1907 - New Road

[NW Mailing List]

Roanoke Times - August 3, 1907

NEW ROAD

A Prospective Line Between Radford and Mt. Airy, N.C.

   Radford, Va., Aug. 2. -- Special -- The prospects for a new 
railroad for Radford seem good. The preliminary survey of the 
proposed Statesville Air Line railroad will commence on Tuesday, 
between Statesville and Mt. Airy, N.C., a distance of about fifty 
miles, and upon completion of the survey, the line between Mt. Airy 
and Radford will be located. This portion of the work will be done by 
a Virginia company that will soon apply for a charter to build this 
road, which will be a continuation of the Statesville Air Line railroad.
   The distance from Radford to Mt. Airy by the most direct route is 
about fifty miles, making the entire line about a hundred, while to 
reach Statesville by the present round-about route one must travel 
two hundred and fifty miles.
   It is said that the grade between Radford and Mount Airy would be 
comparatively easy, and crossing the Blue Ridge will not be difficult 
as there are several gaps in the range for which the engineers will 
strike. A half-mile tunnel at Hall's Gap would save five miles. It is 
estimated that the cost of the road between Radford and Mount Airy 
would be a million and a half dollars. Valuable ores, such as 
magnetic iron ore, copper, gold, zinc and lead, have been found along 
this route in sufficient quantities to make them valuable deposits 
with the building of the road. There are also great forests of pine, 
oak, poplar, hemlock and maple awaiting railroad facilities to market 
their products and yield large financial returns.
   Ex-Governor Tyler has take great interest and worked hard for the 
new road, and has been spoken of in North Carolina for president of 
it. If the new road is built, it would open up a direct route to the 
seaboard, over which great quantities of coal would be carried over 
the New River road, which taps the main branch of the Norfolk & 
Western at Radford, and furnishes an outlet for the great output of 
West Virginia coal and coke. It is also probable that if the proposed 
road is built, there would be a short line built to tap the Tidewater 
road near Belspring, which is only a few miles from Radford. All of 
which means a new lease of life for Radford.

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- Ron Davis, Roger Link