N&W and Virginian in 1909--Flood

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
May 27, 1909

TWO MILES OF RAILROAD SWEPT AWAY
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Cloudburst in Montgomery county Also Flooded Merrimac Coal Mine
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CROPS DESTROYED AND BUILDINGS DAMAGED
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Blacksburg Deluged and No Trains Can be Run Between There and Christiansburg for at Least Five Days
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    MANY RAILROAD AND WAGON BRIDGES WASHED AWAY

    Roanoke, Va., May 26 (Special)--A cloudburst this evening between Blacksburg and Christiansburg washed away two miles of the Virginia Anthracite Railroad, swept away a number of railroad and wagon bridges, flooded the Merrimac coal mines, destroyed crops and damaged buildings.
    The downpour was the worst in the history of Montgomery county and extended over an area three miles long by two miles wide.
    The town of Blacksburg, where is located the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, was deluged but no serious damage resulted there.
    Telephones and telegraph wires are prostrated and railroad officials say it will take five days to repair the tracks so train service can be resumed between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, and hacks will  have to be used for passenger traffic and handling the mails.
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Gordon Hamilton
    
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