Weed Train

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Fri Jan 22 12:49:08 EST 2021


John,

Our work day was variable as determined by such things as the length of 
the line to be sprayed, the time lost clearing up for revenue trains, 
the time lost waiting out a heavy rain, and the hours of service limit 
for the train crew.

The spray car rode well enough, particularly at the targeted spraying 
speed of 13 mph, but when we were not spraying and were moving near 
track speed, it was a different matter, although generally not too bad.  
This also applied to our bunk/dining car. with one exception.  Most of 
the time we tied up in some terminal at the end of the day.  The 
exception occurred after we sprayed into Hagerstown.  That evening our 
train was attached to the rear of a time freight to get us back to 
Roanoke overnight for spraying out of there the following day.  I have 
been told that freight trains, even with Y6 engines would sometimes run 
upwards of 60 mph on the northern portion of the Shenandoah Division.  I 
don't know how fast we ran that night, but there was a lot of vibration 
from the obviously un-snubbed trucks on the bunk car, which would have 
been enough to have kept us awake that night by itself if its 
detrimental effect had not been superseded by the slack action on the 
rear of that presumably long freight train -- slack action that sent 
pots and pans in the dining section of the car clattering to the floor 
while we were trying to sleep.

Gordon Hamilton

On 1/20/2021 6:06 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>
> How many hours a day were you on that rickety-looking car.  How was 
> the suspension?   John Garner
>
> *From:*NW Mailing List [mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, January 20, 2021 3:47 PM
> *To:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> *Subject:* Re: Weed Train
>
> The two months of 1954 that I was on the N&W's home-made weed spray 
> train we sprayed everything east of Williamson and I understand a 
> contractor sprayed everything west of Williamson.
>
> Gordon Hamilton
>
> On 1/20/2021 1:11 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>
>     I'll ask.  Does NS do that on its own, or have they contracted
>     that out to someone like Corman?
>
>     Frank Bongiovanni
>
>     On Wed, Jan 20, 2021 at 12:26 PM NW Mailing List
>     <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
>
>         Be nice NS bring back some spraying
>
>         Larry Evans
>
>         *From:* NW-Mailing-List
>         [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
>         <mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org>] *On Behalf Of *NW
>         Mailing List
>         *Sent:* Tuesday, January 19, 2021 10:14 PM
>         *To:* nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
>         *Subject:* RE: Weed Train
>
>         Gordon, I would really enjoy reading your article!   Thx, John
>         Garner
>
>         *From:* NW Mailing List [mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
>         <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>]
>         *Sent:* Tuesday, January 19, 2021 2:25 PM
>         *To:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
>         <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>>
>         *Subject:* Re: Weed Train
>
>         No, I was the short boom operator on the right side of this
>         spray car in 1954.  Incidentally, I plan to use this image in
>         an article that I hope to finish some day about my summer jobs
>         on the N&W.
>
>         Gordon Hamilton
>
>         On 1/18/2021 9:57 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>
>             Gordon,
>
>             Says 1956. Are you on board?    John Garner
>
>             https://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-SLIDE-N-W-NORFOLK-WESTERN-526548-ROANOKE-VIRGINIA-KODACHROME-1956/393100048871?hash=item5b8696b9e7:g:f7QAAOSwfrxgBPPn
>             <https://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-SLIDE-N-W-NORFOLK-WESTERN-526548-ROANOKE-VIRGINIA-KODACHROME-1956/393100048871?hash=item5b8696b9e7:g:f7QAAOSwfrxgBPPn>
>
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