Arrow - Detour Routes

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I grew up in Man, WV, downriver of Gilbert, WV, where the Virginian (and then N&W)-C&O connected.  I was in C&O territory.

Living near the junction of Huff Creek, Rockhouse Creek, and the Guyandotte River, depending on atmospheric conditions, I made note of train movements. 

In the mid-60's to early 70's, I heard an unusual train horn, and I got myself in a position to see what was on the main line.  Much to my amazement was a passenger train (a first for the area!), and it was an N&W passenger train with GP-9s leading!  Another first!  It was headed downriver, towards Logan, and eventually the Huntington area.  Later I heard there was a derailment on the N&W that led to this event.  I never heard the details.

Kim Hensley
Huntsville, AL



>     On 08/20/2022 10:30 PM NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
> 
> 
>     Thanks for the reply, Harry.  Given that the C&O, N&W and Virginian were all similar very similar in the type of heavy traffic and locomotives they used, I suspect bridges weren’t the limiting factor.   Since the Virginian ran fatter locomotives than the N&W (the AE’s) and Ys could detour anywhere on their line, I figured width must have been the limiting factor - the C&O must have been a bit too tight?  
> 
>     Matt Goodman
>     Columbus, Ohio
> 
>     Sent from my mobile
> 
>     On Aug 15, 2022, at 12:05 PM, NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>     Matt Goodman
>     Columbus, Ohio
> 
>     I don't know that this is the reason that C&O couldn't accept Class Y locomotives, but railroads complied with Cooper Ratings.  This was a measure of the maximum weight a bridge could handle, which among other things, was based on the spacing of piling.  EXAMPLE:  The loading piers for PRR's Cape Charles-Little Creek ferry could accept one car weighing 263,000 lbs., but not two coupled together. Cooper Ratings on N&W's Abingdon Branch (50-some timber trestles) limited gross weight of a car to 220,000 lbs.   As I recall, for locomotives, the rating was based on a 2-8-2, but I'm not familiar driver spacing OR diameter.                                                                                                                                                                      Harry Bundy 
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