What are the best locations for observing the NS operations in Roanoke?
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Actually, pre-NS I thought the yards and stuff out near Vinton were interesting. I don’t know how much of an industrial presence NS has there now. You probably know that pre-dieselization, the shops could fabricate an entire locomotive if necessary.
Try looking in the white pages–Roanoke and suburbs both–for the kind of railroad listing that isn’t in boldface and doesn’t end in zeroes. (Also see if you can look up “Norfolk & Western” just for the hell of it. Sometimes people don’t get around to such trivia as changing the corporate name on a nothing phone line.) [:O] Most likely you will at least find some street address(es) that might help a bit deciphering where the action is. Employees have to clock in somewhere!
And of course, you’d be on private property so they do indeed have the right not to let you take pictures; that was true well, well, before 9/11. That puts you in a bit of a Kafkaesque situation. If a person such as yourself were to ask upfront for permission to visit, especially if he’d like to photograph some little thing, well some people have been known to stretch their credentials and claim to be a journalist or photojournalist–freelance is safer since there’s no press card to carry; and if anyone runs your article or picture that makes you one. Or you could try the old “writing a report for school” dodge (I don’t know how old you are).
Sadly, such semi-straightforwardness could conceivably leave you worse off. [8]
Head downtown - plenty of places to see NS operations on public property/sidewalks. You can see the locomotive shops right in the middle of town - there are public sidewalks leading from the shops to the former N&W station/office complex, with a railroad themed walk from there to the VMT. All along there you’ll see plenty of rail action and cool stuff on public property. You can also head out on public streets north from there and see some more NS shops and a large yard which again is visible from public property. Definitely check out the downtown shops - many locomotives were built there in the N&W era and you’ll still be able to see a ton of really cool stuff from public view. I’d suggest trying some of the bridges downtown - they give some good views.
Another interesting view is from the top of Mill Mountain near the star - you can see the trains head through the valley - not a classic view, but pretty interesting if you want to follow a train through the route.