VIRGINIAN RAILWAY Finial

Virginian was known for its thrifty ways, but the railroad did flirt with extravagance on a few occasions. This cast iron finial is an example, being 17 inches tall and weighing about 20 pounds. It most likely came from a pole holding a relay case at Altavista, Virginia where the railroad had a connection with the Southern Ry. It came to me from the collection of a dear friend, Kenneth "Hoppy" Hopkins, a Southern Railway Danville Division agent-operator who worked many years at the Southern depot in Altavista. He trained me as an "Agent-Operator-Leverman-Telegrapher on the Southern during the summers of my first two years in college. He were livelong friends until his death in February 2009. His daughter Cindi saw to it that I received this finial. Hoppy admired the Virginian, often saying it was "the best railroad in the country!"