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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">This is a follow up to the Bluefield Daily
Telegraph articles posted April 13 and May 5 on the Mailing List about the Big
Stony RR, later the N&W's Potts Valley Branch.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">The first newspaper article described the
loops near Waiteville, WV, as "...rivaling the far-famed loop of Cripple Creek,
Colo." I am attaching a portion of the USGS 1932 15" Waiteville topo
map showing the loops. Too bad we can't ride that line today!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">You can trace the loops on Google Earth by
entering "Waiteville, WV" in the "Fly to" field. It takes a little
practice to discern it but there is a subtle difference in the trees that
reveals where the roadbed was once located. It helps to be familiar with
the course of the tracks on the topo map.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">More details about this N&W branch
can be found in John Joseph's well-researched article in the July/August 2002
issue of <EM>The Arrow</EM>. For one thing, the most recent
newspaper article stated that the branch had only two bridges, whereas
Joseph's article</FONT> <FONT face="Times New Roman">lists four large
trestles on the loops alone, with heights varying from 46' to 109' and from
lengths varying from 475' to 800'. Pity the poor reporter of 1909 trying
to write an article in his office based on secondhand info gleaned from
primitive communications.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Note on the topo map at Ray there is a
peculiar railroad track that appears to go straight up Potts Mountain to the
Virginia state line. This is obviously the narrow gauge cable-operated
line described in Joseph's article. He states that the narrow gauge tracks
extended on across the mountain and down the Virginia side of the mountain to
Johns Creek Valley where narrow gauge Shay locomotives brought log cars to the
base of the incline. They were then hauled to the top by a steam hoisting
station located at the top of the mountain and then lowered to Ray for
transloading onto N&W cars there. That operation would have been
really interesting to have seen.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Script size=6>Gordon Hamilton</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>