Lofton Wye

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

At 9:02 AM -0500 10/30/06, Harry wrote:

>Without regard as to how Shenandoah Valley acquired the right of way

>Hagerstown to Roanoke, I'm inclined to agree -- N&W had to buy the

>property for the Lofton  wye.   First, it was an auxiliary track that extended

>beyond the limits of the main line and second, the wye was built to turn

>pushers, which was well after construction of the line.

> 

>From a Shenandoah Div. track chart updated to 04/01/1952,  the wye

>diverged from the northward main track at MP R-76.9 and the north

>side of the wye connected at MP R-77.1.


WebGIS is a great thing, especially for this type of research.  Augusta County has a WebGIS system, see http://www.co.augusta.va.us/website/AugustaInternetGIS/viewer.htm

Start at the southeast corner of the county, zoom in a little, and work up the N&W line.  There is a parcel shaped like the wooded area in Harry's aerial photo.  It is parcel 89-70B, 2.95 acres owned by John E. Todd, Jr. (he also owns the large parcel to the south).  A visit to the Augusta County courthouse for a deed search (deeds are public record, so access isn't a problem) should turn up the history of this odd-shaped piece of the countryside.

To hasten the search, when the WebGIS page comes up, click on the binocular icon to do a search.  Enter 89-70B and that parcel information will be returned.  Click on the number 1 and the map will be zoomed in and the parcel highlighted.

-- 
Bruce in Blacksburg         === In the heart of N&W territory. ===

Bruce B. Harper                              (540)231-4360
University Relations/Web Communications  bharper at vt.edu
Virginia Tech        Blacksburg, Virginia  26060
See N&W WWW Page at http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bharper/nwrwy/