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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Louis,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Thank you for researching the N&W's Lewis
Creek Branch. When I posted the newspaper article on the Honaker Lumber
Company's railroad construction, I forgot about the N&W's later branch in
the same location. The N&W Annual Report ending Dec. 1917 contains the
following:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV>Your Company acquired from the Honaker Lumber Company, Inc., 6.6 miles of
railroad on Lewis Creek, extending from a point near Putnam, Va., on the
Clinch Valley Line, to Drill P. 0., Va. Several coal operations are on
this Branch and the road is now being reconstructed to handle the heavier
equipment of your Company. A connection with the Clinch Valley Line was under
construction, track laying being about 30 per cent; completed. An extension
beyond Drill P. 0. of 1.94 miles was also under construction to reach other
coal operations and track had been laid for a distance of 0.86 miles. The
total proposed length of this Branch is 9.10 miles.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Times New Roman">I am attaching a portion of a 1916
topo map showing a pre-N&W railroad line north out of Putham up Lewis Creek
to Drill where it turned west to cross the divide between Lewis Creek and
Grissen Creek (and from Russell County into Buchanan County) using an
intriguing track arrangement of a double switchback plus a single
switchback. Off the attached map, the line (labeled "Lumber RR") continued
west down Russell Fork for about seven miles before making a big "U"
turn to come back east about six miles up Indian Creek and Lambert Fork.
On the 1916 topo map there was no line up Lewis Creek north of Drill to
Garden. That would come later when the N&W made the 1.94 mile
extension.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">It's interesting that the N&W and the
lumber company shared the Lewis Creek Branch. This reminds me of a similar
arrangement on the N&W Narrows Branch between Bastian and Suiter
described in an earlier posting.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Thanks again for giving me the incentive to
dig a little deeper into the lumber company's lines and the relation with the
N&W Lewis Creek Branch.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Gordon Hamilton</DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Louis Newton wrote:</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Pocahontas Division TT No. 27, effective Nov.
21, 1926 -- and possibly others of that era -- shows the Lewis Creek Branch
extending from Putnam (about a mile east of Honaker) and following Lewis Creek
north to the stations of Laurel, Tarkiln, Russell, Drill and Garden. No
distance are given, but topo maps show it to have been about 7 miles in
length. Garden was about a mile south of the Russell-Buchanan County
line.<BR><BR>At that time passenger service was provided by trains Nos. 223 and
224 daily except Sunday. The line was operated jointly by the N&W and
the White Oak Lumber Co. under N&W rules. The N&W could operate
between the hours of 1:00 <BR>AM and 1:00 PM, and the White Oak :Lumber Co.
between 1:00 PM and 1:00 AM. From the published schedules, I suspect that the
same crew that operated on the Honaker Branch also operated on the Lewis Creek
Branch during their tour of duty.<BR><BR>It appears that present-day Virginia
State Route #624 might have been built on the old right-of-way. Although
Lewis Creek Branch did not operate beyond Garden, it's possible that a lumber
road could have been built beyond that point into Buchanan County.<BR><BR>Louis
Newton</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">NW Mailing
List</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org
href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">3N&W Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, May 12, 2009 4:20 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> N&W in 1909--Lumber Road</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">Bluefield Daily Telegraph<BR>September 2,
1909</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4>CONTRACT AWARDED FOR
TWELVE MILES OF ROAD</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT face="Times New Roman">------</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center><STRONG><FONT face="Times New Roman">Walton & company Will
Begin at Once Construction of Line From Honaker into Buchanan
County</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face="Times New Roman"> Walton &
Company, according to news just received from Honaker, Va,. have been awarded
the contract for grading twelve miles of railroad for the Honaker Lumber Company
from Honaker to Buchanan county. Work will be started at
once.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face="Times New Roman"> The road is to
be used as a lumber road, and the entire length when completed will be about
thirty miles. It will tap the timber areas owned by the company in
Russell, Buchanan and Dickinson counties.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face="Times New Roman"> The company is
employing a big force of men on its plant at Honaker and rushing construction to
completion as rapidly as possible.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT face="Times New Roman">------</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face="Times New Roman">[<EM>Anyone have any info on this
lumber railroad? 1916 topo maps show a lumber railroad north out of
Putnam, just east of Honaker, winding around as it followed several water
courses in Russell, Buchanan and Dickinson counties</EM>. <EM> A Shay
Website lists 6 Shays at Honaker, and a Climax Website lists a 36" gauge Climax
at Honaker.</EM>]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Script size=6>Gordon Hamilton</FONT></DIV>
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