Names of Shortlines in WV and VA that made up the N&W railway and VGN.

[NW Mailing List]

On 4/21/08, Gordon wrote:

>

> Don,

>

> The two N&W component railroads that you mention are just two among many,

> many more that went to make up the later day N&W.  The best place I know of

> for you to see these is the NWHS Web page

> http://www.nwhs.org/nw_timeline.html.

>

> ----- Original Message ----- From: "NW Mailing List" <

> nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>

> I am looking into the N&W and Virginian Railroads.   Particularly the

> > shortlines that made up the lines such as the Ieager & Southern as well

> > as

> > the recent line that was covered running from Virginia to Kentucky into

> > WV

> > in the arrow.  Unforturnately someone has taken my N&W books as well as

> > the

> > arrows from last year.  Any help would be grateful.  My purpose for

> > these is

> > to show a history class that all big corporations start small.    Don

> > Mills

>

> I think what you are doing is a good thing, Don, but you might want to

make sure you differentiate between the true independent
companies and the N&W-created companies. In some cases, an independent rail
line was chartered and/or constructed before
being taken over/purchased by the N&W -- the Virginia Anthracite Coal &
Railway Co. is one of those. It was purchased at auction
when the company couldn't meet its financial obligations. Other companies
were created by the N&W to get around charter restrictions
to build or extend rail lines. The Big Stony Railway Company was issued a
charter by the Virginia General Assembly in 1892 and incorporated
in
1894. The company muddled along and did actually build a railroad from
the N&W up Big Stony Creek in Giles County. In 1905, the N&W
acquired the stock of the company and installed several of its own
officers as directors of the Big Stony Railway Co. The board voted in
1907
to amend the charter of the company to allow it to extend its line, then
voted to utilize that change to exend the line 6 miles to the Giles Co.
line at the West Virginia state line. Officers of the N&W also formed the
Interior and West Virginia Railroad Company and the Virginia and
Potts Creek Railroad Company as independent corporations to extend the rail
line to Potts Creek. In 1910, the Big Stony board voted to
acquire these other two railroads to consolidate the three companies into
one. Later that year, the Big Stony Railway Company was
sold to the N&W, which operated the line as the Potts Valley Branch.

Bruce in Blacksburg
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