star yard

[NW Mailing List]

Jim,

 

This doesn't answer your question, but we will probably publish an Arrow
article next year on the Portsmouth floods of 1913 and 1937. So far all I
have is some preliminary notes. The 1937 flood resulted in an official flood
policy for Portsmouth and probably other locations. 

 

When Portsmouth Yard was built the intention was to build it above a
previous high water mark which happened to be 66.3 feet in on Feb 12, 1884.
The high water mark for the 1913 flood was 67 feet 11 inches on March
31,1913. The high water mark for 1937 was 74.23 feet on January 27, 1937.

 

Flood walls were built at various time in Portsmouth and the  N&W made
various expenditures throughout the years on flood protection in Portsmouth.


 

Newspaper articles of the time period carried article on the effects of the
floods, but little on the construction of flood walls.

 

Alex Schust

 

-----Original Message-----
From: NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
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Sent: Monday, August 03, 2015 9:46 AM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: star yard

 

The walls are flood walls.  When the water gets high enough, they block the
entrance with heavy wood planks, heavy wood or steel beams at an angle to
reinforce them  and sandbags. I don't know for sure when they put them up in
Portsmouth, but I don't remember them not being there.

 

They have been in Kenova and Huntington all of my life, over 65 years.  I
recall my mother saying they they were built about 75 years ago after the
devastation of the 1937 flood.  

 

Any time the water rises high enough, they will make preparations to use
them.  Since they have different heights above river level depending on
where they are located, they will be high some places and lower at others.
Same with the gates,  which would make it more difficult to get information
on a specific gate.  I don't know where you would get information on when
they have been used, local papers or perhaps the Army Corps of Engineers.  

 

Bob Huston

 

 

---- NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.orgote: 

> I was in Portsmouth yesterday and drove along the massive wall on the 

> North side of the yard.  I assume this was for prevention of damage to 

> the yard during flooding?  After a long while the wall changed over to 

> the South side and there were grooves in the ends on both sides that 

> appeared to be to accommodate a gate of some kind across the tracks.  

> Several other openings of this type were present in the South-side 

> wall and from Google maps it looks like the wall itself ends at the 

> wye.  Does anyone have information on when the wall(s) were 

> constructed, how the "gates" were put in place, how often they have 

> been used etc.?  I also noticed several small brick buildings, one was 

> lettered "station 12".  These has electrical apparatus outside, so I 

> would guess they had to do with power distribution, but does anyone have
more information on their purpose/use?

> Thanks,

> Jim Cochran

 

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