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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thorne was actually far along in building when it
was stopped. The following is all speculation on my part:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Pocahontas Collieries Co was rechartered in 1901 as
sucessor to Southwest Virginia Improvement Co. The company was pushing
down Abbs Valley to put in more coal mines which is where you getting
Thorne and Frazier from. Thorne being president of Pocahontas
Collieries. Problem was the Pocahontas No. 3 coal seam had gone
underground as you went down Abbs Valley which is why Boissevein was a shaft
mine. If you continued to approach the coal seam from Abbs Valley it would
have meant more shaft mines. Also all of the coal was west of Abbs Valley.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In 1907 Pocahontas Collieries Co was acquired by
Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Co which had been formed in 1904 by Jenkin Jones,
Isaac Mann, Stuart Buck and others from their existing operations. The new
company was known as Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries. By 1907 the
N&W had extended the Tug Fork to Pageton and was on the way to Anawalt for
the No. 12 Operation of United States Coal & Coke.</FONT> <FONT
face=Arial size=2>It was simpler to approach the coal seam from the Tug Fork
side of the mountain than it was from the Abbs Valley side of the
mountain. Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries did just that when they
built Jenkinjones around 1912 and put in operations No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 which
were all drift mines. Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries Co became
Pocahontas Fuel in 1917.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A new company, Frazier Pocahontas Coal Company, was
chartered in 1917 and opened a mine near O'Toole on land subleased from
Pocahontas Fuel Company. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Other factors that probably played a role in the
Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries re-thinking the planning for Thorne and
Frazier were:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>1) The capital involved of connecting the
Pocahontas and Boissevein</FONT> <FONT face=Arial size=2>coal plants to the
new power plant at Switchback that Pocahontas Consolidated had built at
Swithcback</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>2) Establishing a coal marketing agency known
as Pocahontas Fuel in 1907</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>3) the coal market situation in 1907 leading to the
bank panic of 1908 and the demise of the coal market for nearly a
year</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Alex Schust</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; 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 style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org
href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">3N&W Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, August 25, 2009 9:49
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> N&W in 1920--Pocahontas,
VA</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Bluefield Daily Telegraph<BR>January 19, 1910</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=4>POCAHONTAS DAY BY DAY</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=center><STRONG>Hope for Road's Extension</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV align=left> Colonel W. F. Kirby of Cedar Bluff was in
the city yesterday. Colonel Kirby was for several years chief engineer
of the Pocahontas and Western Railway between this city and Boissevain, and it
is hoped he will be sent back at an early date to complete the road to Frazier
and Thorne, which is now under advisement.</DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=left>[<EM>The June 1908 N&W annual report contains the
following: </EM><B><FONT face=NewtonA-Bold size=1><FONT
face=NewtonA-Bold size=1>
<P align=left><EM>"POCAHONTAS AND WESTERN
RAILROAD.</EM></P></B></FONT></FONT><FONT face=NewtonA size=2><FONT
face=NewtonA size=2>
<P align=left><EM>"At date of June 30th, 1908, the operated length of the
Pocahontas</EM></P>
<P align=left><EM>and Western Railroad was 3.29 miles of main line and
1.13</EM></P>
<P align=left><EM>miles of sidings. Work upon the extension to the
Thorne</EM></P>
<P align=left><EM>Operation of the Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries Company,
Inc.,</EM></P>
<P align=left><EM>a distance of 3.81 miles above Boissevain, was temporarily
stopped</EM></P>
<P align=left><EM>in November, 1907, upon which date the roadbed was about 70
per</EM></P>
<P><EM>cent. completed". </EM><FONT size=3><EM>Maybe this explains
Thorne, but where was Frazier?</EM>]</FONT></P></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center><STRONG>------</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV align=center><STRONG>In Search of Health</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV align=left> J. F. Ward, agent for the Norfolk and
Western at this place, left last night for a western trip. While away he
will visit West Baden Hot Springs, Seattle and San Francisco in search of
health. Mr. Ward expects to be away until he first of March.</DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV align=center><STRONG>City-Like Appearance</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV align=left> Charles W. Akers, the newly appointed
trainmaster of the Pocahontas division, was in the city this week, which is
the first visit Mr. Akers has made to Pocahontas for a few years, and was much
gratified at the city-like appearance of the place, with paved streets.</DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Script size=6>Gordon Hamilton</FONT><FONT
face=NewtonA size=2><FONT face=NewtonA size=2></DIV></FONT></FONT>
<P>
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