Switchback Mine Run on Elkhorn Branch ca.1940s

[NW Mailing List]

DS04004 shows the Right Fork of Elkhorn Branch following the South Fork of
Elkhorn Creek to its end point at Station 84+45. The Elkhorn Colliery Spur
left the Right Fork of Elkhorn Branch at Station 62+37 and followed Webbs
Camp Creek and was used to deliver empties for the  Elkhorn Coal & Coke
Company tipple and coke over tracks. The coal company coal and loads track
connected with the Right Fork of Elkhorn Creek Branch at Station 74+62
forming a wye, but the empty and loads track belonged to the coal company
not the N&W. The N&W owned the right of way for the Right Fork of Elkhorn
Branch, and part of the right of way along Webbs camp Branch but the coal
company owned the right of way for the delivery track and the connecting
track running under the tipple.

It is possible the track layout was used as a wye, but tipple layout
drawings suggest the tracks between the tipple and the connection would be
fully used by loaded cars. 

An 1889 N&W drawing labels the track along Webbs Camp Branch as delivery
track. 1892 N&W maps shows Switchback Branch with two tails, but does
include the coal company tracks because they were not part of the branch
line. 

When the 1916 Valuation team  did the survey they got the tracks backward
and labeled the  track that left the main line at Switchback and followed
the South Fork of Elkhorn Creek as the Elkhorn Coal & Coke Company  (Track
P37) and the track that followed  Webb Camp Branch as the Right Fork of
Elkhorn Creek (Track P38). 

Alex Schust

-----Original Message-----
From: NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
NW Mailing List
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2023 12:26 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: Switchback Mine Run on Elkhorn Branch ca.1940s 


Grant Carpenter wrote:
> Alex questioned the existence of a wye at the junction in Maybeury and 
> did a great job of proving a negative, leaving me unable to find the 
> evidence I thought I had.

It wasn't at the Junction, but NWHS archives document DS04004 shows that
there was a wye up Barlow Hollow near the end of the Elkhorn Branch before
the realignment fill covered up the site.

https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=222149

Joe Shaw
Christiansburg, VA
________________________________________
NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org
To change your subscription go to
http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list
Browse the NW-Mailing-List archives at
http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/