Switchback v2.0

[NW Mailing List]

Alex, All,
Attache is my best estimation of how the old main (red dotted line) and the
1950's added trackage (white dotted lines) would have been positioned  on a
current map.
Any criticism, comments, conjectures, etc. will be greatly appreciated.
Jim Cochran

On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 4:00 PM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
wrote:

> I have done some research on what Grant said and I generally concur, but
> there is more to the story and I think it is worth a few page article in
> the Arrow to layout the whole story with regards to the development of the
> trackage through Switchback. The 1907 Stations and Sidings list referred to
> what became the Elkhorn Branch as the Switchback Branch.
>
>
>
> While I cannot see a spur off the westbound main in “Billion Dollar
> Coalfield,” I have found an N&W drawing from 1942 that shows a small spur
> from a trailing point switch on the westbound main on the east side of the
> substation.
>
>
>
> The Elkhorn Branch left the main line near the 400,000-gallon water tank
> at MP 380.39, however construction of the new Elkhorn tunnel in 1947 began
> on the western approach which required building a new culvert before Bridge
> 858 could be built. That culvert sat on top of the Elkhorn Branch. The new
> connection to the Elkhorn Branch had to be moved from MP 380.39 to about MP
> 380.00 and come down on the east side of new Bridge 858 to connect with the
> Elkhorn Branch.
>
>
>
> When the new Elkhorn tunnel was opened it was only double-tracked to
> Bridge 858. It took another three months to finish the track realignment
> between Bridge 858 and Lick Branch, which was basically the track through
> Switchback.
>
>
>
> While engine crews may have referred to the new track as the Angle Spur,
> the 1952 Stations and Sidings list referred to it as Elkhorn Branch and the
> 1959 and 1964 Stations and Sid9ings List referred to it as Left Fork
> Elkhorn Branch.
>
>
>
> Interestingly the 1924 Stations and Sidings List noted a switch at MP
> 380.07 as No. 4 Spur – Appalachian Power Company, switch as MP 380.39 as
> Switchback Junction – Elkhorn Branch, trailing point switch on eastbound
> main as Lick Branch Colliery, and trailing point switch on westbound main
> as Delta Colliery.  Further investigation showed that the No. 4 spur was
> what was left of the original passing track through Switchback and of no
> value as a spur for APC since it was a dead end spur on a hill opposite on
> the far side of the tracks away from the power plant. Presumably
> Appalachian Power Company was just a name for the spur.
>
>
>
> The drawing shows the track layout near MP 380
>
>
>
> I will talk to Ken Miller about an Arrow Article.
>
>
>
> Alex Schust
>
>
>
> *From:* NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] *On
> Behalf Of *NW Mailing List
> *Sent:* Thursday, April 22, 2021 10:52 PM
> *To:* nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
> *Subject:* Switchback v2.0
>
>
>
> Jim,
>
> You're correct. Well, . . .
>
> . . . As I recall from looking at this decades ago (my disclaimer), the
> alignment of the Elkhorn Branch beyond its junction switch at Switchback
> was to be obliterated by fill from the new mainline alignment. To maintain
> service to Angle Mine during construction, a second switch was cut into the
> old eastbound main upgrade just below the powerhouse.
>
> This realignment of Elkhorn Branch, renamed Angle Spur, dropped below the
> old main to parallel what was to be the new westbound main (as shown in
> DS00125), then veered away along the hillside, short of what was to be the
> new Maybeury Bridge, and dropped down to the original branch alignment.
> When the new westbound main was laid coming off the bridge and parallel to
> the new spur, a crossover, in effect, was installed between the two tracks
> as the new junction.
>
> The junction was referred to as "Angle" by crews, particularly westbound
> Elkhorn jobs who set off empties here (a lot) during the fifties. This was
> the first stop for a Vivian mine run out of Bluefield.
>
> Apparently, APCo took advantage and what became a switchback after the old
> main was taken up, stayed in service as a spur to the substation. Photos
> from the 1920s in Alex's* Billion Dollar Coalfield* seem to show a spur
> in the same location on a trailing-point switch off the westbound main
> about the time the transformer yard was built.
>
> Grant Carpenter
>
> On 4/21/2021 7:40 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>
> I am under the impression that  Archives photo DS00125 shows a connection
> that was created to a portion of the old main line (at the higher
> elevation) during the 1950's re-alignment.  You can view what is left of
> this if you zoom in on the substation area on Google Maps.  Can anyone
> confirm or refute?
>
> Jim Cochran
>
>
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