Historic Photographs / Artifacts Offer Glimpse of N&W History

Images of Rail: Norfolk and Western Railway

For a century, the Norfolk and Western Railway operated as one of the greatest transportation companies in the southeastern United States. The story of the N&W is a story about people—a story of the tens of thousands of people who worked in the shops and aboard the trains, sold the tickets and moved the freight, laid the track and managed corporate affairs.

The exhibit features thirty-eight archival photographs from the book of the same name by Nelson Harris. With views of the rugged and, at times, dangerous days of railroading in the late 1880s, to the rise of the N&W as a member of America’s corporate elite, these pictures convey the railroad’s storied history.

Nelson Harris is a lifelong resident of Roanoke, the son of an N&W retiree, and former Mayor of the City of Roanoke.

One Engineer’s Life

For a companion exhibit to Images of the Norfolk and Western Railway, Museum volunteer Erik Rhyne uncovered a collection of items in the Museum’s archives that tell the personal story of an N&W employee from a century ago. Tasked with developing a “docents’ choice” exhibit for the Rail Gallery, Rhyne discovered a metal tool box belonging to Caleb A. Corell. An engineer on the N&W’s Radford Division, Corell was born in 1874, joined the railroad in 1894 and served 41 years until an injury led to his retirement in 1935.

“Opening up the box was like opening up this man’s life,” said Rhyne. “Everything that he needed, he carried with him—his boots, his pipe, his razor. It’s like a snapshot of everyday life at that time.” The box also contained Corell’s driver’s license, his Studebaker’s inspection certificate, various photos and a news clipping of his parents’ 69th anniversary celebration. “This one man’s really cool life gives us an appreciation of what life was like and what it was like to work for the railroad,” Rhyne said. “It’s really important that we preserve the past.” Rhyne, a Botetourt County resident, has a deep interest in the region’s history.

Learn more about the exhibits and the VMT on their web site at www.vmt.org