Rural Retreat Train Depot

My plans for a photo trip on Good Friday didn't go as planned. I tried in vain to outrun the rain as I motored up I-81 to Rural Retreat Va., looking for this train depot that need it's picture taken.

I had read a newspaper article about this depot a couple of weeks earlier. The article says that, like the train depot in Chuckey TN, the train depot in Rural Retreat is privately owned but currently sits on land owned by the Norfolk & Southern railroad. The owner wants to upgrade the building but is reticent to do so in its current location, and the railroad won't sell him the land on which it sits. So he plans to move the train station to property he already owns at Mount Airy, a long-lost stagecoach stop along U.S. Highway 11 in Wythe county.

I was about a week late getting there as most of the platform and the roof over it have already been removed. I assume the article in the paper must be drawing lots of attention because of the number of 'No Trespassing' signs tacked on the building - and yes, I was careful to stay on railroad property and the sidewalk, not on his property.

Regardless, when I arrived it was breezy, about 41 degrees, and sprinkling rain, a really bad combination for picture-taking. But I was determined to get some brackets so I grabbed a towel to cover my camera and set off. Between gusts of wind I snapped off several brackets, I could only take pictures from the upwind side because the rain was blowing too much to allow shooting into the wind without getting water spots on the lens.

Anyway, here's the HDR'd result, with some judicious photoshop'n to remove the 'No Trespassing' signs and power lines.