Blacksburg Grand Union Terminal Station and End-of-Track

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On Sun, Dec 29, 2024 at 8:43 PM John wrote:

> Ray,
>
> Why was the Blacksburg Branch shortened in 1966? Was extending the
> airport's runway a factor?


Town officials didn't want the coal wharf in downtown any more and the N&W
didn't want to service it because it was nearing end of life and not really
generating much traffic. VPI administrators were brought into the fold and
"extending the runway" was the ruse that was used to sell the idea of
abandoning part of the branch. There was opposition from some businesses in
town but they were quietly quashed. The N&W treated various town and
college officials to a train trip to Washington, D.C. to testify in favor
of the abandonment, then flew them back home. It was decades later before
the runway came close to the former roadbed and years after that before it
was finally crossed.

Bruce in Blacksburg (who has correspondence copies of the dealings)
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