portable "step boxes"

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Wed Oct 26 10:52:12 EDT 2022


Thanks for sharing these additional slides.

Yes, all are at Kemper Street Station in Lynchburg.  The train is No. 18, the northbound Birmingham Special and the time, if on time as it was most frequently was, is 7:50am.

The lounge/diner on the end of the train was added in Roanoke and will continue to Washington.  I was once on the ground at Sweet Briar, about twelve  miles north of Lynchburg, when No. 18 went past very slowly because of track work.  The smell on frying bacon coming from the diner was wonderful.

Also, in one of the  pictures of the end of the train there appears to be a southbound Southern Ry freight passing.  This is likely the southbound local freight which worked from Monroe  to Dundee (Danville) and returned northbound about twelve hours later.

     Ray Smoot

From: NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> On Behalf Of NW Mailing List
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2022 10:34 AM
To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Subject: Re: portable "step boxes"

These slides are from the NWHS "Don Ball Collection". There are few shots that appear to have been taken the same day at Kemper Street with the same people.

https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=90688
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=90634
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=90816
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=90786

There is also this shot which looks like it might be Kemper street as well from the same collection. Can anyone verify?
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=90803

- Roger Link

On Sun, Oct 23, 2022 at 8:41 PM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org<mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
Just recently ran across this nice step-box image again in the archives.
It also wonderfully captures the interaction between the porter and the
young passenger.

John Garner

https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=90688

___________________

They were not used just at Crewe. I can remember seeing step boxes used
at stations with platforms. That first step is pretty high for some
people. The portable step boxes were pretty much standard in the 1940's
and '50's. And, I think I remember, not just on the N&W.

Jim Nichols
________________________________________
NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org<mailto:NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org>
To change your subscription go to
http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list
Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at
http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20221026/22dfbb99/attachment-0001.htm>


More information about the NW-Mailing-List mailing list