[N&W] Re: Lexington, VA

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Stroke of luck or coincidence!  Last night I received the book "Rails 
Remembered---Vol. 3" by Louis M. Newton.  Although mainly a chronicle of an 
N&W railroader and his experiences on the N&W, the author describes in one 
chapter a trip he made by mixed train on the C&O Lexington branch in 
1951.  It provides a lot of the information I was seeking on the C&O 
branch, the B&O Valley line, and the N&W from Glasgow to Buena Vista.
Yes, the book mentions an article ("All Day to Lexington") in the summer 
1991 issue of the "Washington & Lee Alumni Magazine" by Charles Castner on 
the Richmond & Alleghany and the Valley Railroad.  I'll have to get a copy.
By the way, Mason Cooper mentions in his book on the Shenandoah line that 
the N&W (or its Shenandoah Valley predecessor) bought 8 miles of the R&A 
(roughly from Buena Vista south).   I'm beginning to suspect that some maps 
(such as the 1891 inside-cover fold-out map in Cooper's book) are incorrect 
showing the C&O Lexington Branch traversing from Balcony Falls directly to 
Loch Laird.  The actual C&O connection was at Glasgow to get on N&W 
trackage up to Loch Laird.

Dennis Hogan