Eng 2180 at Radford, 1954

Tue May 27 21:45:05 EDT 2025

Hi Ken, Abe:  Well, that is the bridge across New River that goes over to
the former American Viscose plant on the Pulaski county, Fairlawn side of
the river. I'm pretty sure the plant built there was by American Viscose. I
can't say for sure it was built by Viscose, because it was before my time.
When they went belly up they sold the plant site to ATT. It's located above
the golf course housing development area.
ATT occupied it through the 70's and the 80's building telephone equipment.
I do know that. I had an aunt that worked there and she showed me small
relays they made there.
ATT left after NAFTA and it was empty for years then in the 2000s'
around 07 or 08 they started using it as a 'just in time' parts warehouse
to supply the Volvo truck plant in Dublin. Trucks shuttle in and out of
there day and night nowadays to Dublin and back.
It's a good sized building. I rode my motorcycle down around the front of
the building to the lower side where the railroad grade is, after it was
reopened.  I had my fishing pole with me if anyone asked what I was
doing.  It was grown up in 08. I bet it's hard to discern anything today.

There are big metal plates welded to the track on the bridge like a
vertical wall that completely deny access to the bridge. If you get past
the chain link 10 foot fence and gate with barb wire on top.
At one time there was a proposal for a bike trail across that bridge to
link Fairlawn with the riverwalk from Dedmon center to Bissett park.
Pulaski Co. chose to spend funds on Randolph park instead.

It's a high bridge. The bluffs on the Fairlawn side are pretty tall, and
higher elevation than the Radford side. You can see the water lines on the
side of the bridge.
It's all trees and scrub brush now where that vantage point from the pic.
Have a good one
rob,
Fairlawn Virginia

On Tue, May 27, 2025 at 7:11 PM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
wrote:

> Abe
>
> Agree on the location, and direction.
>
> That bridge, I believe was built, not for accessing the tie treating
> plant, but for the proposed move of the American Viscose plant out of
> Roanoke to Radford. The line was graded, the track might have been laid but
> the plant was never built.
>
> American Viscose was unhappy that Roanoke was going to annex the plant
> into the city for the tax base, this was about mid 1940s.
>
> https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=199742
>
> The plant was never built, but the bridge survives to this day, carrying
> utilities if I understand correctly. It is fenced off, you cannot get onto
> the bridge now.
>
> Best
> Ken Miller
>
>
>
>
>
> > On May 27, 2025, at 10:34 AM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> wrote:
> >
> > The link given below leads to a photo (apparently) now held in the
> Rahway NJ NRHS collection.  The caption location says "Radford."
> >
> > It has been a half-Century since I worked the jobs at Radford, so I will
> have to take a guess at this one.  Guess:  The photo was taken in the curve
> between Plum Creek and East Radford, looking westwardly, and the engine is
> likely a Walton Pusher engine headed back to Radford to be turned in after
> a day's work on the Mountain.
> >
> > The bridge in the background will be the key to determining location.  I
> think that is the bridge over to the railroad's tie treating plant, on what
> was then called "the island."
> >
> > Did I get that part right?  If so, I walked across that bridge one day
> 60 years ago, to go over to "the island" and do some pistol target
> practice.  I recall that the north abutment of the bridge was modern
> concrete work and had a date of somewhere around 1950 (+/- a year or two)
> cast into it... if my memory is correct.  The tie plant was all gone by
> that time and brush was beginning to choke the area.  (But the Clean Out
> Hole at Payne was the best place for target practice... It featured living,
> moving targets:  rats ! )
> >
> >
> https://nrhs.com/gallery-item/rahway-valley-railroad-kenilworth-new-jersey-class-2-8-0-15-consolidation-steam-locomotive-may-17-1953-r-l-liong-photograph-west-jersey-chapter-nrhs-collection-2/
> >
> > While we are talking Radford things, can anyone tell me about a part of
> the Yard/Round House area at East Radford which was referred to as "The
> Meadow" ?  I recall Yardmaster Deyerle talking about tracks "over in the
> Meadow," but I never understood what that term really meant.  (Chalk that
> up to being new and young, and reluctant to expose my ignorance by asking a
> supervisor for an explanation...)
> >
> > Be Well, Drive Safely !
> >
> > -- abram burnett
> > Ever Eat a Turnip Sam'mich ?
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org
> > To change your subscription go to
> > https://pairlist6.pair.net/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list
> > Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at
> > https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/
>
> ________________________________________
> NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org
> To change your subscription go to
> https://pairlist6.pair.net/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list
> Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at
> https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20250527/5c5a85a6/attachment.htm>