Blackford Turn

[NW Mailing List]

A daylight job, the Blackford Turn first worked out of Honaker and later 
out of Bluefield until it was cut off in 1955. It ran 2-3 days a week, 
often on Fridays and less during the winter and hot part of the summer. 
Towards the end, the consist was no more than about six N&W stock cars 
and a cab, all larger than the engine, a Class G1 due to bridge loading.

Having stopped at Richlands for coal and water, it pulled into the 
Honaker station siding where the engine cut off, ran around to couple to 
the cab and pulled the consist, backing onto the branch to a switchback, 
then shoved forward down to Blackford. There were only two stub tracks, 
loading and setover, and it would swap empties for loads or wait for 
empties to load, three cars at a time of cattle or sheep.

It could take on water at Blackford and pulled 3-4 loads back to Honaker 
at a time due to grades and grass. On the way back to Bluefield, it 
would turn the engine at Cedar Bluff. If it left Honaker ahead of 88, it 
would get in the clear at Richlands, having set off the loads for 88 to 
put on the head end, then make better time running light back to Bluefield.

Grant Carpenter

On 5/13/2017 12:31 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
> As a follow-up to questions about cattle shipments out of Honaker.  
> We're the cattle loaded at multiple locations on the line or at a 
> single place?  Also, we're offline stock cars used on these runs or 
> was it exclusively N&W cars?
>
> Thanks as always,
> Brent
>
> ________________________________
> Dr. J. Brent Greer
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> on behalf 
> of NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 11, 2017 5:34:00 AM
> *To:* NWHS Mailing List
> *Subject:* Cattle shipments
> I remember reading that engines 6 and 7 were kept on the roster until 
> the end of the steam era in order to service cattle shipments out of 
> Honaker.  I would like to know more about those operations.
>
> How often did those trains run?
>
> How many stock cars would make up an average train?
>
> Where were they shipped to  (more specifically,  what was the 
> destination for the cars)?  Did they travel off line?
>
> What was done with 6 and 7 between cattle shipping seasonso?
>
> and, did these shipments continue at all in the diesel era?
>
> Thanks !
> Brent
> ________________________________
> Dr. J. Brent Greer

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