Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510300010
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The covered gondola cars and other equipment - assuming they are U.S. made - would very likely be built right here in Roanoke.
Two companies - Interstate Equipment Corp. of Pittsburgh and American Machine & Manufacturing Co. of Roanoke - have been talking with Roanoke Mayor David Bowers about the cost and feasibility of building a tram or inclined railway on Mill Mountain.
Interstate Equipment is the sole U.S.-based designer of large aerial trams. And from the early 1900s until about 21/2 years ago, Interstate Equipment's manufacturing subsidiary was American Machine & Manufacturing of Roanoke. American, which employs 40 people at a plant on Eighth Street Southwest, still does work for Interstate, said American President and General Manager John C. Eberhardt.
Bowers said in an interview last week that after tourism projects on Henry Street and at the Transportation Museum are completed, the city should turn its attention to the star-topped mountain.
Eberhardt suggested that Interstate Equipment officials contact Bowers after reading of the mayor's interest in a tram in a July newspaper story. About the same time an official with Valley Metro contacted mass transit officials in Pittsburgh for information about inclined railways in that city, and they suggested Roanoke call Interstate, Eberhardt said.
Eberhardt's Roanoke shop recently renovated cars for Pittsburgh's Monongahela Incline. The company, in Roanoke since 1903, has built tram systems around the world - most recently in Indonesia. If Roanoke decides to build a tram, he hopes to get the business, Eberhardt added.
Interest in building an incline railway or tram on Mill Mountain has been around for years. Such a railroad operated until 1929 in the vicinity of Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
The idea of rebuilding it surfaced recently in a series of approximately 15 focus groups convened by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce to discuss the Roanoke Valley's needs. They came up with a recommendation for development on Mill Mountain. That proposal would move the Mill Mountain Zoo off the mountain to the Explore Park - whose officials say they would like to have it - and replace it on the mountain top with a restaurant, possibly served by a tram.
Also, a Northern Virginia architect has been pushing the idea of renovating the former Virginian Railway passenger station at Jefferson Street and Williamson Road. The station houses a feed and seed store.
The architect, Darren Hannabass, proposes using an addition to the station where passengers would transfer between a Mill Mountain tram and a trolley to the City Market area. Hannabass, a Roanoke native and rail fan, developed the concept for his thesis in architecture at Virginia Tech. He has detailed drawings but no cost estimate.
by CNB