1941-1943 I visited Charlottesseville many times, as my sister Gertrude was married (in 1939) to Leonard Kasle, who was a Reform Rabbi and went into the Navy as a Chaplain in 1944, after a short term as a Reform Rabbi in Charleston, SC. Leanord was Hillel Director and U. of V., a Professor or lecturer in the Philosophy Dept., and Rabbi of Charlottesseville’s then only Jewish congregation. They lived on Rugby Place. a dead-end gravel side-street, off Rugby Road, a major street with hourly bus service. My first visit was with my parents, and we took the Southener from Penn Station directly there. I enjoyed the observation car, but we saved money by brown bagging dinner instead of enjoying the excellent dining car food. Our arrival was very late at night, with the train approximately on time, with Leanord meeting us at the Union Station, where the Southern (now NS and used by the Amtrak’s Crescent) crossed the C&O (CSX or possibly a regional, used by Amtrak’s Cardinal). Returning, I believe we used the Tennesean, and I recall the train arriving late with a PS-4 ahead of the A and B units, so there must have been some sort of diesel malfunction. I do not recall whether we had to change coaches in Washigton or the coach went through like some of the Pullmans. I do remember seeing the sleepers as heavywieghts painted silver. Again, we brown-bagged it.
Many subsequent trips were on my own, at age 10 and more. A refugee from Germany lived in our basement and one school Spring brake he had to go the State Department in Washington to clear up a matter concerning his visa and to start naturalizaton toward USA citizenship. I think his name was Dr. Epler. My parents got the idea of his going with me on the PRR Washington Express and then his seeing me to the Southern train in Washington. But we agreed on the trip to Washington that I could easily
Dave: Interesting memories and reflections; you might want to consider posting this at the “Our Place” section of the forum as well.
Appreciated your comments on the C&O and their power. Both stations are still there, of course, (one in use) but the former C&O station has been converted into an office building. You can still tell what it was, though. The coal dock is still in place at what used to be the C&O engine facility in Charlottesville - much of the rest of the infrastructure there is either gone or neglected and overgrown. Buckingham Branch is the regional line that handles 50/51 now.
work safe
[quote user=“daveklepper”]
1941-1943 I visited Charlottesseville many times, as my sister Gertrude was married (in 1939) to Leonard Kasle, who was a Reform Rabbi and went into the Navy as a Chaplain in 1944, after a short term as a Reform Rabbi in Charleston, SC. Leanord was Hillel Director and U. of V., a Professor or lecturer in the Philosophy Dept., and Rabbi of Charlottesseville’s then only Jewish congregation. They lived on Rugby Place. a dead-end gravel side-street, off Rugby Road, a major street with hourly bus service. My first visit was with my parents, and we took the Southener from Penn Station directly there. I enjoyed the observation car, but we saved money by brown bagging dinner instead of enjoying the excellent dining car food. Our arrival was very late at night, with the train approximately on time, with Leanord meeting us at the Union Station, where the Southern (now NS and used by the Amtrak’s Crescent) crossed the C&O (CSX or possibly a regional, used by Amtrak’s Cardinal). Returning, I believe we used the Tennesean, and I recall the train arriving late with a PS-4 ahead of the A and B units, so there must have been some sort of diesel malfunction. I do not recall whether we had to change coaches in Washigton or the coach went through like some of the Pullmans. I do remember seeing the sleepers as heavywieghts painted silver. Again, we brown-bagged it.
Many subsequent trips were on my own, at age 10 and more. A refugee from Germany lived in our basement and one school Spring brake he had to go the State Department in Washington to clear up a matter concerning his visa and to start naturalizaton toward USA citizenship. I think his name was Dr. Epler. My parents got the idea of his going with me on the PRR Washington Express and then his seeing me to the Southern train in Washington. But we agreed on the trip to Wash
Ginter Park (pronounced JJinter), Highland Park, Hull Street, are all Richmond, VA., locations, not Charlotteseville, and I apologize for not making that clear. Fry Springs is a suburb of Charlotteseville. In my youth, Richmond still had a marvelous streetcar system, which I could only begin to explore, possibly rode about five of some 25 routes still in operation during WWII. Clean, well maintained equipment, frequent headways, mostly decent track. But Charlotteseville had replaced its one streetcar line with a four or five-route bus system probably in the late '20’s, but perhaps in the early '30’s, and I had time to ride all the bus routes, sometimes with my young niece and nephew and their governess, since bus riding was good baby-sitting. I had already had my first brush with Jim Crow on a Ginter Park streetcar, since I had not bothered to notice it on the Charlotteseville buses or on the trains. But then on my next trip in Charlotteseville, I found that the friendly bus drivers knew who Chassie, my niece’s and nephew’s governess, was. When the four of us traveled on a local bus we could sit anywhere we wanted. Of course, Charlotteseville is a University town, and Jim Crow generally was not taken as seriously there as in Richmond (fomer capitol of the Confedericy).
Again, passenger trains west of Charlotteseville generally drew Greenbriar 4-8-4’s, while those to Washington and Newport News drew Pacifics. I don’t think I saw anything but 2-8-2’s on freights, both railroads, until some A-B-B-A Southern FT sets showed up.
Dave: You contacted me re the story about Chuck and I wished to reply. Unfortunately, the server I am using right now tells me the address is unavailable to me. This is probably an equipment glich, but if you wish my answer privately