Southern Railway Signal Finial

Standing 26 inches high and weighing 48 pounds, this cast iron finial adorned the top of a Southern Railway signal which protected a crossing diamond used by N&W and Southern railways in Lynchburg, Va. The structure was Union Station and in its heyday, it saw passenger trains of the Southern, Norfolk & Western and Chesapeake & Ohio railroads. Until December 1941, Lynchburg Traction & Light Company's street cars also called at the station on a street to the right and above the Southern track in the picture. In the larger vintage picture from 1956, N&W's westbound Powhatan Arrow passenger train is loading passengers at the station while a brace of Southern diesel switch engines wait in advance of the aforementioned signal. The Southern train will proceed once the N&W passenger train leaves and the signal gives a proceed indication. The Southern train is inside a short tunnel that passed under Ninth Street.