Clinchfield in 1908

[NW Mailing List]

C. C. & O. RAILROAD OFFICIALS IN THE CITY
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Making a Tour of New Road and Some Kind of Deal May be on Foot

    George L. Carter, Norman B. Ream, Mark L. Potter and M. I. Caples, of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio railroad passed through the city yesterday afternoon in the special car Clinchfield on their way to St. Paul, where the company has two tunnels which are of a peculiar kind of construction and with which the company is having some difficulty.  They are making a tour of the new road and it is evident that some deal is on foot, as Mr. Ream is one of the largest bankers and railroad directors in the country.  George L. Carter is well known in this section as a promoter and railroad and mine owner.  Mark L. Potter is chairman of the board of directors of the new road.
    A Daily Telegraph representative attempted to learn what the party was doing in this section but was assured that they had no object except to look over the new road.
    Mr. Caples was asked about the report which says that the Norfolk and Western was about to sell the Clinch Valley division to his company.  He said his company would like to own the Clinch Valley but that he was very much afraid the road was not for sale.  In spite of the fact that the Norfolk and Western officials in this city say there is no truth in the report that the Clinch Valley is to be sold, it is known here that the Clinch Valley division has always been operated at a loss or at a very small margin of profit and it is generally believed that the Norfolk and Western would accept a reasonable offer for the road.
    When asked about the report that the Southern railway would parallel the Clinch Valley division in case it was purchased by the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio, Mr. Caples laughed and said that he guessed there would be no parallel line, as the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio was not a prospective purchaser at this time.
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[These are interesting rumors that I have not seen anywhere else.  M. I. Caples, previously of the N&W, is the namesake for the town of Caples, WV.  Some of the names in this article were blurred on the microfilm so the best interpretation is shown.]

Gordon Hamilton
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