Big Stoney RR - Waitesville Incline

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On Sun, Jul 27, 2014 at 6:17 PM, Gordon wrote:

> I  long have had a question about the Tri State Lumber Co. operations in
> Johns Creek Valley served by the narrow gauge incline railway over Potts
> Mountain to Ray's Siding in Potts Creek Valley.  That is, how were the Shay
> locomotive(s), c. 4 miles of narrow gauge track, log cars, and a saw mill
> transported into the isolated Johns Creek Valley?
>
> All historical accounts seem to dodge this matter, but maybe that is because
> there are no surviving records.
>
> Do you, or anyone else, have any info on this?

There might be some tidbits in the extensive list of references in the
journal article, but I haven't dug into them to know. When I was
researching in the letter files about the construction of the Potts
Valley line while the archives were here at Virginia Tech, I didn't
run across any references to the Tri State Lumber Co., though that
operation might have come after the line went into service. My notes
end in 1910, with most of the correspondence I reviewed covering
extension of the line to Potts Creek and dealings with the Virginia
Iron, Coal & Coke Co.

Bruce in Blacksburg