N&W in 1908--Two fatalities [and Dead Man's Cut]

[NW Mailing List]

My book, "Coalwood", contains a published history of Fred Vogelsong who was 
agent at Coalwood from 1923 until beyond his interview in 1943.  Prior to 
moving to Coalwood Vogelsong was a relief telegraph operator working between 
Bluefield and Williamson.  In 1914 Vogelsong was working in Northfork and 
courting his future wife who was a telephone operator in Keystone.  An 
excerpt from page 23 of "Coalwood":

... Fred relates how he would travel to Keystone from Northfork about two 
nights a week by following the railroad through "Dead Man's Cut" which was 
the steep embankment that separated the two communities.  On approaching the 
the cut at night he would stop and listen to any noises coming from 
trackside. Often he would hear arguing or fighting.  He would just sit down 
and wait until all was quiet again...  That excerpt was followed by this 
note:

(Note:  Dead Man's Cut had a notorious history of 318 men murdered before 
the N&W quit tabulating the deaths.  Most victims were robbed, knocked 
unconscious, and their bodies thrown on the tracks to be run over by the 
trains.)

In 1912 a small book was published under the pseudonym, Virginia Lad, titled 
"Sodom and Gomorrah of Today or the History of Keystone West Virginia".  I 
have always found it interesting the Virginia Lad felt he had to do six 
months of on-site research to ensure he could provide an accurate account of 
life in Keystone.

 In the early 1900s the merchants of Keystone would pay the N&W to run 
special trains up North Fork Branch  and to Maybeury on Saturday to ensure 
the families (read miners) had a way to Keystone and back for "shopping". 
Up until about 1920 Keystone was the major commercial center in McDowell 
County.

Alex Schust
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Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 4:14 PM
Subject: RE: N&W in 1908--Two fatalities



> Apparently, the curve (12 degrees) in the cut is more notable, thus Dead

> Man's Curve.

> Grant Carpenter

>

>> Message: 5

>> Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:11:32 -0500

>> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>> Subject: Re: N&W in 1908--Two fatalities

>> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

>> Message-ID: <8CB3971326F86AD-178C-240 at webmail-da12.sysops.aol.com>

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>>

>>

>>

>> The first order of business for the section foreman on

>> Mondays was to go to the cut west of North Fork to

>> see if any bodies had accumulated over the week end.

>> You see, at Keystone there was a place known as

>> Cinder Bottom (as I recall) and?at this location were

>> these uh, uhm, houses.? Highwaymen (or perhaps

>> railwaymen) would wait in the cut? and relieve the

>> sex-seekers of their valuables. There's a Slaughter

>> Pen cut on the Southern, but I've forgotten the name

>> of the cut west of North Fork.? Maybe Ed King knows.

>> ??????????????????????????????????????????? Harry Bundy

>

>

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