North Carolina Extension II

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Another North Carolina Branch "as it is today" posting! I MUST apologize for the photo quality I spent all day Sunday running to location to location, snapping photographs, and the sun did not cooperate and unfortunately I only about half the photos are fit for public display, Some are salvageable, and some are fine, but I should have taken a chainsaw with me to "deal with foliage issues" if you know what I mean!

 

First off is one of the section houses at Kayoulah (Reed Island Branch), I took photos of the other section house, and the furnace, the sun made those photographs too dark, 

 

This one is nearly unpresentable..

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/909230854.jpg

 

Still on the Reed Island Branch, is Patterson Jct, also known as Jett, in this photograph I am standing on the ROW, the gate to the left, is on the ROW that goes on to Sylvatus, and on to Betty Baker Mines, but the "Periwinkle Extension" pealed off to the right, and when where the hard top road, over Little Reed Island creek, to the buildings in the distance, where the tipple was, There are a few company buildings still over their, and the Narrow Gauge Roadbed continues on as a public road.

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/909015451.jpg

 

Here is a photo looking from Patterson, back toward Patterson Jct, this photo was taken from where the Tipple was located, the N&W line would have ran, where the road is now! In Reality, the name of this little spur, was longer than it was in real life "periwinkle extension", the second shot is of the V.I.C&C Co. company store, which is still operated as a store, at Patterson! The narrow gauge "ran up the holler" to the right of the store

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/90902279.jpg

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/909373980.jpg

 

On up on the Reed Island Branch a couple miles toward Sylvatus, is the site of the tiny community of High Rock, the encroachment of the Salem Stone Corp, has even walled in reed creek, there is still 2 houses down there, and the old mill, this photo, is mediocre at best, but it shows the mill, the rock cliff just across the creek, and too the right of the mill, the encroachment of the rock quarry.

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908550140.jpg

 

Now let's jump over to the "Speedwell Branch"  Here is an 1890's Norfolk & Western Truss Bridge, that was put in when the branch was built, it survives today, as an road bridge, in VERY good shape, a while back VDOT even did some concrete work to the piers and worked on the abutments. This is a REAL relic, of a once common bridge that is now a very rare find. VDOT looks to be taking really good care of it as well. I took several photos of this bridge; the ornamental iron work is still in really good shape. I tried to get a good photo of it.

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908582675.jpg

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908575399.jpg

 

Now, here is Cripple Creek's Little Wythe Furnace!  A V.I.C&C Co Property  and the end of Norfolk & Western's one and a half mile Norma Spur there is several company buildings, company office, and company houses remain here at this site, and there are a several mine sites within a mile of this furnace. Lots of narrow gauge ROW's are present here as well.

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908571149.jpg

 

Now back to the North Carolina Branch Mainline PROPER!  In the Ivanhoe area! There is lots and lots of history here, not just the Junction of the Speedwell Branch From the Carbide Plant, Old Furnaces, Mines, and a couple of Quarries. I took several photos of the Carbide plant, but alas, due to poor lighting all are completely useless. I have spoke to Lee Alley, a native of Ivanhoe, who has given me the most useful information on an MASSIVE old Quarry that I had recently discovered right on the ROW, between Ivanhoe trestle, and Ivanhoe, Turns out, his family owned the quarry, and most of the land around it, and also had a important role in bringing the Carbide Plant to town. The Quarry, was started to provide the carbide plant with Phosphate, a substance that is need to make carbide, they was independent of the carbide plant, but they sold the vast majority of their product to it, they also shipped to other distant locations as well, They built a bridge over the NC Branch, to dump tailings, between the N&W and the River, there is 2 HUGE tailings piles right beside the ROW, of loose rock, Lee also told me that the men worked for 10 cents and hour, for 10 hour days, pushing small dump carts loaded with tailings, out over the N&W too dump the tailings. This industry would have been an amazing sight to watch, in its heyday, with men working this massive quarry, men pushing carts over a spindly bridge to dump the tailings, and a "Z" class locomotive shifting the cars back and forth

 

Here is the site today, I managed to hike into the bottom of the quarry, and the high walls are the highest I have ever seen in this area, I would say their much higher than the ones pictured in the Bumbarger photos, you can see the veins of phosphate clearly. I must mention, the only way into this location is by way of the New River trail, there is no safe way down from the top here! I took the best photographs that I could, I had plenty of light when I was in the pit, but I really needed to make JUDICIAL use of a chainsaw! Here is the a couple of photographs that I took there is 50 years of growth down here and you "can't see the quarry for the trees" these photos where taken with me standing right in the middle of it. If you look closely at the photographs, you can see the rock walls, and you can see the white streaks in the stone!

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908552896.jpg

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908554749.jpg

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908561155.jpg

 

Here is the best shot I could make of the tailings pile, I was told that there are 3 million tons of rock in this pile. Believe me, this photo does not do it justice, this is one of those things, which you just need to see for yourself! The quarry is to the LEFT of the ROW, the Tailings, is that mass covered with trees to the right, I am facing towered Pulaski, with my back to Ivanhoe.

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908563873.jpg

 

Here is an aerial photograph of the area, from Terraserver, you can see the quarry, as the "dark spot" on the upper side of the ROW, the tailings pile is between the river and ROW, near the center of the photograph

 

http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&X=2522&Y=20387&Z=17&W=3

 

Next stop on our tour is Byllesby Dam, the NC Branch, needed to be raised several feet in the 1912, due to the dams raising the level of the river, there is an old siding that ran into the powerhouse, thru the green doors, inside is a huge room with an overhead crane, still intact! For the loading and unloading of transformers. Also found here is an Old Norfolk & Western Passenger shelter, remarkably intact! Still with the benches and pamphlet racks inside! 

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/908541853.jpg

 

http://x11.putfile.com/1/909012320.jpg

 

Another posting complete! I was frustrated this time by poor lighting conditions, and TREES I had several shots of the Carbide plant, and other furnaces and mine sites but..they just did not make it. I will redo them with an 35 mm soon, and see if that will make them come out better.

 

Any Questions or comments, feel free to email me andyj74 at earthlink.net

 

Andy Jennings, your intrepid bush-whacker.



NW
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