The Numbers

With restoration in the final phase, my motor car is pictured with the last number it carried before the VGN/N&W merger, number 109. However to recognize its history I have placed the car's original number on the back, lower cross beam, number 905.

Another picture shows the various N&W numbers the car wore after the VGN merger with the N&W in 1959. When sanding the front the first day I owned the car, the Virginian number appeared on the left, VGN 109! Also, one picture shows the N&W number on a back, lower brace; N&W N 109. As I worked to find the car's original number, nothing new appeared on the front as the old paint was removed. My last chance was on that lower, back brace, I hoped. As I sanded away the N&W on the left side, nothing appeared. Virginian must not have had any lettering there. However on the right side as I sanded N 109, I thought I was seeing 1005. But 1005 was in the series of Virginian's Sheffield model 40-b motor cars. I sanded even more lightly and I found that what I thought was a 1, actually was the right side of the letter N. The last two digits, 0 and 5 were clear, but the digit to the left of the 0 was not. More careful sanding showed faintly that the digit was a 9! My car was originally 905! The layers of paint were: red primer was the first layer; orange; yellow; then N&W paint - lighter yellow for two more layers. I have added an illustration to show this sequence.

Waiting for the Lettering

A local sign company is making a small sign for me that is a replica of a Sheffield builder's plate. It will be attached to the front end of the black battery box. They are also furnishing the vinyl lettering for me, VGN 109 for the front and 905, the original number, in a smaller size for the back rear cross piece.

Telling the history through details

In my research and meeting former VGN men I have learned a great deal about the everyday routine of he men who operated the railroad's motor cars. The motor car operator's, be they signalmen, T&T linemen, section men or trainmasters and roadmasters, all had to carry the following; the current company employee timetable, the current company rule book, the company safety book and an instruction book for motor car operation which originated with the ICC. One VGN man told me that the railroad didn't care how they were carried, just that they had to be on the car. He used a leather bag. Another VGN man told of seeing men use an extra lunch box. One man who carried his paperwork on a lunch box fabricated a rack in which to hold the lunch box. I do not know how the operator carried the Motor Car Line Up Form he received from the dispatcher so that he would know the location and probable times of trains in his work area. The railroad management gave the men freedom to make some alterations to the motor car as long as the car was still safe and effective. I have heard of one man who enclosed his open car in the winter months with canvas and had a small gas heater on board! Many had battery lights for night time running and to light a signal pole while they worked. A retired VGN signalman described how some men placed the battery running headlight and work light on top of the motor car. It was held in place on the aluminum top by a strong magnet underneath! Very clever guys!

And in my car, I have added a rack for the required paperwork to be kept in a lunch box and a hook for the required case holding a flag, fares and torpedoes. As described by a former Virginian man in Victoria, work tools are carried in a heavy wire milk crate placed on the left side at the front, including a two pound coffee can for small items. Hanging in the middle of the front is a portable phone pack, purchased by the railroad in 1948.

The brake rigging in the original black paint contrasts with the car's orange.

Acknowledgement

In researching motor cars of the Virginian Railway I found that I was plowing new ground all the way. Nothing had been published nor had any information been assembled. My research and conclusions were based on primary sources and I feel the motor car 109 is as close to authentic as possible. I studied company records, interviewed and questioned former Virginian employees and carefully noted what I found on my motor car as I took it back to bare metal and wood.

I would like to express my appreciation to friends who have helped my research by sharing information and guiding me to good sources and by advising me for the actual work. Thank you Harry Bundy, Greg Elam, Dave Kotsonis, George Lewis, Jon Lewis, Charlie Long, Harry McLaughlin, Edwin Massie, Chip Oaks, Rick Rader, David Wimmer and the Archives of the N&W Historical Society. The men named represent the spectrum of individual, primary sources I have found; railroad historians, VGN signalmen, VGN engineers and trainmen and a worker from the Princeton coach shop where motor cars were repaired.

Detailing the 109 * Starting June 27, 2011

This morning, Monday, June 27th, I started on the ninety year old gas tank. The strainer in the filler neck is still in good condition. The fuel, by the way, could be either a mixture of kerosene and oil or gasoline and oil, according to the Operator's Manual. On one side I found where a hole had been patched. It wasn't along the bottom or in a corner but half way up one side. When I started on the opposite side, there was a patched hole there too! I could understand holes being on the bottom but why half way up and the two holes matched in location. Then it hit me! They were bullet holes! Like other railroads there were labor strikes on the Virginian and Greg Elam of Victoria relates how some of the VGN men told him of having their trains shot at during strikes. A shot through the gas tank would disable this motor car for a while. The small white arrow indicates one of the two patched holes. The other hole is on the other side.

Another picture shows what the motor car operator would see looking down at his controls. The windshield is ahead. The spark advance and drip feed are painted dark green, the color found under layers of other colors of paints. A little of the bright red gas tank is seen. The brass plate in front of the controls has the characters, "VGN 109" stamped in and also an N&W number 64033 which is upside down. It some circles the upside down placement is the ultimate insult. I didn't make this plate, it was on the car for a long time when I received it. On the right is the electrical control. The white slide was actually the key and it could be positioned so that both cylinders or just one cylinder could run.

Painting the 109 * Starting June 23 2011

After weeks of cleaning and sandblasting, the car is being primed for the orange color worn when in service on the Virginian. The primer is industrial grade, oil based. June 23, 2011

The first of many coats of orange is drying. I am excited to work more but I have to let it sit and dry hard before putting on another coat. June 25, 2011

109's Clean Front * June 20 2011

After gentle media blasting, the front and top of 109 are nearly ready for primer paint. The last few areas of old paint will be removed with an electric sander. In this phase I found the original red oxide primer and orange paint which had been brushed on. Two coats of yellow were on top of the orange, one applied by VGN and one applied by N&W workers some time after the 1959 VGN/N&W merger.
June 20, 2011.

Original Colors * June 15 2011

When Sheffield Motor Car Company shipped its motor cars, they left the plant painted dark green. I am finding traces of that dark green paint as seen in the picture of the controls, A part number was revealed in the cleaning. Also the car's Virginian era color of orange is showing up on the car, both on wooden pieces and on the aluminum parts. The original VGN color of orange is verified by a former Virginian signalman who told me that the VGN used orange paint on the motor cars which was the same orange as was used on the stations. He added that this practice was followed until they were painted yellow, starting about 1958. Black was used on some metal parts, such as the guides for the lifting handles. June 15, 2011

A picture shows a sheet of paint that came off the front. The red is the red oxide primer used when the front and top were added in 1953. Notice how the orange brush stokes show up! The motor car was last painted by N&W in Roanoke in April 1964. That date is on the right side of the battery box.

Nooks and Crannies * June 7 2011

Getting the several layers of paint off some metal pieces is very hard, even with a media blaster using a hard blasting material. I tried used a chemical paint remover and when the paint started to blister, I hit it with the sandblaster. That has worked some of the time. A few days ago I had another idea; heat the stubborn areas on the steel wheels with a blow torch and then hit them with the sandblaster. That is working very well. But whichever method I use, progress is slow. The wheels are particularily difficult because they must have come from other cars that had been damaged and retired. Three wheels seem to have four layers of paint while one wheel has five layers! Ghee, the car should be lighter not having all those layers of paint! ;O)

More Motor Car History VGN 109 nee 905 * May 28 2011

Being a retired history teacher, I know the value of primary sources. To learn as much as I can about my car and Virginian's motor cars and the men who used them, I am seeking out former employees and interviewing them and digging through company records in my personal collection as well as the N&W Historical Society's archives.

A company collection, "Authorization For Expenditure Register 1915-1959," reveals that a model 41 Sheffield motor car was purchased from Sheffield - Fairbanks Morse Company of Three Rivers, Michigan on July 3, 1924. The cost was $240.00 for the car weighing 450 pounds and producing 8.5 horse power. The car is direct drive, meaning when the engine is running, the car is moving. To start it, the model A-like controls must be correctly adjusted and then the car is pushed. The operator must quickly jump on before it runs away! The AFE states that the car was purchased "for Victoria" which was a crew change point on the Norfolk Division at milepost 120 and it was numbered 905.

When Sheffield shipped the cars, Sheffield had painted them in their standard color scheme of dark green with the engine painted black, some engine parts being silver and the fuel tank being painted red. Iron mechanical parts, such as the brake apparatus, were black. The railroad repainted the green parts to orange.

In 1953, Virginian contracted with N&W for that railroad to install an aluminum half front with a single window and a roof. A manually operated windshield wiper was added in 1955. Also added was a battery powered headlight, which hung on the front hand grab iron, with an attachment to the rear for a red tail light. These lights were required under a new Virginia law. Although there is no company documentation, employees recall that the car numbers were changed when these improvements were made. My car became 109.

My car survived the VGN-N&W merger of 1959, the NKP-Wabash-N&W merger of 1964 and into the era of Norfolk Southern which was created June 1, 1982. The car was still on the NS (combined N&W-Southern) equipment roster in 1986 but was finally retired in two more years. It was purchased by a collector in Ohio who kept the car safely stored inside until selling it to my friend in July 2009. It was brought indirectly from Dayton, Ohio to Lynchburg, Virginia, arriving at our home July 20, 2009. It spent its first night inside my newly built replica VGN motor car shed.

A picture shows the wire from the battery headlight to the rear red light. The headlight was hung on the cars grab iron.

Another picture shows the various N&W numbers the car wore after the VGN merger with the N&W in 1959. When sanding the front the first day I owned the car, the Virginian number appeared on the left, VGN 109! Also, one picture shows the N&W number on a back, lower brace; N&W N 109. As I worked to find the car's original number, nothing new appeared on the front as the old paint was removed. My last chance was on that lower, back brace, I hoped. As I sanded away the N&W on the left side, nothing appeared. Virginian must not have had any lettering there. However on the right side as I sanded N 109, I thought I was seeing 1005. But 1005 was in the series of Virginian's Sheffield model 40-b motor cars. I sanded even more lightly and I found that what I thought was a 1, actually was the right side of the letter N. The last two digits, 0 and 5 were clear, but the digit to the left of the 0 was not. More careful sanding showed faintly that the digit was a 9! My car was originally 905! The layers of paint were: red primer was the first layer; orange; yellow; then N&W paint - lighter yellow for two more layers. I have added an illustration to show this sequence.

Removing Old Paint May 27 2011

My plan is to clean the large surface area pieces in place and to remove smaller parts to clean individually. In one picture, I am using my media blaster to remove paint from the aluminum top. Prior to this stage, I used an electric sander, sanded by hand and worked with chemical paint removers. I want to balance doing a very good and thorough job without hurting myself. I realize the paint may be lead based and I am wearing a protective breathing mask and working in an open, outdoor space.

I am concluding the following based on the layers of paint and primer I am finding on the aluminum parts. I believe that when the aluminum pieces were added in 1953, they were primed with red oxide and the car was painted orange. From a former VGN signalman, I have learned that about 1958, VGN painted these cars with a shade of yellow darker than the other layer applied later. After the VGN-N&W merger of December 1,1959, N&W painted the car in Roanoke on April 30, 1964 and from what I have found, a primer was not used. The entire car, including all of the aluminum pieces were painted yellow, including the bare metal inside the front and inside the roof. That explains why the yellow paint had peeled so badly in those places.