Virginian in 1908 -- Into Princeton

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
November 15, 1908

REGULAR DAILY TRAINS INTO COUNTY SEAT
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Virginian Railway Will Inaugurate Passenger and Freight Service Next Sunday
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NINETY-FIVE MILES OF ROAD READY FOR TRAFFIC
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With Completion of the New River Bridge, in Probably Ten Weeks, Entire Line Deepwater to Norfolk Will be Finished
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NEW BRANCH WILL TAP A RICH COAL TERRITORY
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    Commencing next Sunday at 10:30 the Virginian Railway will inaugurate a regular passenger and freight schedule and trains will be run into Princeton every day from Matoaka.  The train will leave Deepwater at 5:45 a. m. and will reach Page at 6:15.  At 9:50 the train will reach Matoaka and a 45-minute run will take it into Princeton.  Leaving Princeton the train will start at 11 after stopping a half hour in the county seat.  It will then go to Matoaka where connections will be made with the Norfolk and Western and the train will then leave for Deepwater where it will arrive at 3:40.
    Commencing Sunday the road will have ninety-five miles over which trains will be run from Deepwater to Princeton.  Work trains are now being run from Princeton to the New River bridge, which will be completed in about ten weeks.  As soon as this bridge is finished the road will be ready for trains between Norfolk and Deepwater.  Three spans of the bridge itself will be over 2,200 feet.  In addition to being one of the longest bridges in the world it will have the distinction of having the highest concrete piers in the world.
    With regard to improvements which are being made the Virginian railway has let a contract for twenty-four miles up the Guyandotte river from Mullins.  This branch will reach the headwaters of the Guyandotte and will go over what will be known as the Winding Gulf route to a point which will allow connection to made with the track which had been built to the Slab Fork Coal company's property.  While the contract has not been let for the entire track laying scheme, it will evidently be done as the route has been laid out by a number of engineers who spent some weeks in the country at the headwaters of the Guyandotte river.  These engineers took with them to the country in the Winding Gulf territory two cars of materials which was used in providing places for the men to live while they were at work.
    The grading on the west side of the Guyandotte has already been commenced and the present contract calls for twenty-four miles of grading and track laying.  There is no railroad in the entire section of country which the new Winding Gulf route will penetrate, and it will open a tremendously large territory, which has some of the finest coals in this part of the state.
    Near Lester the railroad is building a four mile branch up to the Glen-White Coal Company, which will start operations as soon as the road is constructed.  At Princeton this week the company will complete?? work on their water tank and the turntable will also be finished.  This turntable is a very large one and came to Princeton on three?? large flat cars.  Other improvements will be rushed there, and Princeton will undoubtedly be a very busy place during the next few days and perhaps weeks.
    Regarding business of the Virginian railway the Loop Creek Collieries have fired up their 509 coke ovens, and the company is rushing the coal trade.  The Slab Fork Coal Company has an output of from ten to twelve cars per day and the Harberton?? Collieries also puts out ten or twelve cars per day.  Several other companies have promises of business as soon as they are ready to open up and dig coal.
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[As often happens in articles on microfilm the print in places is either too faint or too dark to be legible.  The last two paragraphs of the above article were too faint in places.  The best interpretation was used except for a few places where ?? indicates a particularly questionably interpretation.  Please post any corrections for all to see.]

Gordon Hamilton
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