Early fascination for trains turns into a career and a lifetime passion

BY LAURA J. MONDUL|SPECIAL TO THE HERALD COURIER

As a child growing up Southwest Virginia, Ron Flanary was fascinated by trains. In the 1950s, when trains were still in their heyday, their whistles echoed off the rugged mountains of his homeland, as the iron horses steamed through the countryside.

The prominence of this once vital mode of transportation waned in the wake of the automobile, airplane and truck, but not so for Flanary’s fascination. He has spent a lifetime keeping the locomotive history alive, and even works toward reviving the great trains as a way of life.

Raised in the small coal town of Appalachia, Va., Flanary was surrounded by trains at an early age. Further cementing his interest, his grandfather was a conductor on the Louisville-Nashville Railroad in Kentucky, where his grandparents also ran a rooming and boarding house to service the burgeoning railroad community. He visited them often.

“I guess I was born into trains,” Flanary said. “It was still very much the steam era, so every day was smoke, cinders, grease and all the things associated with the railroads. Kids, and particularly young boys, are fascinated with things that make a lot of noise and go fast, so I was always naturally inclined.”

Because he spent so much time haunting the railroad and boarding houses, Flanary was constantly surrounded by the lifestyle and the people associated with trains. Though he claims to have been just like any other kid back then, he admits that when other boys were out cruising in their cars, hunting and fishing, Flanary was hanging around the tracks, hopping rides and talking to the workers.

In 1958, at age 10, Flanary decided to start capturing images of trains on film. His first camera was his grandparents’ Kodak Box Brownie, and in keeping with the technology of the time, his shots were in black and white.

“My first efforts were pretty sad,” he recalls, although some of those first images adorn the pages of his self-published book of photography, “The Tracks of My Years.”

In 1961, Flanary moved to a smaller plastic Brownie model camera, and upgraded to his first “real” camera in 1964, a 35mm Argus viewfinder model with adjustable shutter speeds, aperture and focus. As his passion for photographing trains developed, Flanary went through a succession of 35mm cameras and created his own style of photography.

“I moved beyond just photographs of locomotives to more creative compositions of all elements of railroading – trains, locomotives, cars, railroad workers, stations, tracks, et cetera ... ,” he said.

Flanary continued to pursue his passion throughout his young adult years and while attending Clinch Valley College in Wise, Va., where he received his degree in elementary education. Although, he admits, he never had any intention of teaching. He also played trumpet in a band to pay for his college education. In his junior year, he took on a position as a janitor for Southern Railway.

“It was probably the best job of my life – working cleaning urinals, sweeping and mopping and waxing floors – because it was in a train environment and I had total run of the place,” he said.

He also enjoyed the privilege of getting to ride the trains all over the division.

Upon graduation from college, Flanary applied and was accepted to the Southern Railway management program, and moved to Louisville, Ky., to work in the engineering track department.

However, the country was embroiled in the Vietnam War, and after six months on the job, Flanary was drafted into the U.S. Army. Fortunately, he never made it to the front lines, instead serving his two years at Fort Monmouth, N.J., and Fort Huachuca, Ariz. After an honorable discharge, he returned to Southern Railway, but began to realize that his career in the railways was ruining his passion.

“Somewhere I had this epiphany that maybe trains were the greatest hobby I could ever have gotten into, and when I turned it into my job, I effectively lost my hobby,” he said.

So Flanary returned home to Southwest Virginia, fell back on his degree and started teaching fourth grade in Keokee, Va.

Three years later, he embarked on the final and most enduring leg of his career when he went to work as a project manager for LENOWISCO, a regional planning district in Duffield, Va. He worked there for 33 years, until he recently retired from his position as executive director. Throughout the years, Flanary continued to pursue his train hobby. He has published at least 100 articles in trade magazines, six books, and completed numerous watercolor paintings featuring railroad scenes. His hobby has taken him all over the country, both on his own and with colleagues, in pursuit of that first love.

“Ron and I have logged a number of miles traveling around looking at projects,” said Virginia Sen. William Wampler Jr., who has known Flanary professionally and personally for 40 years. “What would normally take an hour to get from point A to point B can turn into two with Ron if CSX or Norfolk Southern’s trains are moving in a certain direction, because we have to stop and look at them.”

Over the past 10 years, Flanary had the opportunity to put his passion to work close to home – in the refurbishment of the Bristol Train Station. He was called upon to serve the foundation for his wealth of knowledge of trains as well as his experience in development and fundraising while at LENOWISCO.

“Ron is a very accomplished individual,” said Carl Moore, a former Tennessee senator and Bristol businessman. “He is very active in the community and in political affairs, and very knowledgeable, and an all around great guy. We are lucky to have him in our area.”

Though now retired, Flanary keeps busy with pet projects, including the Train Station and playing trumpet in his band, The Virginians. He admits that he and his wife, Wilma, are enjoying their downtime and getting to sleep late. But always, trains are foremost in his mind, and he dreams of the great trains making a comeback.

Currently, Flanary is working with the Train Station Foundation on a long-term goal to reinstate passenger rail service in Bristol, which was once a major hub for business rail travel. The last passenger train pulled out of the Bristol station in April 1971, but Flanary and other colleagues envision a day when people will again embrace trains as a mode of transportation.

“It’s a dream, but with new generations, people are rediscovering rail,” he said. “Instead of being crammed in a plane or fighting traffic in a car, you could get on a nice, comfortable train and relax.”

The Train Station Foundation “has considered passenger service and can handle it now,” Flanary said. “So if the opportunity ever presents itself, Bristol will be ready.” 

Should that day come, no doubt Ron Flanary will be there – with camera in hand to add another chapter to his history of trains.

Folks You Should Know is a weekly feature about the people who make up the fabric of our community. To suggest a subject, contact Assistant City Editor Christine Uthoff at cuthoff@bristolnews.com or (276) 645-2546.