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Virginia Brewing Company: The Brewery That Helped Build Roanoke
Long before the rise of today’s craft beer movement, Roanoke was home to one of Virginia’s most successful breweries. The Virginia Brewing Company, founded in December 1889 by a group of Roanoke investors, quickly became one of the city’s largest industrial employers and an important part of the “Magic City’s” rapid growth during the…
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N&W RY Heart Shaped Brass Lock
Category: Railroad Memorabilia Approximate Date: 1927 Location: Roanoke, Virginia Description This Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W Ry.) heart-shaped brass lock is marked with the date 1927 and represents a classic example of the locks used throughout the railroad’s extensive network during the early twentieth century. Commonly referred to by collectors as a “heart lock”…
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N&W RY Brass Pancake Lock
Category: Railroad Memorabilia Approximate Date: 1900-1930 Location: Roanoke, Virginia Description The Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W) predominantly used “pancake” brass locks (or push-key padlocks) from the late 1800s through the 1930s. These flat, round locks were largely manufactured for N&W by companies like the Miller Lock Co., Slaymaker, and Yale, and were opened by…