N&W in 1909--NRH&W

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
December 7, 1909

RAILROAD TO ROCKY GAP TO BE CHRISTMAS GIFT
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New River, Holston and Western Expects to Complete Extension by the Holidays

    The New River, Holston and Western Railway, which extends up in the mountains towards Rocky Gap, expects to be able to finish its extension to Rocky Gap by Christmas.  It is possible that trains will be running by the first of the year and when this is accomplished an entirely new country will be opened up.  The road will then run within eight miles of Bluefield and will develop a great timber country much of which is owned by the Narrows Tanning Company.
    The line, which skirts the New River at Narrows, gradually climbs the mountains at that point and has been a common carrier for several years.  In addition to opening a large timber country the extension will reach the Round Mountain district which has some very good iron deposits.
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[The phrase "climbs the mountains" may give a false impression that the NRH&W was a mountain railroad.  Instead it followed Wolf Creek all the way from Narrows to Rocky Gap, and the climb from the former to the latter was only a little over 500 feet in 20.7 miles--an average grade less than 0.5%.  On the other hand Rocky Gap was across big East River Mountain from the reporter in Bluefield, so he might not have known anything about the terrain on the "wilderness" side of the big mountain.]

Gordon Hamilton
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