Virginian in 1909--Open

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
April 3, 1909

VIRGINIAN RAILWAY FINALLY OPENED
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Occasion Made Notable by Presence of  H. H. Rogers, Mark Twain and New York Financiers

    Norfolk, April 2--The opening of the Virginian railway, extending from Sewells [sic] Point, Norfolk, to Deepwater, W. Va., on the Kanawha river, a distance of 446 miles, took place today with a most auspicious celebration here, made more notable by the presence of H. H. Rogers, who personally built the Virginian at a cost of about $40,000,000; Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), and several prominent New York financiers interested with Mr. Rogers in the undertaking.
    The celebration festivities began with the arrival early in the day of 625 people from along the line of the new road on a special train of twelve coaches and two Pullman cars.  It was an enthusiastic crowd, all wearing the Virginian colors, orange and white.  The arrival of the excursion train was followed two hours later by the arrival of Mr. Rogers and his guests on the New York steamer Jefferson.
    The day was filled with events of interest, the program for the entertainment for the visitors including an inspection of Norfolk harbor, the Virginian coal pier at Sewell's Point--the largest in the world--with a dumping capacity into ship bottoms of 36,000 tons per day; and, finally a public reception to Mr. Rogers and his guests.
    Mr. Rogers will be the guest of honor at a $20-per-plate banquet here tomorrow night.
    The Virginian railway, begun in March, 1906, was completed February 17, 1909.  More than 1,000,000 acres of land in West Virginia have been made accessible by it and the road has opened up a large country never before enjoying railway facilities.
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[There was only a small incidence of blurring in the microfilm of this article, but there could be transcription errors, particularly in numbers and proper names.]

Gordon Hamilton
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