yard was one of the most unusual rail facilites ever built - James N. Gillum
  Photo Here is an aerial view of Island Yard, looking east. The roof of the N&W freight house can be seen in the lower right foreground. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archives Collection)
  Photo The coaling wharf is shown circa 1916. Note the variety of hoppers in use at the time. Coal would be loaded into the locomotive tender using the small locomotive crane on the adjacent track. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archives Collection)
  Photo This view of the Island Yard engine service facility, looking west, shows the entrance to the two-stall engine house. The machine shop is attached to the rear of the structure. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archives Collection)
  Table Tonnage Ratings and Weather Reductions for Locomotives, from N&W Employee timetable, 4/29/1951 (NWHS Archives Collection)
  Photo Again from 1916, here is the Section Foreman's residence on Island Yard. It was not unusual during this period for the railroad to provide dwellings for various employees at numerous locations all over the system. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archives Collection)
  Photo Here we see more of the Island Yard service buildings, including a supply house, shavings house and oil storage building. Note the assortment of parts sitting in the foreground. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archives Collection)
  Timetable Scheduled Train Operations, Island Yard to Durham, 1925-1959
  Photo Another 1916 photo, showing the car shop buildings at Island Yard. These 1916 photos are part of a series taken for ICC valuation reporting. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archives Collection)
  Photo An elevated view of Lynchburg Union Station, looking east. The N&W tracks are on the left side of the shelter while Southern Railway trains used the track on the right, just behind the fence. The N&W freight house can be seen in the background. Note the truss rod mail car on the siding. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archives Collection)
  Photo Class J #601 arrives at Lynchburg, Union Station with train #4. , The Pocahontas, on 9/5/1957. N&W's "X" Tower can be seen behind the maintenance-of-way cars. This tower controlled traffic moving in and out of the station. (Harry W. Bundy Photo)
Death of a Pelican / The sad demise of a long-running Bristol line train - Ron Flanary
  Photo The dining car cook takes in the sights as train #42 stops at Abingdon, VA on 4/20/1969. Even without a connection south of Bristol, a few folks have shown up to ride the train eastward. (Ron Flanary photo)
  Timetable N&W Timetable for trains #41/42 dated 6/16/1946 (Ron Flanary collection)
  Photo The "class" engine herself, the Class A #1200, cools her Laird crossheads at Bristol, VA in the late '30s after bringing train 41, the Washington-Chattanooga-New Orleans Limited, into town. The A's were allowed 65mph on the Bristol line, and could make easy work of a war-heavy passenger consist. (Ron Flanary collection)
  Photo No less than four Pennsy express boxes add to the slack action as train #46, the eastbound Tennessean, passes trademark N&W wigwag signals at Seven Mile Ford, VA in the spring of 1962. A Southern FP7/F3 set handles the pulling chores. (W. Robert McCracken photo)
  Photo IN May 1966, the truncated remains of the Tennessean, train #45, lays over on the left as the eastbound Pelican-Tennessean (as it was briefly named in the timetable) arrives at Bristol. A Southern road foreman climbs down, easily identified by his regulation dress hat. (David DeVault photo)
  Photo Now on the N&W, The Pelican sprints through Wyndale, VA with seven cars. Out of sight is Southern GP35 #2660 on the point, porbably added because one of the FP7's has conked out. (W. Robert McCracken photo)
  Photo This was the familiar black train board with yellow-gold lettering at Bristol on 4/21/1969. Esthetics didn't matter much by this time; changes where made with tape and liquid shoe polish. (Ron Flanary photo)
  Photo The Pullman porter assigned to Southern's Rapidan River listens to a baseball game on his transistor radio just prior to departure time. Truncated train #42 was scheduled to depart Bristol at 4PM. The date was 4/20/1969. (Ron Flanary photo)
  Photo The author poses at Bristol with his fiance, Wilma, and future sister-in-law, Linda. This was the 4/20/1969 departure of train #42. (Curtis Sturgill photo)
  Photo A five-car version of #42 accelerates out of Bristol toward Roanoke, Lynchburg and points north on 4/21/1969 (Ron Flanary)
  Photo By 4/5/1970, the remnants of the Pelican included a single N&W GP9, two coaches, a baggage car, and this day at least, two N&W office cars. Under blue flag protection, the #504 has her boiler water topped off prior to departure. (Ron Flanary)
  Photo How much money was pushed through this window, and how many ticket came back in the other direction? Near midnight on 3/16/1970, a single deadhead passenger for train #17, the westbound Birmingham Special, the last through passenger train to serve Bristol, photographs this lonely scene inside the depot at Bristol. Mere weeks later, Bristol passenger service was no more. Will this window see service again? (Ron Flanary)
  Photo Bristol Station Restoration underway! Abingdon N&WHS member Mike Pierry sent along this photo of the progress on the restoration of the Bristol Station.  (Mike Pierry)
N&W Freight Car Roster, 1936 / Second of a series - James F. Brewer
  Photo N&W #70200 is the "class car" of the first covered hopper owned by N&W. Built at Roanoke shops in 11/1935, this group of ten covered hoppers was originally in number series 70200 through 70209. Note the stenciling scheme, necessitate by the odd-number of side panels. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archival collection)
  Photo In 1941 the Class HC were renumbered to allow their original road number series to be used on a new batch of HC-2 covered hoppers then being built at Roanoke Shops. This "B" end view of Class HC #70296 provides excellent reference for details, such as the air reservoir, triple valve, brake cylinder, slope sheet bracing, cut lever and poling pockets. Note the road's initials and car number on the truck bolster. (N&W Photo / NWHS Archival collection)
Tales from the Front / My First trip on a main line time Freight - James B. Scott
  Photo N&W Class Z1b #1462, sister to #1404 mentioned, passes the Blue Ridge station in a customary pusher mode. The date is unknown. (John Krause photo, N&WHS archives collection)
Preservation News / Saltville N&W Locomotives now under cover - Mike Pierry
  Photo N&W Class G #305 / Olin #11 under roof at Saltville, VA (Mike Pierry)
The Tennessean / Passenger Cars, Part 2: The 20's - James Nichols
The Virginian Local / The Elmore Coaling Station 2: Photos! - Martin E. Swartz
  Photo Two photos of Elmore coaling station under construction. (Roger Nutting collection)
Vol. 16, No. 6 November / December 2000  Issue Select