N&W in 1909--Lumber Road

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Louis,

Thank you for researching the N&W's Lewis Creek Branch.  When I posted the newspaper article on the Honaker Lumber Company's railroad construction, I forgot about the N&W's later branch in the same location.  The N&W Annual Report ending Dec. 1917 contains the following:

  Your Company acquired from the Honaker Lumber Company, Inc., 6.6 miles of railroad on Lewis Creek, extending from a point near Putnam, Va., on the Clinch Valley Line, to Drill P. 0., Va.  Several coal operations are on this Branch and the road is now being reconstructed to handle the heavier equipment of your Company. A connection with the Clinch Valley Line was under construction, track laying being about 30 per cent; completed. An extension beyond Drill P. 0. of 1.94 miles was also under construction to reach other coal operations and track had been laid for a distance of 0.86 miles. The total proposed length of this Branch is 9.10 miles.
I am attaching a portion of a 1916 topo map showing a pre-N&W railroad line north out of Putham up Lewis Creek to Drill where it turned west to cross the divide between Lewis Creek and Grissen Creek (and from Russell County into Buchanan County) using an intriguing track arrangement of a double switchback plus a single switchback.  Off the attached map, the line (labeled "Lumber RR") continued west down Russell Fork for about seven miles before making a big "U" turn to come back east about six miles up Indian Creek and Lambert Fork.  On the 1916 topo map there was no line up Lewis Creek north of Drill to Garden.  That would come later when the N&W made the 1.94 mile extension.

It's interesting that the N&W and the lumber company shared the Lewis Creek Branch.  This reminds me of a similar arrangement on  the N&W Narrows Branch between Bastian and Suiter described in an earlier posting.

Thanks again for giving me the incentive to dig a little deeper into the lumber company's lines and the relation with the N&W Lewis Creek Branch.

Gordon Hamilton




Louis Newton wrote:

Pocahontas Division TT No. 27, effective Nov. 21, 1926 -- and possibly others of that era -- shows the Lewis Creek Branch extending from Putnam (about a mile east of Honaker) and following Lewis Creek north to the stations of Laurel, Tarkiln, Russell, Drill and Garden.  No distance are given, but topo maps show it to have been about 7 miles in length.  Garden was about a mile south of the Russell-Buchanan County line.

At that time passenger service was provided by trains Nos. 223 and 224 daily except Sunday.  The line was operated jointly by the N&W and the White Oak Lumber Co. under N&W rules.  The N&W could operate between the hours of 1:00 
AM and 1:00 PM, and the White Oak :Lumber Co. between 1:00 PM and 1:00 AM. From the published schedules, I suspect that the same crew that operated on the Honaker Branch also operated on the Lewis Creek Branch during their tour of duty.

It appears that present-day Virginia State Route #624 might have been built on the old right-of-way.  Although Lewis Creek Branch did not operate beyond Garden, it's possible that a lumber road could have been built beyond that point into Buchanan County.

Louis Newton

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Subject: N&W in 1909--Lumber Road


Bluefield Daily Telegraph
September 2, 1909

CONTRACT AWARDED FOR TWELVE MILES OF ROAD
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Walton & company Will Begin at Once Construction of Line From Honaker into Buchanan County

    Walton & Company, according to news just received from Honaker, Va,. have been awarded the contract for grading twelve miles of railroad for the Honaker Lumber Company from Honaker to Buchanan county.  Work will be started at once.
    The road is to be used as a lumber road, and the entire length when completed will be about thirty miles.  It will tap the timber areas owned by the company in Russell, Buchanan and Dickinson counties.
    The company is employing a big force of men on its plant at Honaker and rushing construction to completion as rapidly as possible.
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[Anyone have any info on this lumber railroad?  1916 topo maps show a lumber railroad north out of Putnam, just east of Honaker, winding around as it followed several water courses in Russell, Buchanan and Dickinson counties.  A Shay Website lists 6 Shays at Honaker, and a Climax Website lists a 36" gauge Climax at Honaker.]

Gordon Hamilton

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