Viginian Railway Depot

[farlymac]

Ten years or so ago, the Virginian Depot in Roanoke, VA was being leased by Norfolk Southern (NS) to a seed and feed company. Allegedly, a vagrant started a fire for warmth that got out of control, and the depot burned down. Most of the outer walls were still intact, but the roof was mostly gone over the passenger area, and there were holes in the freight house roof. It was originally covered in red clay tiles.

It took a long time, but all the legal wrangling is over, and construction has begun in earnest. Plans are to have a portion of the building as a museum for the Virginian Railroad, and lease the rest of the structure out to a concessionaire for a restaurant, or office space. That way, there will be income to support the museum, and pay off the reconstruction costs. This is sure better than driving by and seeing that tree growing up through the middle of the lobby.

I took these photos with a Canon FT QL and FL 1.8/50 lens (no hood or filter), on Kodak BW400CN. The pharmacy mangled the film again, so I lost almost half the exposures (all the street level views). And I had to desaturate the Kodak scans, then crop the frames in PSE10.

The camera worked very well, and the metering system seems to be very accurate, even after all these years (the FT was introduced in 1966). The Quick Load (QL) feature works flawlessly, and even though it is a big, weighty camera, it just felt natural in the hands. It has stop-down metering, but on a bright afternoon such as this, that was no problem.

PF


Virginain Depot Reconstruction 1 by br1078phot, on Flickr
Tongue and groove construction on the new roof, just like the old one. In fact, everything is being done as close as possible to the original structure, with the exception of electrical and plumbing. This is part of the first negative I could save.


Virginain Depot Reconstruction 3 by br1078phot, on Flickr
The last time I took a photo from this vantage point was ten years ago. The depot was a burnt out shell without a roof, and I was using a Rapid Omega.


Virginain Depot Reconstruction 5 by br1078phot, on Flickr
And away we go. Probably heading for some power plant in North Carolina


http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157629808545316/

[paulfish4570]

gorgeous "prints." the ql system is genius ...

[Austintatious]

Wonderful images here Phil. Too bad the pharmacy messed up your work :-(
The old Canon kit is still great equipment. Thanks for posting these.

[Paulbe]

Great photos, farlymac!
And congrats to whomever is rebuilding the depot.
The Virginian had a marvelous assortment of big steam and electric locos.
And a beautiful paint scheme.
Norfolk Southern is painting one of their new locos in the old Virginian colors, as part of their Heritage program.
Take a color photo if you see it in person!
Thanks again.
Paul

[farlymac]

Thanks, guys. I went back yesterday and reshot with some Ektar 100 in a Minolta X-700 and Zoom Rokkor 35-105 Macro. It's becoming one of my favorite lenses. Will post as soon as I can get them back from the 'pro' lab in town.

I didn't see any heritage units, Paulbe, but there was an Interstate unit sitting past the other side of the bridge I got a long shot of. Should have saved a frame for a close-up though. It was in sort of a cream-sicle and grey scheme. Or maybe it is one of the heritage units. I'll have to peruse the NS site for a list. It was number 8105.

The original reason I got the camera was to give it to my oldest brother as a replacement for his Pellix that got the shutter finger-holed a long time ago (kids will be kids). But I'm thinking now that an FTbn would be better for him, so he can take full advantage of the FD lens line (elimination of stop down metering unless he is using his old FL lenses). But I really like the way it handles. My lens is missing the click stop on the aperture ring, but that's fine, as I don't mind using third stops to get the proper exposure. It has a very classic style, with a lot of levers to use. Much more fun than pushing buttons, I say.

PF

[Paulbe]

farlymac--yes! 8105 is the Interstate heritage unit.
Grab some pix!
All I've seen so far are the sterile "official" pix.
I don't think the Virginian has been released, but it WILL BE a beauty.
Dark blue with gold stripes.
We are down here in the heart of the Southern RR--now Norfolk Southern--and we have yet to have a heritage unit down this way--and there are three of them painted for southern RRs that were acquired by NS.
Oh well..
Thanks again!
Paul

[farlymac]

Originally Posted by Paulbe

farlymac--yes! 8105 is the Interstate heritage unit.
Grab some pix!
All I've seen so far are the sterile "official" pix.
I don't think the Virginian has been released, but it WILL BE a beauty.
Dark blue with gold stripes.
We are down here in the heart of the Southern RR--now Norfolk Southern--and we have yet to have a heritage unit down this way--and there are three of them painted for southern RRs that were acquired by NS.
Oh well..
Thanks again!
Paul

Paul, I saw it again today as it was transiting downtown, heading for who knows where. I got an email from NS stating that all the 20 heritage units will be in Spencer for the July Fouth holiday at the NC Transportation Museum. Twenty-five dollars to get in, unless you are an employee or retired (five dollar discount). Maybe I can talk GBHill into going along. Then on the 7th, VMT will bring back the 1776 for permanent display in Roanoke.

The reason you don't see any heritage units is they are all busy hauling coal from West Virginia to Norfolk, or the Mon Valley to Cleveland. Sure would be a shame if one of them got wrecked before the gathering.

PF

[farlymac]

Shot another roll yesterday, this time in color (Kodak Ektar 100) in one of my X-700 Minolta's with a Zoom Rokkor 35-105mm Macro.


Street View by br1078phot, on Flickr
Coming to the south end of Williamson Road, you see the Virginian Depot where it has stood since 1910. In the left foreground is a little beauty shop of much newer construction. In the background is the Jefferson Street Bridge, and to the left of the depot is the new Carilion Clinic and School of Medicine.


Waiting by br1078phot, on Flickr
Active tracks behind the depot are used for storing the coal trains while the engines are serviced, and crews changed.


A Lot Of Helping Hands by br1078phot, on Flickr
All the groups and official departments involved in getting the depot back together.


Dormer by br1078phot, on Flickr
A little bit of Tudor.


New Roof by br1078phot, on Flickr
All that pretty tongue-and-groove pine will soon be covered in sheeting, and tiles.


Missing Track by br1078phot, on Flickr
A view of where the depot lead used to be. NS had a nasty habit of putting things where the tracks were, so no one would get the smart idea of putting them back in place. At Rural Retreat, scene of one of O. Winston Link's more famous night photos, they actually planted a new signal right in between the rails after removing a couple of ties to make room for the foundation.

The rest can be seen at
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjztZcUq