Quid Cloverdale Branch ?

[NW Mailing List]

At 04:22 PM 11/18/2006, you wrote:

>How long is the branch? How many industries did it serve in the late 

>60's early 70's? How many stations did it have? What type of power 

>did they use in the 60-70's? Thanks for any info,

>Fred Mullins


All

A brief history of the Cloverdale branch.

The first attempt to build a railroad in this area was the proposed 
Catawba Furnace Railroad, Cloverdale and Catawba Furnace Railroad - 
1917.  The next attempt was the Roanoke & Botetourt Railroad - 
1922.  Some grading for proposed railroad was made from Cloverdale as 
far as Riley Orchards but rail was never laid to this point and the 
project was finally abandoned.  Some of the proposed stations for 
this line was Daleville, Amsterdan, Mt. Union, Fincastle and Catawba 
Furnace. I recall the initial project was to serve some ore mines 
just north of Fincastle.

The construction of the line now known as the Cloverdale Branch was 
begun by the Lone Star Corporation on May 28, 1949 and completed on 
January 24, 1950.  The industrial line was sold to the N&W on January 
19, 1951 and became the Cloverdale Branch. The branch was just under 
9 miles long.

For more information see articles in the June and July 1951 issue of 
the N&W magazine.

Jim Blackstock