RailNews

C&OHS Restores Vintage Railway Phone Box

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway GP7 5830 removes a caboose from a westbound freight train at JD Cabin, Clifton Forge, Va. A C&O phonebox can be seen in the foreground. Photo by Eugene L. Huddleston.

C&OHS Restores Vintage Railway Phone Box

By Railfan & Railroad Staff

CLIFTON FORGE, Va. — The Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society has restored an authentic railroad phone box and put it on display at the C&O Railway Heritage Center in Clifton Forge, Va. 

At one time, C&O had hundreds if not thousands of these phone boxes across the system to let employees communicate with each other. The phone system was independent of the nation’s civilian grid. According to the C&OHS, the phone boxes were used as late as the 1980s. The box that was recently restored was once found alongside the main line at Charlottesville, Va. 

“One of the goals of our C&O Railway Heritage Center is to create an immersive experience for guests interested in the transportation history of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, including what it took to make the railroad work on a day-to-day basis,” said Mark Totten, president of the C&OHS. “The phone box’s restoration has a big impact on how our museum re-creates the railroad’s atmosphere with artifacts both large and small. We are grateful to our volunteer team that was willing to not only complete this restoration that required many hours of labor but also diligently research the railroad’s original equipment specifications found in our archive.” 

The phonebox was saved in the 1970s by C&OHS member and former director David Powell, who noticed that it was being disposed of during the construction of Interstate 64. Powell kept it for decades before donating it to the C&OHS in 2008. In 2021, members Marvin Plumley, Scott Greathouse, and Doug Andre began an extensive restoration. The car has been painted black and white, per C&O practice, and still has its phone inside. The phone will eventually be connected to the replica signal tower at the heritage center.

For more information, visit cohs.org.

This article was posted on: June 1, 2022