N&W in 1909--Telegraph offices

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
March 17, 1909

TWO MORE TELEGRAPH OFFICES TO BE CLOSED
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Were Among First to be Opened With Building of the Norfolk and Western

    The Norfolk and Western railroad will, it is said, within the next few days close two more telegraph and block offices on the Pocahontas division, Cooper and Northfork.  These offices were among the first to be opened with the building of the line and the announcement of their abandonment will, no doubt, come as a surprise, especially to railroad men.  North fork has been operated for years as a terminal where yard crews were maintained for the purpose of making up trains for the through crews and to do the shifting for the mines.  A number of men who are now located at Northfork will be transferred to Bluefield after the change takes effect and the former point in so far as the Norfolk and Western is concerned will be little more than a way station on their road.
    The absolute block system for passenger trains which, by the way, was immediately put into effect after the big rear end collision which happened to the World's Fair limited just east of Welch some sixteen years ago in which several lives were lost has apparently been superceded on the western general division by the system which allows passenger trains to follow each other over some portions of the road, as for instance, between this city and Graham where what is called "hugging" each other is practiced.
    The Norfolk and Western has a most enviable record in the number of accidents to its passenger trains during the last dozen years and it heard that the new order of things on the western division proves effective as the old.
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[Does anyone have any details of the World's Fair limited accident 1893?  This fair was the Chicago World's Fair, aka World's Columbian Exposition.]

Gordon Hamilton
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