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Martha Minter posted two photos with the comment:
Located at the southeast corner of Jefferson Street and Williamson Road is the Virginian Railway Roanoke Passenger Station. The station is owned by the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, which placed a marker on the building, inscribed as follows:"Long known as Roanoke's 'Other' railroad, the Virginian was also later in coming to the area. One of two major railroads constructed in the 20th Century, the Virginian's roots were in the hills of West Virginia and the Deepwater Railway. In 1902, self-made millionaire Henry Huttleston Rogers became involved in the railroad business, helping acquire the Deepwater, and two years later formed the Tidewater Railway to ultimately connect with the Deepwater providing a 'mine to market' railroad to Norfolk. Rogers financed the construction of the roads from his own fortune. The Rogers era was known for 'nothing but the best' and our Roanoke station is an example of that thinking. Sadly, Rogers only barely saw the completion of his railroad, with a single tour of the completed line on April 4-7, 1909. Just over two weeks later, on April 18, 1909, Rogers passed away at his home in New York at age 69, never seeing the full development of the Virginian.The Roanoke station was built in 1909-1910 as a showpiece of the Virginian Railway in Roanoke. The design was unique to the Virginian and served the railroad's passenger service until the last run on January 29, 1956. The station was used as offices until merger with the Norfolk and Western on December 1, 1959. It was leased out to a private concern until the evening of January 29, 2001, 45 years to the day of the last passenger service on the Virginian. A fire nearly destroyed the building that night, but it would rise like a Phoenix from the ashes with restoration completed in 2016. The station served as the most visible part of the Virginian in Roanoke during the days of passenger services and has been restored to its former grandeur with faithful effort from many people.The Station is dedicated to those former Virginian employees and all others who helped make the saving and restoration of the Virginian Railway Station possible.Norfolk Southern Corporation • Friends of the Virginian Railway • Roanoke Chapter, National Railway Historical Society • Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation"(Marker content courtesy hmdb.org; photos courtesy pinterest.com and wsls.com)
Randall Hampton shared
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| I Shoot U, Sep 2017, cropped |
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| Brian Gay commented on Randall's share This looks similar to the one in Hattiesburg, MS that they remodeled in the early 2000’s. The NS yard is also right behind it. Randall Hampton: Southern Railway? Brian Gay: It was the Great Southern back in the day. NS calls that line the AGS. Alabama Great Southern Railway. AGS North (Bham to Chatt I believe) AGS South (Bham to NO). Randall Hampton: SR used that terminology too. |
Both of the nearby roads are elevated across the tracks so it was hard to find a view of the bay window, but this view shows it. I presume the smaller building on the right was what I have seen called in other depots the "colored waiting room."
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| Street View |
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| Street View, Jun 2019 (The locomotive on the left is leading a train that is being pulled by at least three locomotives.) |
This map makes me appreciate why the Virginia was the "other" railroad. It got through town by hugging the north side of the Roanoke River. Judging from a satellite image, the former-Virginia railyard has just a bunch of loaded coal cars and some covered cars. The former-N&W railyard is the main freight yard for the Norfolk Southern.
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| 1933 Roanoke Quad @ 62,500 |
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