Elliston Yard

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Mr. Stowers is right on this one !  It's NS using the smoke screen that THEY will take trucks off  I-81 to get the state to pay for improvements that they don't want to afford.  It will simply not happen, it will of course add trucks to I - 81 and to route 460/11.  Remember that during the Conrail takeover NS said that THEY would take "one million trucks off  of  I-81 a year". Virginia taxpayers will fall for this one, however when it comes to passenger rail Virginia doesn't have a penny to spare. 

By the way if you gather I'm against the location you would be right.  It will take my family's third generation farm, which my grandfather who was a conductor on the Radford Div. found while working between Roanoke and Bluefield.  The floor beams in the house are made (and are stamped) N&W RR.  All the outbuildings are made of N&W RR boxcars which were salvaged after a wreck near the house in the 30's. The red paint can still be seen on the buildings along with the markings.   Oh well, so much for "progress".

Chuck Akers
Engineer - Radford Div./ Amtrak - Richmond, VA



----- Original Message ----- 
  From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
  To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 9:41 PM
  Subject: Elliston Yard


  Hey Guys & Gals:
                  Intermodal yard to take traffic off of I81? Bull Manure!  Why between those great metropolises of Salem and Christiansburg? This is NS blowing smoke again like it would keep all the shops when it merged with Conrail. This is just a story to get money from the VA taxpayers to update it's lines in order to put more profit to it's bottom line. And; No, I'm not a disgruntled retired NS employee either.
                  I'm 70 years old, retired from GE-Salem's engineering offices after a 40 year career. I was raised at the N&W's "yard throat" :=) of the Huckleberry in Blacksburg. I now live on a ridge behind Dixie Caverns only a mile and a half from the I81 exit. Will all that heavy truck traffic from that huge yard bother me? Not likely. There is already enough truck traffic at this exit to need a traffic light. So, even if I'm still alive at that time, I will settle for VDOT just giving us that light at 11/460.
                  I drove back and forth to work from Troutville on I81 for 35 years and felt every truck increase during that time. Will NS's big plans relieve any of the truck traffic on the interstate? If you believe that -- you're dreaming!! They may be able to hold the traffic where it is today for 10 or 15 years, but it will never cause a decrease in traffic. Why? Because NS can't compete with speed because of two factors -- population and terrain. NS can't put enough power on the intermodal trains to get through these mountains at the speed needed to compete with the 70 mph 18 wheelers. Even if they could afford to do that, can you imagine the cleaning bill the for city fathers trousers after these trains came "a-bustin" through Pulaski, Salem and Stanton at 69 mph as the BNSF and UP does on our Great Plains? Yes, I realize that not everything is time critical; however, time always has and will always mean greater inventory, which means a greater investment, which does absolutely nothing for the bottom line. And, I personally, do not expect that delivery time will become less critical in the future.
                  When I first heard of NS's plans to locate an intermodal yard in the Roanoke area, I incorrectly guessed where it would be. I guessed it would be over here in front of me in what the locals now jokingly call "Jail House Bottom." Roanoke County has recently approved the location of a multi county jail in the bottom there between the old N&W and Virginian, alongside the Roanoke River. But; NS was smarter than I. Even though it would have been closer to the Dixie Caverns exit, If they had built there, they would have had to build a bridge across the river and the VA tracks, plus it would have lain in a flood plain. So -- OK -- they went 2 miles west. This area that most are calling Elliston is what I call "Sunset." Back in the old steam days, there used to be a garage there called "the Sunset Garage." There was also a restaurant there named "Wilsons" until about 8 or 9 years ago when it burned. It served some of the best ribs in the end of the country. This will mean the truck traffic will have to use 11/460 for about 2 miles back to the Dixie Caverns exit. This stretch of 11/460 has been repaved and had new guard rail installed just this spring. Did VDOT know something? The yard will lie adjacent to 11/460 about 1/2 mile west of Kumis and 1 & 1/2 mile east of Elliston, at the intersection of the road leading to Lafayette.
                  Now why did I suspect that this area would be the location of the yard. I immediately thought it would have to be between Radford and west Salem. Think ahead - the "Heartland Corridor" is up and running bringing traffic from the Midwest (read Chicago). The current traffic is coming up from the mid-south. Where does it all come together? At the huge community of Vicker. Where do the lines separate again? In the congested area of Roanoke. There they can go in three different directions. Northeast toward New York, east to Norfolk or southeast toward Atlanta. So this yard is to be used to take traffic off I81? Not likely! Now I'm not an old railroader so I don't know the proper term for this; but this yard is going to be used to make up and break up trains to redirect their cars. This area is the only area that the NS tracks are really in close proximity to I81. True NS may load and unload some intermodal, but I'm willing to bet that this has always been the primary purpose of this yard. NS is using the old "Help I81" cry just to get VA taxpayer help from the gullible.
                  Just the humble opinion and ramblings of an old man that has followed the corporate moves and smoke screens of GE and NS for many years
   
                  PS If one is interested, an aerial view of the area may be found at:
                  http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=11&Z=17&X=1427&Y=10301&W=1&qs=2121+Gardner+Street%7celliston%7cVA%7c&Addr=2121+Gardner+St%2c+Elliston%2c+VA+24087-3055&ALon=-80.2049400&ALat=37.2298670 
                  Also the longitude for this is  -80.19963 / latitude 37.23103.
          The yard will be located on the lower side, parallel to the tracks that lie from the lower left curving at the upper right.

  Omer Stowers ---Salem, VA



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