Fagg Wye (was: VGN Helper Practices)

[NW Mailing List]

Joe,

Thank you!  This is very helpful research and I will visit the area for a closer look. 

I assume the almost exclusive use of the wye was to turn the pusher/breaker engines used over the eastern continental divide from Whitethorne and turning became unnecessary after the electrification of the Virginian which occurred ten years or so before the abandonment of the wye.   Correct?

Interestingly to me,  this is almost the location where pusher/breaker engines were/are cutoff in more recent times to return to Whitethorne.  This makes sense because the end of the significant grade over the mountain ends at about where the railroad crosses North Fork Road.

      Ray Smoot

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Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2021 12:18 AM
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Subject: Fagg Wye (was: VGN Helper Practices)


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
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