Past Activities
Activities Report for 2011
Written by Gary Price, Chapter HistorianAs 2011 dawned on the Watauga Valley Chapter NRHS, a renewed since of excitement filled the air as we all looked forward to our 30th anniversary and all that was in store for the membership throughout the year.
With the direction and guidance of President Mike Tilley and the Board of Directors, the Chapter set goals and exceeded them with the hard work of each Chapter member who volunteered their time and knowledge to make each event an overall success.
During the early months of 2011, it was learned that the former SOUTHERN RAILWAY Depot at Chuckey, TN had to be moved, and that the town of Jonesborough, TN was interested in relocating it downtown for use as a railroad museum. The depot was to be disassembled board by board and restored on a site near the NORFOLK SOUTHERN mainline in downtown Jonesborough. A joint venture was made with the Chapter to manage the museum, prompting the Chapter to form the Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society and Museum, the goal of which is to oversee the museum and serve the community on a local level. The Chapter by-laws were reviewed; redundancies removed; and approved by the membership. By-laws for the new museum were drawn up and agreed upon.
The Link Museum in Roanoke approached the Chapter about sponsoring an original O. Winston Link print. It was agreed upon that the WVRHS&M would sponsor a black and white print that featured a SOUTHERN diesel locomotive meeting a NORFOLK AND WESTERN steam locomotive in Bristol Yard.
In May, Chapter Historian and NORFOLK SOUTHERN employee Gary Price had the honor of traveling to Washington DC to attend the Harriman Award Ceremony as NS received its 22nd consecutive Harriman Award.
The WVRH&M hosted a table at the annual Jonesborough Days event held in July and handed out information about the new museum and future events.
The Railway Historical Alliance was formed as a joint adventure between the WVRH&M and several railroad historical groups to offer better regional service to people interested in railroads in the Atlantic region.
On July 9th the Chapter’s 30th anniversary banquet was held in Kingsport, TN with 80 members in attendance, Lois Tilley and Helen Calhoun did an excellent job planning the event. Virginia Museum of Transportation’s own Bev Fitzpatrick gave a wonderful talk about railroad restoration and future projects at the museum.
October brought about our annual safety training for excursions. Finally, on December 17th, around 100 members attended the annual Christmas Banquet at the Jonesborough Visitors Center. The membership was also able to view our live steam model SOUTHERN 4-6-2 #1317, which will be on display there until the new railroad museum is up and running. [Continued on next page.]
Mechanical
During the spring and summer months, our mechanical crew, under the watchful eyes of Jim Magill and Bob Yaple, continued to diligently work to keep our rolling stock ready and available for lease. The WATX 500 and WATX 539 spent five months at the TVRM in Chattanooga, TN in preparation for NORFOLK SOUTHERN steam excursions. The interior of WATX 400 hosted a wedding party who wanted their official wedding photos on a train. The main focus of this year was to have the ”Crescent Harbor” lounge car ready and available for our fall excursions. This was the most complete restoration of a car that our crew has ever attempted. Everything that could be replaced with new or improved components was skillfully accomplished by our Mechanical Crew. The task was completed on October 19th when the ”Crescent Harbor” left our property for the first time in nine years. The car performed flawlessly on the excursions with paying passengers for the first time in over thirty-two years. A great deal of thanks goes out to all members who sacrificed their time to come to work sessions and keep our equipment rolling.Excursions
Excursions are always a large part of the year’s activities and 2011 was no exception. Our trip committee, led by Mike Tilley, worked hard to bring the public and members unique opportunities to ride trains.On March 26th, we sponsored a sold-out trip to the GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN RAILROAD that consisted of ten tour buses and 475 passengers.
On April 16, Nick White and Gary Price offered a special members-only van trip to visit TVRM on their 50th anniversary and to ride behind newly refurbished SOUTHERN 2-8-0 #630. The TVRM rolled out the red carpet for our 32 members by reserving for us a car near the locomotive; a complete shop tour to visit the 4501; and the opportunity to view up close the restoration progress to get the #4501 ready to be in the 21st Century Steam Program for NORFOLK SOUTHERN. Randy Moore even rode in the cab of the #630.
On July 16th, three buses carried 160 passengers to ride the train around the famous Hiwassee Loop on the Hiwassee River Rail Adventure.
On August 6th, in honor of the Chapter’s 30th Anniversary, Nick White and Gary Price offered a very special members-only van trip to Knoxville to ride and dine on the river boat “The Star of Knoxville”, followed by a train ride behind WASHINGTON AND LINCOLNTON #203 along the Tennessee river to Marbledale, TN and back. Members were treated to a shop tour at the KNOXVILLE AND HOLSTON RIVER RAILROAD shops, and were able to see work being performed on SOUTHERN 2-8-0 #154.
On October 29th & 30th, the Autumn Train Excursions were held as our annual joint venture with the NCTM and Amtrak in Spencer, NC. Both days were a sell-out with around 1,000 passengers riding each day. On Saturday, we once again visited Roanoke, VA. On Sunday, we found great success with a journey to Toccoa, GA. The people of Toccoa greeted us with friendly smiles and an amazing Harvest Festival with the town’s streets lined with craft and food venders. Buses carried 700 passengers over to visit the Toccoa Falls. Thanks go out to everyone who made these excursions a success. [Continued on next page.]