FlanaryRon-NS westbound on exVGN-PrincetonWV-5-20-94
The Virginian Railway
Henry Huttleston Rogers was one of the wealthiest men in the world at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. In the words of a friend of mine, “he had enough cash to burn a wet mule.” Rogers made most of his money in petroleum, particularly Standard Oil. Before his death in 1909, however, he went all in on a venture to construct what would eventually be the Virginian Railway. When money is no object, you can bridge and tunnel your way through the most challenging topography of the Appalachians to keep grades against eastbound coal to a minimum. In fact, eventual merger partner Norfolk & Western coveted the Virginian’s route, which essentially paralleled the Roanoke-based company’s main line from the Bluefield/Princeton area of West Virginia all the way to Hampton Roads. Rogers’ railroad became part of the N&W in 1959.
I was enroute home on Friday, May 20, 1994, from Richmond. This was “my” time, so I often took more interesting routes— following the railroads rather than deal with heavy traffic on the Interstates. I found myself catching up to a westbound NS empty hopper train near Narrows, Va. Would he continue up the East River to Bluefield on the old N&W, or cross the valley to follow the former Virginian to Princeton, W.Va. and Mullins? At Kellysville, W.Va., I was delighted when the train veered to the right across the connecting bridge to follow the Virginian. The weather was overcast, and it was getting late. Two shots at two different trestles did not yield amazing images. I ended up finding an overhead bridge on the east side of Princeton to get him as he came through a deep cut.
I wish I had spent more time on the P-D district—the line that continued through Princeton and across Clark’s Gap before reaching the rich coal-mining regions. This was a storied stretch of railroad, that featured a 2-8-8-8-4 beast known as the “Triplex.” Its boiler was insufficient to deliver enough steam to the six cylinders of its three engine sets, so it spent a lot of time just stopped as its fireman tried to rebuild steam pressure. Then, there were ten 2-10-10-2 Mallets with low pressure cylinders four FEET in diameter. Yet, that doesn’t include the jack-shaft electrics, rectifiers, and a few “streamliners” that ran this very route as far east as Roanoke (where the 2-10-10-2s, and later, copies of the C&O 2-6-6-6 Allegheny types took over)—or the railroad’s fleet of F-M units that finally brought dieselization. As I listened to the train of empties labor up the grade in the distance, I wondered what it would have been like to witness such an evolution of motive power (not to mention 116-ton capacity gondolas with six-wheel trucks that were essentially isolated from interchange to other railroads because of their size). The Virginian was an epic piece of railroading, but even in 1994 its work would eventually be done. Indeed, the P-D district was mostly mothballed by NS a few years ago.
Railroad history is simply amazing. When you hear the statement that the industry literally built America, the evidence to back up that claim is overwhelming.
FlanaryRon-NS westbound on exVGN-PrincetonWV-5-20-94
The Virginian Railway
Henry Huttleston Rogers was one of the wealthiest men in the world at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. In the words of a friend of mine, “he had enough cash to burn a wet mule.” Rogers made most of his money in petroleum, particularly Standard Oil. Before his death in 1909, however, he went all in on a venture to construct what would eventually be the Virginian Railway. When money is no object, you can bridge and tunnel your way through the most challenging topography of the Appalachians to keep grades against eastbound coal to a minimum. In fact, eventual merger partner Norfolk & Western coveted the Virginian’s route, which essentially paralleled the Roanoke-based company’s main line from the Bluefield/Princeton area of West Virginia all the way to Hampton Roads. Rogers’ railroad became part of the N&W in 1959.
I was enroute home on Friday, May 20, 1994, from Richmond. This was “my” time, so I often took more interesting routes— following the railroads rather than deal with heavy traffic on the Interstates. I found myself catching up to a westbound NS empty hopper train near Narrows, Va. Would he continue up the East River to Bluefield on the old N&W, or cross the valley to follow the former Virginian to Princeton, W.Va. and Mullins? At Kellysville, W.Va., I was delighted when the train veered to the right across the connecting bridge to follow the Virginian. The weather was overcast, and it was getting late. Two shots at two different trestles did not yield amazing images. I ended up finding an overhead bridge on the east side of Princeton to get him as he came through a deep cut.
I wish I had spent more time on the P-D district—the line that continued through Princeton and across Clark’s Gap before reaching the rich coal-mining regions. This was a storied stretch of railroad, that featured a 2-8-8-8-4 beast known as the “Triplex.” Its boiler was insufficient to deliver enough steam to the six cylinders of its three engine sets, so it spent a lot of time just stopped as its fireman tried to rebuild steam pressure. Then, there were ten 2-10-10-2 Mallets with low pressure cylinders four FEET in diameter. Yet, that doesn’t include the jack-shaft electrics, rectifiers, and a few “streamliners” that ran this very route as far east as Roanoke (where the 2-10-10-2s, and later, copies of the C&O 2-6-6-6 Allegheny types took over)—or the railroad’s fleet of F-M units that finally brought dieselization. As I listened to the train of empties labor up the grade in the distance, I wondered what it would have been like to witness such an evolution of motive power (not to mention 116-ton capacity gondolas with six-wheel trucks that were essentially isolated from interchange to other railroads because of their size). The Virginian was an epic piece of railroading, but even in 1994 its work would eventually be done. Indeed, the P-D district was mostly mothballed by NS a few years ago.
Railroad history is simply amazing. When you hear the statement that the industry literally built America, the evidence to back up that claim is overwhelming.