Arthur Tunnel and Old Line

[NW Mailing List]

Here is some of the history about the original trackage and improvements in question at Arthur.  

The old road bed around the ridge is the original V&T route.  Moving coal began in 1883 and it grew exponentially each year thereafter.  By 1887 the old line had reached its capacity and the N&W Railroad began to increase capacity by making major line changes to lessen curvature and to reduce grades.

A major line relocation occurred from Vicker to Pelton (just west of Christiansburg).  The old line had a severe grade from Grab Creek up to the high grould to reach Christiansburg.  The new line had a more gradual grade of one percent from Vicker to the Alleghany Summit; this was completed by 1890.  Line relocations occurred on the east side of Christainsburg Mountain, too.  The map that Bruce gave shows the new line at Arthur was completed by the same time since it is dated 1890, and the new line eliminated curves and had a short tunnel on the new line.

After the line relocations were underway, the railroad began double tracking.  In 1890 annual report, it listed 34.5 miles being prepared for double tracking to increase capacity. In 1891 the 34.5 miles was double tracked which included 12.66 miles from Radford to Christiansburg, and 21.84 miles from Roanoke to Elliston.  This was the first double tracking on the N&W.

In 1898 the line from Christiansburg to Elliston began being double tracked by the N&W Railway and was done in stages.  By 1901, the double track had been extended from Elliston to Shawsville Tunnel and from Christiansburg to Montgomery.   The 1901 annual report lists 4.76 miles of double track was added from Shawsville to Arthur and that the 150-foot tunnel at Arthur was converted to a deep cut double track.  The double track on the eastern slope of Christiansburg Mountain was completed in 1905 with the completion of the second bore of Montgomery Tunnel.

Bud Jeffries
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: NW Mailing List 
  To: NW Mailing List 
  Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2014 3:30 PM
  Subject: Arthur Tunnel and Old Line


  On Thu, Jan 2, 2014 at 10:56 AM, ​Al wrote:

    Bruce, 

    Can you send that topo directly?  I get a 403 error.



  I dropped the maps I downloaded on my N&W site; see http://www.brucebharper.info/nwrwy/maps/maps.html for the PDF files from 1890, 1932, and 1937, along with the image I cut from the 1890 map that shows the three tunnels on the line.


  It would appear that the original V&T line went around the spur of the ridge at Arthur, then the tunnel was bored through the ridge, then the tunnel daylighted when the line was expanded from two tracks to three starting there and continuing west.


  Bruce in Blacksburg
  ​​





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