Fagg Wye (was: VGN Helper Practices)

[NW Mailing List]

Ray,

I had known for a long time there was a wye at Fagg, but never knew exactly
where it was until I uncovered this drawing a few months ago in the GOB-East
material donated to us by NS:
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=209601

Once I tried to match the shape of the river in relation to the tracks in
Google Maps, I realized the wye at Fagg was squeezed into the spot where the
North Fork of the Roanoke River swings away from the tracks for a bit near
Falls Ridge Rd.  The tail track for the wye neared the river across from
where Running Buck Road meets North Fork Road.

Paste these coordinates into Google Maps:
37.19511106277418, -80.326758999178

If you zoom in enough for Google Maps to show property lines, the location
of the wye becomes readily apparent.

Fortunately the drawing linked above was drawn after the VGN rerouted the
river to avoid the need to bridge it twice, or it would have been harder to
locate it.  The original river route is barely visible in the thumbnail
between the wye and the station if you look closely.

I used to think the wye was further down river closer to Slade Hill Tunnel,
primarily because the control point at the current east end of the passing
siding is named Fagg. But Google Maps also conveniently labels the hollow
just upriver from the wye as "Fagg Hollow".

This archives drawing shows the wye (and right of way for it) in detail:
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=102663
The tail track of the wye was about 110' long.

The wye was retired in the mid-1930s under Virginian AFE 3740.

Joe Shaw