n&w railroad i know moved coal ,but did they move anything else, like grain, did they have custumers on line they would service.if so where. also williamson yard, and auville yard, can anyone tell me how many tracks they both had. thank you.
Joining the N&W historical society would benefit you greatly. http://www.nwhs.org/index.php Also look to books and publications.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Maybe a bit early for you but a lot of N&W photos here.........
http://imagebase.lib.vt.edu/browse.php?folio_ID=/trans
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
The N&W haul a lot of freight and after the N&W/NKP/Wabash merger more freight was handled then coal.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Like all class 1 railroads they hauled virtually all commodities. They just hauled more of some than others. It had about 8000 route miles and more after a variety of mergers, so the answer to "where" is those 8000 miles.
Williamson yard looks like it has about 14-15 tracks in each of its two portions. How did I find this out? I looked at a satellite view of the yard on Google Maps and just counted the tracks.
In the area around Williamson the only industries I could find are coal mines and the Williamson Yard appears to be a support yard for the coal mines so that particular yard is primarily coal cars. A lot of it depends on era. Back in the 1940's-1950's there would be more of other types of cars because more general merchandise went in boxcars. Now that business is intermodal and it gets to the smaller towns by truck.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
trainman50 n&w railroad ...., did they have custumers on line they would service.if so where.
n&w railroad ...., did they have custumers on line they would service.if so where.
This is rather like asking "what kinds of things does United Parcel Service transport?" The N&W is (was) one of the larger railroads in the country, traversing multiple states. Sidings serving all sorts of businesses were found all along the line. In the immediate Roanoke (VA) area alone, some of the major businesses receiving rail service included: a steel mill; commercial coal dealers; brick mfg. co; lumber yards; grain elevator; commercial boiler manufacturing; beer distributor; scrap yard; cement plant; plumbing supply.
There are multiple quality book titles available on the N&W.
Bill
Now that business is intermodal and it gets to the smaller towns by truck.
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NS handles a lot of 50' boxcar business..Most general freights I observed on NS Sandusky line has at least 25-35 50 and 53' boxcars in the train's consist.
I see more general freight and coal then Intermodal trains on this line.
Contrary to popular belief a lot of freight still moves in 50' boxcars according to railroad weekly performance reports.
Boxcars a lot on CSX between Bostic yard and Charlotte NC but not a N&W line.
Russell
How about "electrified" -- "high mountain" -- People/Freight-mover on a 2-track mainline?
[1] The Virginian (pre-merger).
[2] Elkhorn Tunnel (Bluefield, WV).
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
During the time in the early '40s that sailing a tanker up the East Coast was tantamount to suicide, solid trains of tank cars rolled north through the Shenandoah Valley on N&W. It's entirely possible that, on that route and at that time, N&W was handling more oil than coal...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I guess the biggest misconception about the N&W is that people think of it as a "coal only" RR. There was a lot of freight moved by the N&W on every Division. Of course, you won't see a lot of freight generated on the Pokey Div., but, it moved through there.
Lines in & out of Roanoke that were freight heavy included the Radford Division's Bristol line, the Shenandoah Div.'s route to Hagerstown and the Winston-Salem line, Norfolk Div.'s Durham line. Of course Norfolk got its fair share of freight too.
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One of the things the Norfolk and Western was famous for besides coal was their Time Freight. You will see in some old videos (if you have any) of A class locomotives screaming down the tracks with long strings of box cars trailing behind them. The N&W ran the Time Freights on a passenger train style timetable, IE; that A class was expected to be at it's designated stops on time. They also ran a lot of mixed freights and local freights (freight cars pulled from local industry), usually slower speed and pulled by Y3's, Y4's, K2's, ect.
trainman50n&w railroad i know moved coal ,but did they move anything else, like grain, did they have custumers on line they would service.if so where.
Which N&W branch served the Bassett Furniture plant? I had a photo of a Y6 (airbrushed American Railroads - but the exhaust plumbing and crossed pilot deck handrails are a dead giveaway) serving that plant, and the adjacent Bassett Mirror Company. Long string of boxcars on the siding along the plant wall. At least as many more behind the tender.
Furniture unit train, anyone?
Which N&W branch served the Bassett Furniture plant?
That would be the Winston-Salem District of the Shenandoah Div. Many call it "the Punkin' Vine". Bassett is near Martinsville, Va.
The Abingdon Branch also served the Beaver Chemical Works in Damascus. They made dyesuffs for the textile business. I worked at that plant briefly, but the branch was gone by that time.
Norfolk Fan One of the things the Norfolk and Western was famous for besides coal was their Time Freight. You will see in some old videos (if you have any) of A class locomotives screaming down the tracks with long strings of box cars trailing behind them. The N&W ran the Time Freights on a passenger train style timetable, IE; that A class was expected to be at it's designated stops on time.
One of the things the Norfolk and Western was famous for besides coal was their Time Freight. You will see in some old videos (if you have any) of A class locomotives screaming down the tracks with long strings of box cars trailing behind them. The N&W ran the Time Freights on a passenger train style timetable, IE; that A class was expected to be at it's designated stops on time.
http://linkmuseumshop.com/shop/audio-visual/time-freight/
I don't think you will be disappointed. BTW, stereo headphones will enhance your experience!