Radford bridge

[NW Mailing List]

Guys:
I've been lurking but reading and soaking up every email. I've learned so much about my old 'playgound'! The train bridge was a fairly regular place to sail our wooden planes (with and without firecrackers attached!). It had (and I think still has) a great and SAFE walkway on it.
Back to the subject, thanks for the great Radford map! I didn't know about the wagon/car bridge upstream of the RR bridge. Any thing left of it? I've waded a lot of the river around there but don't recall any old piers there. I also learned of the wye on the New River (community) side.
Let's keep it going!
Charlie Long

-----Original Message-----

>From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>Sent: Jun 8, 2008 9:09 AM

>To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>Subject: Re: Radford bridge

>

>Here's a map from the VT site that shows the first part of the old route:

>

>http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/04DLA/screen/01MAP0828031058.jpg

>

>

>

>Mike Brown

>

>NW Mailing List wrote:

>> Sure is nice to get all this expert info on the old ROW. Must have 

>> been a typo in the "Class J" book photo caption on page 5. It said 

>> 1887, but it's an excellent photo of the curved bridge.

>>  

>> And it is (was?) Northside Flower Shop where the old ROW (Rt. 600) 

>> meets Rt 11 there Charlie. (Also, it was Carl Long whose name I was 

>> trying to remember.)

>>  

>> And Bruce's GIS photo

>> -------

>> The better view is via the Pulaski County GIS site, with the aerial photo

>> layer turned on.

>> See http://www.netgis.pulaskicountyva.gov/pulaski/index.php You can 

>> zoom in

>> even

>> closer with better resolution, to the point where you can check out the

>> westbound train

>> with empties. With the view zoomed in to where the scale reads 1320, it is

>> easy to see

>> Crosstie Lane in Parrott. There is an interesting triangle in the property

>> lines there, which

>> seems to indicate where the original line came off the river. I've 

>> posted a

>> PDF of the

>> view on my website, see

>> http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bharper/nwrwy/OldMainLine2.pdf

>>

>> Bruce in Blacksburg

>> -------

>> shows where the old ROW meets the "new" cutoff to Walton all right. 

>> Just off the bottom edge of the

>> pdf file photo is Back Creek, just like Bud said.

>>  

>> Now, I just wonder if anyone knows how "Schooler Hill" got it's 

>> name...? Old family name maybe?

>>  

>>  

>> Thanks for all the info, gentlemen.

>> Vince Albert.

>>  

>>

>> > Message: 1

>> > Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2008 12:41:54 -0400 (GMT-04:00)

>> > From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>> > Subject: Re: Radford bridge

>> >

>> > Thanks, Bud, for the additional info. I knew you would have it! Was 

>> I right, or close, concerning the flower shop?

>> > Charlie Long

>> >

>> > -----Original Message-----

>> > >From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>> > >Sent: Jun 2, 2008 11:55 PM

>> > >To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>> > >Subject: Re: Radford bridge

>> > >

>> > >This reply probably addresses a couple of mailing list items.

>> > >

>> > >In the early 1880s, a line began at the west side of the New River 

>> that would extend to open up the Pocahontas coalfields. The first load 

>> of coal was dispatched in March 1883 eastward to Norfolk. Trains 

>> leaving Radford for coalfields proceeded westward across the New River 

>> bridge on the Bristol line [at the present site], then would reverse 

>> direction to proceed to Bluefield. The shelf visible today near the 

>> west side of the bridge is where this line began. The eastbound trains 

>> from Bluefield had to reverse direction to continue east toward 

>> Radford and beyond. Obviously this was a very awkward and expensive 

>> way to send and receive trains over the New River line.

>> > >

>> > >In 1888, a new curved bridge was completed, next to the Bristol 

>> line bridge. The curved bridge created a wye. Trains leaving Radford 

>> for the Pocahontas region could now proceed across the new bridge 

>> without having to reverse direction that was previously required. The 

>> line followed the current road now known as Hazel Hollow Road to the 

>> highway bridge then curved to the left following a side of the draw to 

>> a point that today is Route 600 or Belspring Road. As a boy I remember 

>> the old highway followed the old RR road bed until the new four-lane 

>> road was completed in 1949 when a new highway bridge was built 

>> connecting Radford and Fairlawn. The original road bed continued 

>> upgrade to about where the golf driving range is today and this "hill" 

>> was known as Schooler Hill. The line then descended down to Belspring 

>> in the vicinity of Back Creek where it progressed westward along the 

>> New River like today.

>> > >

>> > >The hill was a real operational challenge since it rose 78 feet per 

>> mile eastbound and 86 feet per mile westbound and was about 11 miles 

>> in length. To reduce grade and reduce operating expenses, the new N&W 

>> Ry began building a new low-grade line from what is now known as 

>> Walton to Belspring. The new line reduced grades to 11 feet per mile 

>> eastbound and curves from 14 to six degrees, and was shorter by 4.3 

>> miles. It went into service on October 11, 1900 and the Va. General 

>> Assembly authorized the N&W to abandoned the old line on February 15, 

>> 1901.

>> > >

>> > >In the archives there is a folder of correspondence about the 

>> disposition of the old New River curved bridge. I do not have copies 

>> of this file but most of it was dated about 1904-5 and I believe in 

>> 1905 there is a document about a portion of the old bridge being used 

>> on the Galax line which Robb Fisher referenced below. I do not have 

>> any information about when the line was stopped being used but 

>> railroads, the N&W not being excepted, tend to get rid of something 

>> when approved for abandonment, especially something as costly as using 

>> the Schooler Hill line.

>> > >

>> > >The N&W said that savings for using the new line was greater than 

>> the interest to pay for the new construction which included the 3500+ 

>> foot Pepper Tunnel and a bridge across the New River at the tunnel. 

>> The line was certainly out by 1907 and the Jamestown Exposition.

>> > >

>> > >Bud Jeffries

>> > >

>> > >----- Original Message -----

>> > >From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>> > >To: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>> > >Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 3:15 AM

>> > >Subject: RE: Radford bridge

>> > >

>> > >

>> > >>

>> > >>> [Does anyone know when this wye track and the second bridge were 

>> fully

>> > >>> abandoned?

>> > >>> Was everything taken out of service with the completion of the 

>> Walton/Cowan

>> > >>> line? Or

>> > >>> was this piece kept in service for a while, which could explain 

>> how the

>> > >>> Exposition

>> > >>> specials served Radford -- run forward from Walton to Radford, 

>> cross the

>> > >>> river and

>> > >>> turn on the New River wye, then run forward back through Radford 

>> and on out

>> > >>> of town.]

>> > >>> Bruce in Blacksburg

>> > >>

>> > >>

>> > >>

>> > >> Bridge 802 (IIRC) was completely abandoned before 1908... it was 

>> reused on the North Carolina branch (where it crossed over US 52).

>> > >>

>> > >> Robb Fisher

>> > >> RFDI

>> > >>

>>

>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>

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