Loudermilk, Delbert W. (Loudermilk, Delbert W., Jr.)
Biography
Delbert W. Loudermilk was born in Cass, West Virginia. Growing up in this company town known for its lumber operations, Loudermilk began his life-long interest in railroads. The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, Greenbriar Division, was the railroad that first interested him. During his military service, Loudermilk took photographs of railroads wherever he was stationed. While stationed at Camps Cook and San Luis Obispo in California, he captured railroad scenes from the west coast. During the Korean War, as a member of the Signal Corps, he was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where he rode the train to Camp Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. While in Augusta, he photographed steam locomotives, which would soon be replaced by diesel. As a resident of Bristol, Tennessee, Loudermilk often rode the Norfolk & Western Railway roundtrip from Bristol, Virginia to West Jefferson, North Carolina. Loudermilk has traveled the length of the United States by rail. His interest in railroads has resulted in this pictorial collection, which spans nearly 70 years.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Delbert W. Loudermilk Railroad Collection
This collection consists of color slides, photographs, negatives, and a videotape relating to railroading. Major subjects are East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad, narrow and standard gauge (Johnson City and Elizabethton, Tenn.); Norfolk and Western Railroad (Bristol, Va., to West Jefferson, N. C.); Southern Pacific Railway (San Luis Obispo, Ca., and environs); and Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (Cass and Ronceverte, W. Va.).
