[N&W] Re: Waverly, OH

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

[Ed Halloran asked:]
 >
 >I am interested in information on the N&W in Waverly, Ohio such as
 >any stops i.e. passenger stations, industrial spurs,
 >freight stations, coaling and water towers.
 >Also did the C&O cross the N&W in Glen Jean or MR Cabin?
 >
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There was a station on the outside of the big curve as a southbound
(timetable east) went to the left to cross the valley and the Scioto River.
There were eastbound and westbound sidings between the mains.  The DT&I from
Ironton entered the N&W main east of the river bridge, crossed the river and
then branched off to the west toward Springfield; the interchange tracks
were toward the west.  There were a couple of industrial spurs east of the
depot on the same side of the track.  The N&W did not cross the C&O in this
vicinity.  The C&O crossed over the Kenova District on their big Ohio River
bridge at Sciotoville, east of Portsmouth, and again west of Chillicothe on
its way to Columbus and Toledo.

Hope this is some help, anyhow.

Ed King

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[Gary Rolih writes:]

At Waverly there was an old wood station that goes back to at least the
early 1900's.  There are a number of old photos and old realphoto postcard
shots of this station.  See the ARROW article covering the C&O running on
the Columbus District that was in the January February 1997 issue to see
the station.  It was used until the 70's. The station sat on the original
RoW of the Scioto Valley Railway. Later track realignments driven by the
C&O trackage rights and the increases in coal traffic/line up grade in the
late 20's changed the line to a double-track main with two sidings.  The
station was then on what became team tracks and interchange tracks with the
DT&I-  Scott Trostle's DT&I book is bring reprinted this spring-

The C&O did not cross the N&W but paralleled it along Gregg's Hill except
between 1917 and 1927 when it was a connection.  The DT&I did cross the N&W
however, except in later times.  Let me explain with the lengthy following:

The first railroad built across the Scioto River at Waverly was the
Springfield, Jackson and Pomeroy ( I hope I remember right) narrow gauge
which eventually becomes the Ohio Southern, Detroit Southern and then the
DT&I.  The DT&I came compass west down the valley of the Big Beaver(I
think?)creek which emptied into the Scioto in kind of an S curve.  On the
southeast corner of the mouth was Gregg's Hill named for the farm owner (
he was also the Chief civil engineer for the Scioto Valley Ry and the
builder of Columbus, Ohio water system).  the DT&I climbed/cut through this
then shot northwest across the Scioto to Waverly and up Summit Hill on the
other side.

The Scioto Valley Ry reached Waverly in 1877-78 and used the DT&I bridge
until they could complete their bridge.  The crossing created on the west
side of the bridge was GLEN JEAN and was controlled by the the GLEN JEAN
interlocking tower.  Roughly, then, the N&W/SVRy ran compass north/south
and the DT&I ran east/west with the river angling nort-east to south-west.
The two bridges sat within 200 yards of each other with the DT&I upstream.
The N&W station sat about a half-mile w/b (north) of GLEN JEAN.

After crossing its bridge, the Scioto Valley had to cut compass south along
the west flank of Gregg's hill to proceed e/b to Piketon and Portsmouth.
The result is then the DT&I cutting e/w across the north side of the hill
and the N&W cutting n/s along the west face.

The C&O Northern (C&ON) builds up from the Ohio River at Limeville,KY going
across the river on its technical tour-de-force bridge cross high above the
N&W on the west side of the river at Sciotoville.  The C&ON then goes up
the valley of the Little Scioto River(which parallels the Scioto River
Valley and the N&W about ten miles east) to Big Beaver Creek- running e/w-
The C&ON turns compass west there with the DT&I on the north and the C&ON
on the south.  At Gregg's Hill the C&O cuts across the Hill more or less
taking a route on its south face.  Now it hits the N&W about two miles
south of GLEN JEAN and turns compass north (except when connected in
1917-1927).  It builds over the DT&I about a half-mile compass north of
where it drops off the hill and runs next to the N&W about 20 feet higher.

As the DT&I became poorer in the 1960's and did most of its business to the
north of Waverly and the steep Summit Hill, the line to Ironton was
downgraded.  The DT&I then obtained trackage rights on the N&W and makes a
connection on the southeast side of the river and uses the N&W bridge. It
then changes the diamond to a switch which leads to its yards in Waverly.

In conclusion, the C&ON and the N&W parallel each other from the south end
of Gregg's Hill to the north where the N&W angles across the valley and the
Scioto River to the west side of the river valley.  The DT&I goes under the
C&ON, across its bridge, then crosses the N&W on a diamond.  The N&W stays
on the west side of the Scioto valley until it reaches Chillicothe where it
recrosses the river to the east bank.  The C&ON builds over the N&W about a
half mile north of the river curving west then north around Kingston Hill
while the N&W curves east and then north around the hill.  They rejoin at
Circleville and stay parallel until they split apart Reeses, the N&W going
into Watkins Yard and the C&ON curving northwest into Parsons Yard.

The structures at Glen Jean changed fairly often in the early years.  Jim
Henry of Waverly has diligently collected photos of these structures.  The
station though did remain relatively unchanged throughout its history.  The
tracks of the N&W and the DT&I actually covered a considerable amount of
space.  A layout of this area would require considerable compression.

Although the DT&I is gone, its Waverly Yard and the later stone Yard
Office/station still stand.  The N&W tracks have been simplified in the
1970's.  Much of the right-of ways are now lined with large trees.

I hope this explanation aids you in some way.  Seeing a map is pretty
essential to realize how all of the tracks fit into the geography of the
area.  If you are going to Kenova this year we could get together to go
over some maps or I could put together a slide show of the area.

[Gary Rolih]

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I suggest contacting Jim Henry who lives in Waverly, OH, and knows a
great deal about the local rail history.  I believe Jim is a still a
member of the society.

Clay Moritz