N&W in 1911--Wreck on Tadpole

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
January 12, 1911

IN CITY AND COALFIELD
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Freight Wreck on Tadpole
    A wreck occurred Monday on the Tadpole line of the Norfolk and Western road near Wayne when the second section of freight train No. 94 ran into the caboose of the first section of No. 94*.  The wreck was miraculous from the fact that no one was seriously or fatally injured.
    The engine turned over and rolled down over a fill.  The caboose and three cars of the second section of the train were demolished.
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*Indistinct on the microfilm.  The best interpretation is shown.

[The Tadpole line was officially the Twelve Pole line, which was the original main line between Naugatuck and Kenova.  After opening of the single-track Big Sandy low grade line December 15, 1904, between those two points, most westbound freights went over the new line and most eastbound freights went over the old Twelve Pole line, as in this case.  When the Big Sandy line was essentially double tracked by 1925, most trains went both directions on the new line.  The Twelve Pole line was downgraded and most of it was abandoned in 1933.  A West Virginia road currently uses much of the road bed, including a number of single-lane bridges and two single-lane tunnels.]

Gordon Hamilton
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