All contents are Copyright © Ric Carter
April 23, 2018
Pamlico River draw
WASHINGTON, NC — Hugh Martin Sterling lived on Main Street at the northern foot of the Norfolk Southern trestle over the Pamlico River. Hugh was a great friend with whom I shared a passion for life, trains, and birds. I don’t remember the details of this visit, but at the time, the bridge tender worked all day opening and closing the draw on demand. He went out to the draw on a row boat and operated the draw with a turnstile wrench. Here I recorded the crossing of a Southern Railroad train headed toward Chocowinity. It was not too many years later when Norfolk Southern leased the short lines to Carolina Coastal Railway. In the tender’s house, you can see Hugh Martin and (I think) tender Charlie Boahn. That’s an 1962 EMD GP30 pulling the load with a real live caboose bringing up the rear. I took these photos in 1987.
Hugh and Charlie in the draw house with the approaching train in the distance
GP30 on the draw
Caboose leaving the draw
Hugh and Charlie seen between cars crossing the river
The draw shed was once upon a time the place a man spent his day. That’s why it then had a number of the amenities a man required — refrigerator, television, fishing lures, rear-view mirror, clock radio, uhf rail radio, electric fan, and easy chair with blanket.
