Local author shares the history using collection of vintage images
Celebrating locomotive history is the next addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Images of Rail series: Roanoke Locomotive Shops and the Norfolk & Western Railroad. The book written by local author Wayne McKinney is set to release on March 24, 2014. It boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone past.
The Roanoke Shops have been an indispensable part of the Roanoke Valley and the “Magic City” for more than 125 years. This pictorial history chronicles the history since its founding in 1881 as an independent company to its modern day impact. Images culled from private collections, many of which have never before been published, focus on every class of steam locomotive built at Roanoke shops and details the steps involved in their production.
The book also explains how the facility caused an economic boom in the nearby village of Big Lick and the surrounding area. By 1891, Big Lick had become Roanoke and had emerged as one of the most important economic centers in the New South.
Today, the Roanoke Shops employ skilled craftsmen who provide the highest-quality overhauls and repairs to diesel locomotives. author Wayne McKinney states, “The book emphasizes the continuing importance of Roanoke Locomotive Shops to the Roanoke Valley and to its parent company, the Norfolk Southern Corporation.”
Highlights of Roanoke Locomotive Shops and the Norfolk & Western Railroad include:
• Stories about injuries and deaths in the early days of railroading, and how they led to advancements in training and working conditions.
• Information on how the rapid expansion of the Norfolk and Western Railroad improved the area’s health care industry.
• Images depicting architectural design of the early Roanoke buildings, especially buildings designed in the Queen Anne style.
• Details on how Norfolk & Western encouraged continuing education for their employees.
McKinney began his railroad career in 1974 with the Southern Railway in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In January 1997, he transferred to the Roanoke Shops and spent the remainder of his career there, retiring in 2012 with more than 38 years of service. Preparation for the shops’ 125th anniversary, in 2007, complemented his natural love of history, and his interest is reflected in this book.
Roanoke Locomotive Shops and the Norfolk & Western Railroad is available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers.