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2009 SESSION

093825228
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 314
Offered January 14, 2009
Prefiled January 13, 2009
Designating "Virginia's Rail Heritage Region."
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Patron-- Edwards
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, the region, including the Counties of Allegheny, Amherst, Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, and Roanoke and the Cities of Lynchburg, Bedford, Covington, Salem, and Roanoke and all the towns therein, involves the largest concentration of rail facilities in Virginia, owned by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, the Norfolk and Western Railway Company, and the Southern Railway Company, including the shops in Roanoke where the most modern steam locomotives in the world were designed and built, the Clifton Forge shops of the C&O Railway, and the Southern facilities at Monroe in Amherst County; and

WHEREAS, with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Historical Society in Clifton Forge and the Norfolk and Western Historical Society in Roanoke combined with the Roanoke and Blue Ridge chapters of the National Railway Historical Society and the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, this region has the largest base of rail enthusiasts in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the region is the location of the Commonwealth's official transportation museum, the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, designated by the General Assembly in the 1980s; and

WHEREAS, the region also contains the O. Winston Link Museum, featuring America’s finest collection of professional photos taken of Virginia railroads in the 1950s, when steam was king on the Norfolk and Western; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby recognize the region, including the Counties of Allegheny, Amherst, Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, and Roanoke and the Cities of Lynchburg, Bedford, Covington, Salem, and Roanoke and all the towns therein, as "Virginia's Rail Heritage Region" and encourage state agencies and local governments to work together to promote and encourage rail tourism in their respective areas of the region, to include working with the Commonwealth Transportation Board to establish appropriate highway signage; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the city councils and county boards of each locality in "Virginia's Rail Heritage Region" as an expression of the General Assembly's support.