West Jefferson frt customers & RPO cars

Tue May 26 19:51:19 EDT 2020

Thanks, Bruce … very helpful.  I find it interesting that only a few customers are listed here but there are several more listed, plus a couple “big” ones considering expansion and/or building new plants, in the 1974 abandonment proposal.  Of course, the various counties were behind keeping the branch so were really pushing the what-if-carloadings side of the equation while N&W was only looking at real numbers from 1972-74.  Surprising they didn’t list more years than just 2.5-3.  NS listed 10 years in their Murphy Branch abandonment request in 1987.

Jim King

http://smokymountainmodelworks.com/

From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2020 2:18 PM
To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Subject: Re: West Jefferson frt customers & RPO cars

On Tue, May 26, 2020 at 10:56 AM Harry wrote:

There is an Abingdon Branch track map in folder #00170.14 showing tracks (including the wye)

at West Jefferson revised to January, 1963.  Tracks are not identified by industry.  It does

indicate that the water tank was donated to the Town of West Jefferson for fire protection. Scale

is 1" equals 4,000 feet so it isn't very detailed.  It does show road crossings by name.

As for industries,  you could usually count on coal for the Ashe County schools and box

cars of LCL (less-than-carload) freight for West Jefferson.  At the end, Sprague Electric

near Warrensville was probably the biggest shipper.  Spraugue overhauled transformers.

In the early 70s, the Abingdon Branch was served once a week on Wednesdays.

Here is the info about the branch from 1969 with the notes from the shipper guide:

Bruce in Blacksburg

-----

Official List of Open and Prepay Stations 84
Effective November 15, 1969

2200 Abingdon (561) ........ Va

ABINGDON BRANCH
Connects at No 2200

2215 *Watauga (561) ......... Va
2230 *Alvarado (561) ........ Va
2250 *Damascus (99-561) ..... Va
2255 *Laureldale (561) ...... Va
2265 *Taylor's Valley (561). Va
2270 Creek Jct (561) ....... Va
2305 *Green Cove (561) ...... Va
2310 *Whitetop (561) ........ Va
2325 *Nella (561) ........... NC
2340 *Tuckerdale (561) ...... NC
2350 *Lansing (99-561) ...... NC
2365 * Warrensville (99-561) .... NC
2380 *Company Farm (561) .... NC
2385 *Colvards (Ashe Co) (44-561) ... NC
2390 West Jefferson (561) .. NC

44-Shipments for the following stations should be waybilled to the station shown, subject to the special conditions at each station.

Station          Waybill to
Colvards        West Jefferson, NC

99-When consigned to the firms or persons shown in connection with the following stations shipments, except "Shipper's Order Notify" shipments, may be forwarded with freight charges "Collect" unless shipments are of such nature that tariffs or the governing classification require prepayment. Freight charges will be collected and billing handled by the agent at the station indicated. Shipments for other consignees will be governed by conditions shown in connection with each station.

Damascus -- Agent-Abingdon, VA
American Cyanamid Company
Brunswick Corporation

Lansing -- Agent-West Jefferson, NC
Lansing Grocery Company
Sprague Electric Company

Warrensville -- Agent-West Jefferson, NC
Sprague Electric Company

561-Carload freight only will be handled, except as follows:

1. An outbound less than carload shipment weighing 6,000 pounds or more, from one consignor, will be handled when loaded by the consignor on a public team track or private industry siding and does not require freight house handling on the NW.

2. An inbound less than carload shipment weighing 6,000 pounds or more, to one consignee, will be handled when unloaded by the consignee on a public team track or private industry siding and does not require freight house handling on the NW.

3. Less than carload shipments will be handled when loaded in the same car with a carload shipment if the less than carload shipments are received from the same consignor and are destined to the same consignee as the carload shipment.

4. A less than carload shipment of used newsprint cores or used paper winding cores, being returned from destination to the original point from which such cores, wound with paper, were shipped in carloads, will be handled provided such shipment is loaded by the consignor in a car designated for newsprint loading and route of the return cores is the same as the reverse route of the inbound car utilized.

5. Less than carload shipments being returned from destination to original consignor and shipping point in equipment that is owned, assigned or leased by consignor or consignee-provided the LCL shipment is loaded by the original consignee and unloaded by the original consignor.

6. Less than carload shipments of automobile parts returned to points of origin via the reverse route of the inbound shipment in assigned cars will be handled if loaded by shipper on private tracks.

7. The exceptions in this note on less than carload traffic include less than carload shipments moving on "any quantity" rates. (NW)

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