looking for information ie photos of the area east of lee st viaduct or the broad st viaduct. i have copies of sanborn fire insurance maps of the area from 1953 but would like to get further info to help in building a diorama of the area from the 1940's. i have the photo of the SAL L-5 working the area as taken from the broad st viaduct in 1949. any info would be helpful.

-- roger wilson (rwilson@trailerbridge.com), October 06, 2000

Answers

The photo to which I alluded in the above response is a rare and beautiful color shot appearing in the late Don Ball's "America's Colorful Railroads". Since it is an overhead shot you get to see not only the normally hidden details of the Mike, but the roof of a Baldwin switcher working the parallel track. The Hungerford Fuel Company, through which both lines run, is still in use, although there is very little call for delivery of home heating coal these days and CSX has removed one main line track from both the former C&O and SAL approaches to Main St. Station. Both Brown St. and 17th St. Yards have vanished and have been/are being built over, however, as part of the reopening of Main St. Station as a passenger terminal (with or without the construction of the proposed high speed rail line), there are plans for an Amtrak coach yard/servicing facility there.

-- Doug Riddell (railroaddoug@erols.com), October 07, 2000.

Although you didn't mention the name of the city, I think you may be talking about Richmond, Virginia. There is a 1948 shot of an SAL Mike taken from the Marshall St. viaduct (a steel bridge, dismantled in the 1960s, which spanned Shockoe Valley, east/west, just north of Main St. Station.) The names Lee (sic, there is a Leigh) St. and Broad St. lead me to think this is the location for which you want more information. The C&O Piedmont Subdivision's 17thy St. Yard and main line is on the east side and the Seaboard's Brown St. Yard and main line runs parallel to it on the west side. The area is of great historical interest recently since the C&O's freight cutoff/tunnel under Church Hill (which broke from their main line at that location) collapsed 75 years ago, trapping a work train and an undetermined number of day workers. The tunnel was sealed at both ends, and as part of the commemoration, a brass plaque was affixed to the west porthole opening. The Virginia Historical Society in Richmond is a good place to start digging. Now, if it wasn't Richmond, I hope the answer was at least entertaining and informative. Good luck on your search.

-- Doug Riddell (railroaddoug@erols.com), October 07, 2000.