This article first appeared in the April 1992 edition of Backroads, when Jerry Lou Drake and I were both single girls living a rugged life here on the mountain. We became fast friends and she let me interview her for the newspaper about keeping goats and all the healthy, nutritious products they provide. Fast forward a few years and our “single” status changed when we both found the man of our dreams with whom to share our simplistic lifestyle. Over the years that followed, a lot has changed but our enduring friendship has held strong and we still enjoy having a cup of tea together sitting by the warmth of the kitchen woodstove, catching up on each other’s news.

The train station in Lyndhurst, Virginia, has a rich history of early service before its eventual demise but thanks to the restorative efforts of Max and Sylvia Reinhardt, the derelict building has become their unusual private home, filled with mementos of the past as well as Sylvia’s beautiful paintings. Read now about the depot’s beginning and long career as a train station/post office and follow its history to the present day.