Durham District in the '50s

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Friends, Railroaders, Historians, (and everyone else who just loves a good discussion about the N&W :)

Last week Brother Fred Mullins asked the question, "Does anybody know how much interchange usage was made between the N&W and the A&D at (Denniston?) off the L&D line in the 50's?"

To which Brother Chuck Stewart replied, "...a copy of the 1926 track map for  the line from Lynchburg to Durham.  It was revised last in 1968.  At milepost L-70 there is a notation on the map of  "A.& D.  Ry - O.H. Xing".  The A&D goes over the L&D (I think.....I  will have to check that out) and there is no 
interchange."

This discussion peaked my interest, so not having been there personally, I decided to go to Denniston virtually. At http://www.topozone.com/, I looked up Denniston and viewed the USGS map of the area.  It does indeed show that the NF&D (former A&D) crossed over the N&W (former L&D), and that there was an interchange between the two!   The connection ran from East to South between the railroads, meaning that if you were traveling West on the NF&D, you could take the connecting switch to the left, follow the connection to the South, and connect with the N&W heading South.  Also, each railroad had a short siding at Denniston where the connecting track joined the respective railroads.

After looking at the USGS map, I remembered (silly me),  that I have track charts of the N&W! My chart of the Durham District dated Jan 1, 1979 clearly shows the overhead crossing of the NF&D over the N&W, the interchange track, and the sidings.

So now we know we at least had the potential for interchange between the railroads at Denniston.  So the only questions remaining is, "What, if anything, was actually interchanged there?"  

Jerry Kay, Portsmouth, Virginia
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