location - Miles Landing (was Christiansburg Middle Track)

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On Mon, Jul 10, 2023 at 8:25 PM Ken wrote:

> No offense Ray, but I think the bridge being referred to is a bridge to
> nowhere now. The tie plant was located where the Dedmon Center and other
> Radford College facilities are now. At that end was some company housing.
>
> That bridge never carried rail traffic. Yes, it was constructed by N&W,
> but it never carried traffic. It was built to what was going to be a new
> American Viscoes plant after closing of Roanoke in the late 1940s. I
> believe the road Herons Landing Drive was renamed from Viscose Road
> sometime in the last 5-6 years.
>

Correct on the bridge and the tie plant. In the late 70's it was possible
to walk across the bridge (illegally, but I'm sure the statute of
limitations has run out). The line had been graded on through the property
enough to be able to identify its location, but not much work had been done
beyond the rough grade.

A Google search to nail down some dates turned up this post to the list
from 2007 (what is old is new again):

Bruce in Blacksburg

I'm a little behind in reading email, but I finally found some time to go
through my old clips from my days as a reporter with the Radford News
Journal. I found one article, excerpted below, that covers the plant in
Fairlawn in Pulaski County, across the river from Radford.


The land was originally for a new American Viscose plant to be built in the
late '40s. In anticipation of this, the N&W extended a branch from the east
end of Radford yard, crossing the New River on a substantial trestle.
Although the line was graded on the plant site, the tracks never extended
past the end of the bridge. FMC Corporation (which I claim was a subsidiary
of American Viscose; there is/was some connection) built a textile plant on
the site in 1971. When FMC divested its fiber operations, Avtex Fibers was
formed to purchase the holdings through a leveraged buyout. The plant was
closed in September 1979, and sat vacant until March 1980, when Western
Electric purchased the site for a manufacturing facility. The plant was
again left vacant in the late '80s when AT&T shut down operations.


Bruce in Blacksburg


----------
Radford News Journal, October 28, 1979


Avtex Fibers officials busy looking for a new tenant


By BRUCE HARPER
Staff Writer


One month ago, Avtex Fibers closed the doors at its plant in Fairlawn,
putting 330 people out of work.


Since the closing, Avtex officials have been busy collecting information
and making contacts in an effort to find a new tenant for the 500,000
square foot facility.


The site in Fairlawn is in a horseshoe of the New River. It was purchased
by the American Viscose Company in 1946 as a site for expansion of its
operations. Some site work was done and a rail connection with the Norfolk
and Western Railroad was arranged, but the plant was never built.


The 750 acres of land remained with American Viscose and on October 19,
1971, plans for a new factory on the site were announced. The plant was
built for FMC, a subsidiary of American Viscose.


In 1976, the plant became a part of Avtex as FMC redeployed capital to
other operations with high growth potential.


When the original plans for a plant were made, the decision to build in
Radford was made because of the New River water supply, the labor market
and the Norfolk and Western main line.


In 1946, a bridge was built across the New River by the N and W and
American Viscose. The line ran from the east end of the Radford rail yard
across a steel trestle, which is stin standing, and onto the Viscose
property.


According to Don Piedmont, a spokesman for the N and W, the line was never
put in service. The grade up to the bridge is still visible, but the rails
and ties have been taken up. Ties and tie plates are still on the bridge,
but no rails. A large iron plate was erected to keep trespassers from
crossing the bridge to the Avtex property.
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