Closure of N&W Railway agency at Boyce in 1958

[NW Mailing List]

April 27, 2009

Good morning, Ken:

I appreciate your helpfulness during January.  I was at the Library of Virginia reviewing articles in the CLARKE COURIER newspaper during 1958 and located an article, "N&W Asks Commission to Close Boyce Station," in the September 11, 1958, issue on page 7.

N&W Asks Commission to Close Boyce Station

	The Norfolk & Western Railway Company has announced that the station in Boyce will be closed, if permission is granted the company's application before the State Corportation Commission.
	The station has been in existence since 1914.
	H. E. Carter, Superintendent of the Shenandoah Valley Division, said the railroad company is losing money at the rate of over $300 a month.  He said that Clarke County Supply, Inc. uses the station more than any other firm or person.
	The total amount of money to keep the station in operation was estimated at $7,500.
	This building also houses the post office at Boyce.

Regrettably, I cannot locate a follow-up article that confirms the closure occurred on a particular date.  I will check the WINCHESTER EVENING STAR for 1958 on a future occasion.

While at the Library of Virginia, I looked at the 1958 and 1959 Virginia SCC Annual Reports at HD2767.V882.  However, there are no entries in the index for closure of the Norfolk & Western (N&W) freight agency, Railway Express agency, or Western Union agency at Boyce.

Is there another source for the Virginia SCC proceeding in this case which shows an order date or discusses the merits of N&W's application?  Also, where would be the file of the application and any exhibits submitted by the N&W?

As a general observation, it seems that indexing of agency closures was not comprehensive.  Many appear in the annual report indexes, while others do not.  It is not clear why these inconsistencies occurred.

Best wishes,

Dr. Frank R. Scheer, Curator
Railway Mail Service Library, Inc. 
f_scheer at yahoo.com 
(202) 268-2121 - weekday office 
(540) 837-9090 - Saturday afternoon 
in the former N&W station on VA rte 723 
117 East Main Street 
Boyce VA 22620-9639