John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad

The city of Roanoke, Virginia, located in the southwest region of the state, is referred to as the ‘Star City of the South’. How does that city get that name? Well, it is the home of the largest mad-made star in the world. It sits on top of Mill Mountain and overlooks downtown and the Roanoke Valley. The great thing about Roanoke is that it is a big railroad city with the main line going through the heart of downtown. It was the hub for the Norfolk and Western Railroad and for the Virginian Railroad, and it was a hub for the Norfolk Southern Railroad. It was here at the shops where the Class J locomotives were built, and it is where the Class J Norfolk and Western Number 611 makes its home at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Being…
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