ARCHIVE: This Month's Articles

This Month's Article: July-August 2017

What we don't know about the N&A Railway, Part 2

Last year at this time, we took stock of the things we don't know about the Nelson & Albemarle Railway, but would like to know. It seems almost impossible to look back to the last century and find the information about this small, shortline, industrial railway. A tenacious spirit is required to visit libraries, archives, and museums seeking that elusive photograph or memorandum from 100 years earlier. Those trips have been made both physically and virtually (via web) for several years now, but we still don't know everything about the N&A to complete the story of it's existence. In last years missive, there were 10 items noted with 1 addition in late August. This year, I'm trying to be much more descriptive of the items being sought (and the list has grown) so that they can be checked off as some document, photograph, or other piece of memorabilia is located. So here goes with what is still, a partial list:

1) Early Days

a) TROLLEY: We're looking for a photo of the former trolleys from Lynchburg that served the Schuyler Railway electrified line between Schuyler and Rockfish at the turn of that century up through 1905/6 before the line was rebuilt for the Nelson & Albemarle Railway's steam trains. Even finding a photograph with the trolleys in their original Lynchburg Street Railway livery would be a good start! There is one, quite poor photograph in a book on the Lynchburg Street Railways (Hill City Trolleys by Harold E. Cox), however, there's no definitive caption noting which ones in the photo were the ones sold to the Schuyler Railway.

b) ROCKFISH: There doesn't appear to be a photo of Rockfish from those early days prior to 1905/06 and we've seen only 2 photographs of the village (about 1920 and from 1957) and none with N&A or Schuyler Railway rolling stock in the photograph. We mentioned in Part 1 published in July-August 2016 that...to spot cars, the N&A had to 'pole' them into position and that readers should see Archie Robertson's book, "Slow Train to Yesterday" for the prosaic description of the process. A photo with poling of cars would be the best possible one to find but not holding my breath on that. We're also looking for a diagram of the N&A tracks interchanging there up through 1947-48. Finding any track diagram for Rockfish has been a desire for several years now..

2) Beginnings of the N&A

a) #2 AND #3: While we know about the N&A's first locomotive, an 0-4-0ST named "Belle" bought used from the Richmond City Railway, we know nothing of the first locomotives numbered 2 and 3. For those, we can only speculate that they were diminutive switchers primarily used to move soapstone blocks from quarry to mill at Alberene and Schuyler, but again, that is only speculation! Both of them may have been purchased used, leased, or bought new but there are no records found yet. If leased and then returned to lessor, then the lack of information (including original documents) could be understandable. We continue to search for what may not exist - a photograph of either #2 or #3.

b) VELOCIPEDE: Early on, Henry Lane had a "Sheffield"-brand motor car purchased from Fairbanks-Morse with the model name, "Maude". This was done around 1903-1904 based on a memorandum written a few short years later regarding parts for the velocipede. Finding a photograph would be great, but even a graphic depiction of the "Maude" model from a Fairbanks-Morse catalog would be great to at least understand what this motor car really looked like. There have been several descriptions on it's use, but nothing describing how many seats, how much capacity for baggage, etc.

c) #8 WITH TENDER: There has been speculation by 'old-timers' that the locomotive numbered 8 on the N&A roster had a tender. This was further complicated by the fact that Nelson & Albemarle stock certificates were adorned with a graphic image of a locomotive 'with tender' pulling a line of flat cars loaded with soapstone blocks! Whether this was actual or imagined doesn't matter anymore. What is known is that prior to #8 being acquired, the N&A bought two used-Manhattan Railway Forney locomotives in 1905 that would become N&A #5 and #6 (from Patricius McManus in Cape Charles, Virginia, a used locomotive dealer), Around the same time, another locomotive was bought used from the Proctor Coal Company of Kentucky that received #7 as it's locomotive number. Likely, the locomotive that came to be N&A #8 was bought used and per 'old-timers' (and some N&A correspondence) was assigned to serve the Alberene mill site. Finding an actual photo of #8, properly documented, would be huge. Also note that on the Nelson & Albemarle stock certificate, the locomotive doesn't appear to have a saddle tank (much like Forney's #5, #6), so this tender may have been added to provide for coal/water capacity while servicing Alberene.

3) Mid-years of the N&A

a) FIRST ROSTER: For the years between 1920 and 1955, there are MANY things we'd like to know not only about the railway, but also the soapstone operations. Charles Eben Fisher aka C.E.Fisher, born in Taunton, Massachusetts in 1889, would start the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in the early part of the century and as part of his fascination with the early days of railroading he would publish rosters that were hand-typed. The list of his rosters is held at Youngstown State University and includes a notation for a 2-page roster compilation of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway from around 1940. From this early life of the N&A this roster may include detail on locomotives #2, #3, and #8 that have never been identified. While the list of rosters is at the university the actual rosters are not (and not in the archives of the R&LHS either). We continue to look for those 2 pieces of paper and the valuable content they might hold.

b) SCRAPPING STEAM (EARLY): We have photographs of certain locomotives that were sold off to Southern Iron & Equipment (SI&E) for rebuilding and resale around 1920 which include the first #1, the second #2 (Old Dominion Soapstone), and #7 (the former "Hutchcraft" of the Proctor Coal Company) where those 3 were included in the sale but a 4th locomotive advertised locomotive, a Forney (either #5 or #6), apparently did not get sold and was scrapped. We also have a photograph of #4 (the first 'new' locomotive on the N&A) from it's being sold to SI&E in 1924. What we don't have is any photograph of the sale or scrapping of #2 (the first #2), #3, #5, #6, or #8. These locomotives likely went to a scrap metals dealer somewhere along the line of the Southern Railway or Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, but there are no records or memorandums that explain the sale and, of course, there are no photographs of them being scrapped. Note that only recently, we received information from a contributor making us aware of an advertisement for sale of locomotives by the N&A in the trade periodical, Industrial Development and Manufacturers Record (dated January 8, 1920). It's also possible other locomotives were advertised for sale in that same periodical, so we'll keep looking for those notices too.

c) REMAINING STEAM: Yes, there is a remaining steam locomotive, #2 (the second #2) from the Old Dominion Soapstone Company merger/acquisition. When this was finally sold off for the third or fourth ownership AFTER the N&A, and likely when displayed at a restaurant/motel in Marion, Virginia, the saddle tank over the boiler (used to store water) was removed. There are no details on the tank removal (the locomotive was sold to an individual, Charles Watson, in 1962) and no photographs have been found while the engine was working on the N&A. There is one known photo of the second #2 while working as Blue Ridge Railway #4 during the brief time that they owned and used the locomotive for track rebuilding on an upgrade project. The next photo is of the sans tank view while displayed outside the noted restaurant/motel. This locomotive may be currently seen (once permission is granted to visit) in Goshen, Virginia at the North Fork Lumber Company. Call (540) 997-5602 to arrange your visit with owner, Will Harris. If you do go, be sure to wear long sleeves and pants as the locomotive is on a track segment at the edge of the woods and slightly overgrown.

d) MOTOR CAR (VELOCIPEDE #2): At some point, the soapstone company looks to have acquired the Phoenix Soapstone Company and took possession of a 2nd motor car which has been noted as a 4-wheel, gas-powered model DLC, Type 6 Plymouth (from the Fate-Root-Heath Company). It had been noted as still in the engine house at Schuyler in 1965 making it the last unit from the roster to be present on the property. There is a photo that may show the motor car in the distance, but the photo is too grainy to tell if this is indeed the motor car or some other industrial car such as a gondola or ballast car. So, a photo of the motor car, either while on Phoenix Soapstone or N&A property, would answer many questions.

e) CULVER & PORT CLINTON RAILROAD: We found good information on the life of N&A Locomotive #7 before the N&A purchased it from the Proctor Coal Company (at the Filson Historical Society in Kentucky). However, for #11 which belonged to the Culver & Port Clinton Railroad in Ohio before arriving in Schuyler and becoming the last N&A steam locomotive to be scrapped (1954), there is next to nothing! While public records show The Culver & Port Clinton Railroad in operation, there are no other records, documents, or photographs that show this 2-4-2 wheel arrangement engine.

f) CHILE EXPLORATION COMPANY: A similar situation to the lack of information on the Culver & Port Clinton Railroad also exists regarding N&A #15 which was originally built for the Chile Exploration Company but never delivered to them. While a builder's photograph does exist, there doesn't seem to be one while serving the soapstone works. This locomotive was present while many photographers (including H. Reid) visited Schuyler and photographed both the mainline engines and those used in the quarries yet no photograph has been found.

g) SCRAPPING STEAM (LATE): With the arrival of diesels to the N&A in 1951, '52, and '53, the railroad started disposing of not only main line steam, but also quarry operations steam as well. The soapstone company owned (and leased/rented to the N&A) locomotives #9, #10, #11 primarily used for mainline operations and making up trains at Schuyler as well as locomotives #12, #14, and #15 which handled quarry operations moving soapstone blocks from quarry to overhead crane (for transfer to the gang saws and eventually the mill). There was never a locomotive #13 for obvious reasons. #9 was 30 years old when the first diesel arrived and would have been scrapped first followed quickly by #10 when the 2nd diesel showed up on the property. Once diesel #3 came to Schuyler, the need for #12, #14, and #15 would also be gone. So by 1953, there were five locomotives to be scrapped (four of which were bought new for the soapstone company 28-30 years earlier). The N&A kept the former Culver & Port Clinton Railroad locomotive, N&A #11, around for another year and scrapped it in 1954 according to company documents found in the University of Virginia Special Collections Archives. But where were these locomotives scrapped? At the time, the C&O, Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, and RF&P were scrapping their locomotives at Deepwater Terminal south of the city of Richmond. It may have been that the N&A locomotives followed that same process and were scrapped there as well, leaving the N&A at Esmont/Warren for the trip to Richmond. But there are no known photographs showing these locomotives on the scrap line and no document have been found that could confirm they were sent there for their final disposition.

4) Last years of the N&A

a) Having tracked down what were thought to be the last known locations for the diesel roster of the N&A, a visit was made to North Augusta, South Carolina (formerly known as Hamburg, SC) to see if the 44-ton GE that served as N&A #1 (c/n 30856) was still serving TTX, the company that had purchased Hamburg Industries. Hamburg was once the end point of what was at the time the longest railroad in the world - 136 miles long. Former #1 had been repainted into Hamburg Industries colors/livery and this was documented via at least one photograph taken by Mac Connery of Durham, North Carolina. TTX appeared to have sent the locomotive out as scrap (possibly to Progress Rail) when they did not select the unit for a re-engine project. Another unit did come back from that project with c/n 39088 which would put their re-engine effort during the 1980's. There is no clear data on the scrapping or disposition and much of this data comes from the personal recollection of TTX management on site. They also do not recall c/n 30856 ever being repainted in TTX garb.

b) Similar to the visit to locate N&A #1, a visit was made to Sylacauga, Alabama to look for former N&A diesel #2 (35-ton GE c/n 31768). There are a couple of photographs of former #2 being repainted to Imerys (evidently a division of Georgia Marble/Alabama Marble) colors. But as fate would have it, this locomotive was scrapped in in late 2009 or early 2010. The guard on duty at the entrance provided that the locomotive had been the subject of several inquiries as to it's history, but that it had been scrapped. No late photographs exist nor does any information on who might have performed the scrap operation.

c) Green Bay, Wisconsin turns out to be the last location that N&A diesel #3 has served! And it's still there, serving the Great Lakes Calcium Company's lake-side facility. The 25-ton GE (c/n 31778) was the last of the diesels purchased for use by the N&A in January 1953 and was stored out-of-service for some time while in Nelson, Georgia. Having originated in Erie, Pennsylvania, worked in Schuyler, Virginia, Nelson, Georgia, and Woodville, Ohio before making it's way to Green Bay, Wisconsin, it's been photographed several times at it's current assignment. This author visited the site (with permission) and was provided an opportunity to pilot the locomotive in spotting a covered hopper and then returning to it's storage siding. While the unit had been involved in an accident while in Ohio, it is back in working condition for daily operations. There are currently photographs of this in Schuyler, Nelson (Georgia), and Green Bay, but none from Woodville (Ohio).

Well, there you have it. This is another attempt to identify the missing links with the Nelson & Albemarle Railway and close the gap on the knowledge across the span of its existence for 60 years and beyond once transferred to Georgia Marble ownership. The earliest years remain the hardest to gain traction on information so any help across any of the categories would be helpful, but the earliest ones really have my focus for this next year.

Who scrapped the locomotives in the 1950's? Were locomotives 9, 10, 11 (known to be scrapped in 1954), 12, 14, 15 all scrapped at Deepwater Terminal in Richmond? Do photos exist of them in the scrap line there?

7) Speaking of scrapping locomotives, we'd like to know whether Progress Rail actually scrapped diesel #1 of the N&A when TTX traded it in sometime in the late 1990's. We'd also like to know where diesel #2 of the N&A was scrapped after it left Imerys in Sylacauga, Alabama in about 2011 for the scrap heap. (Yes, diesel #3 is still operating in Green Bay, Wisconsin).

A late-August postscript to our July-August 2016 Article: We also are searching for the impossible - a photo of any of the original Lynchburg trolley cars as used on the Schuyler Railway and subsequently the Nelson & Albemarle Railway. This would be especially nice to find if the Rockfish Depot of the Southern Railway were shown in the background, but we might be asking a bit much to even find a photo from the 1903-1906 era. We have only 2 photographs of the Rockfish, Virginia area - one, a photo of the Southern Depot from 1957 (long after the Southern Railway was no longer a terminus for the N&A) and the other, a photo of the nearby businesses from the early part of that century (but not showing how the N&A Railway track interfaced with the Southern tracks there). Remember, to spot cars, the N&A had to 'pole' them into position. See Archie Robertson's book, "Slow Train To Yesterday" for the prosaic description of this process.

This Month's Article: July-August 2016

What we don't know about the N&A Railway

Whenever we write an article about the Nelson & Albemarle Railway, there has been a huge amount of research building up to actually composing the message and preparing it for publication. We have been fortunate to travel to the University of Virginia's Special Collections Library and hold in our own hands, the documents and ledgers of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway, the Albemarle Soapstone Company and the Virginia Soapstone Company plus the unpublished manuscript of Garth Groff's entitled the same as his booklet, Soapstone Shortlines: Alberene Stone and it's Railroads. What a wealth of knowledge is carried inside that work! But still much remains to learn about the N&A Railway and it turns out that while we know quite a bit, we don't know everything we'd like to know. What's missing? The list keeps growing on us as we discover clues to several parts of the Nelson & Albemarle and soapstone operations in general. So here is a partial list of what we don't know about or what we're looking for:

1) A page from a Fairbanks-Morse catalog of about 1903 or 1904 with the "Sheffield"-brand motor car with the model name "Maude". We know it kept that name on the N&A as it was mentioned by the name in correspondence. Not likely to find a photo of this, just a copy of that page would be nice to know what Maude really looked like. We've written about this motor car before, but still have not found the catalog.

2) A copy of C. E. Fisher's roster of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway. Charles Eben Fisher, noted for being a founder of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, prepared typewritten rosters for many railroads and included the N&A (2 pages) in his listing which can be found in the Youngstown University Library. Unfortunately, the actual roster he prepared was not part of that collection and may be lost to the times as it is not included in the current day holdings of the R&LHS archives.

3) What was the first #2 locomotive? Was it a little 0-4-0T like the first #1? Was it leased from Henry Lane, the builder of much of the N&A railway? There's no photograph of it known to exist, but we're still looking.

4) Same goes for the first #3 locomotive!

5) Where oh where is a photo of #8 locomotive - thought to have a tender based on first hand observations and comments noted by writer, Garth Groff. However, the only locomotive found with a tender is a graphical representation of the N&A soapstone train on the face of the N&A stock certificate. No clear proof that the locomotive actually existed, but at least interesting as it may have been the model chosen to be displayed on the company's stock.

6) Who scrapped the locomotives in the 1950's? Were locomotives 9, 10, 11 (known to be scrapped in 1954), 12, 14, 15 all scrapped at Deepwater Terminal in Richmond? Do photos exist of them in the scrap line there?

7) Speaking of scrapping locomotives, we'd like to know whether Progress Rail actually scrapped diesel #1 of the N&A when TTX traded it in sometime in the late 1990's. We'd also like to know where diesel #2 of the N&A was scrapped after it left Imerys in Sylacauga, Alabama in about 2011 for the scrap heap. (Yes, diesel #3 is still operating in Green Bay, Wisconsin).

8) We'd like to know when and where the saddle tank from the second #2 locomotive was removed. This is the locomotive from the Old Dominion Soapstone Company merger, which still exists in Goshen, Virginia at the North Fork Lumber Company (the little locomotive sits next to a Shay that is also owned by Will Harris). It would be nice to see this cosmetically restored (with a replacement saddle tank) and part of a display in or near Schuyler, Virginia.

9) A diagram of the track layout at Rockfish would be very nice! We've had a new drawing of the track layout with detail on Warren, Schuyler, Alberene, and Esmont but we don't have detail on Rockfish and it's holding up publication of the new drawing.

10) And lastly for now (before we think of more things we don't have or can't get) there is the 2nd motor car, likely acquired from merger with the Phoenix Soapstone Company which was noted as a 4-wheel, gas-powered model DLC, Type 6 Plymouth (Fate-Root-Heath Company). It was noted in the engine house at Schuyler in 1965 making it the last unit from the roster to be present on the property.

So, there you have it - a list of what we don't know, cannot find, may not exist. But we continue to look as the search is almost as good as the finding.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW:

Don't know anything about the original motorcar and little about the 2nd and last motorcar.

Don't know anything about the original #3

Only suspect things about #8 (i.e.: on the stock certificate)

no photographs of early locomotives except by SI&E

No color photographs from earlier years (including steam locomotives)

We don't have a copy of Garth Groff's full manuscript (though it's in the UVA Special Collections Library)

Original trains - Schuyler Railway - with Lynchburg original traction equipment.

Send email to NelsonAlbemarle@comcast.net if you have any comments or questions or wish to contribute to future articles.

Future Article Ideas

Terrain of the N&A, Part 1 - from Warren to Alberene

Terrain of the N&A, Part 2 - from Guthrie to Schuyler

Terrain of the N&A, Part 3 - from Schuyler to Rockfish

Modeling the N&A at Schuyler

Modeling the N&A at Rockfish

Gain permission to publish excerpts from published works on the NEARHS website

Book Planning:

Cover - Photo of #9 with boxcar and combine from California Railroad Museum (a Charles Clegg photograph from the Mixed Train Daily series)

Inside - Detailed map of Nelson & Albemarle (to be prepared from multiple sources including plats, valuation maps, diagrams from COHS, topographical maps, etc.)

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 - Origin of the N&A; predecessors Schuyler Railway, Alberene Railroad, Lease of the C&O Alberene Subdivision

Chapter 2 - Soapstone Company histories; (Albemarle, Virginia, Alberene + others such as Old Dominion that merged)

Chapter 3 - Nelson & Albemarle Railway - how it began, leases, where it ran, topical discussions on why and where

Chapter 4 - Depots, Yard(s), Sidings, Interchanges, Timetables

Chapter 5 - Steam Locomotives (1, 2; Old Dominion 1, 2; the mystery of 3; 4; 5 & 6; 7; the mystery of 8 and how it got on the N&A Stock Certificate; 9 & 10; 11; 12, 14, 15.)

Chapter 6 - Diesel Locomotives (1, 2, 3 and their subsequent histories)

Chapter 7 - Misc. Powered Equipment (4-wheel Sheffield Velocipede bought from Fairbanks-Morse Company model="Maude" which name it kept)

Chapter 8 - Mixed Train Service (great chapter for photographs, but also to showcase the requirement of mixed trains to serve needs)

Chapter 8A - Passenger Service, Equipment, + Caboose(s) including 1 former RF&P (passenger only trains, equipment 'borrowed' from the C&O, end of passenger service, caboose as passenger service)

Chapter 8B - Freight Service, Equipment + off line equipment such as freight dollys, soapstone dollys for gang saws, etc.; (boxcars from NYC, etc.; hoppers, ballast car, flat cars to service quarries and gang saws;

Chapter 9 - Photographers (Charles Clegg, August Thieme, H. Reid, etc.), Motion Picture Photographer (only 1 known - August Thieme), and Authors (Archie Robertson, Lucius Beebe, Richard Prince, Garth Groff, Mallory Hope Ferrell)

Chapter 10 - Publications, etc. on N&A (the web site detail here)

Chapter 11 - The N&A what if and what is (what if the N&A had continued to exist; what is left of the N&A today and how Soapstone is again in a revival period)

Inside back - Fanciful map of the sightseeing along the route, plus the industries other than soapstone served by the line including school 'bus' service.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW:

Don't know anything about the original motorcar and little about the 2nd and last motorcar.

Don't know anything about the original #3

Only suspect things about #8 (i.e.: on the stock certificate)

no photographs of early locomotives except by SI&E

No color photographs from earlier years (including steam locomotives)

We don't have a copy of Garth Groff's full manuscript (though it's in the UVA Special Collections Library)

Original trains - Schuyler Railway - with Lynchburg original traction equipment.

This Month's Article: November 2016

Yes, I would Like to Lend My Photographs to be Scanned!

Part of our goals for this society has been to provide data for people researching the Nelson & Albemarle Railway (other than ourselves). But we always miss opportunities to capture photographs and other related memorabilia offered either on eBay or other auction sites. Auctions are just that and while the society is non-profit the pockets that do support our operations are not deep. So we lose auctions and those photographs that would otherwise grace our articles and be available for download from this site (see Sidebar item - Image Repository). As we come closer to year end, it has become evident that we've discovered and have made available many photographs and much memorabilia which has been shared either in one of these "This Month's Articles" or in one of the multiple data sets provided in other sidebar items show to the left of this column. We have been fortunate to have new sources this year such as William "Bill" Gordon's great photographs from the late 1950's/early 1960's of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway operations with N&A diesel #1 (GE #30856). This revelation provided the society with access to never before seen or published photographs from the era just prior to the shutdown of the line. At the other end of the spectrum the only photographs of the early Nelson & Albemarle Railway locomotives (1903 to about 1920) are from builder's photographs or photographs from Southern Iron & Equipment (used in promoting resale of used/refurbished locomotives). We've mentioned in this series of articles how photography was a profession and hobbyist were few and far between in photography of railroads in those early years of the N&A). The feature film, "Virginia", released in 1941, provided significant exposure for the N&A (for about 3 minutes of the film) where Fred MacMurray and his film daughter conversed with the engineer for a scene where the N&A Railway name printed on the side of the small tank engine's flank could be seen. The next exposure from Archie Robertson's "Slow Train to Yesterday: A Last Glance at the Local" and Lucius Beebe's "Mixed Train Daily" (with photography by Charles Clegg, Jr.) provided impetus for railroad hobbyist photographers to visit and start photographing from about 1948 onward. It is those photographs taken either in the late 1940's or before (especially prior to 1920) that are missing from the society's holdings. We have some personal photographs with family shown with locomotives and this may be the photograph you have in your scrapbook that would provide the detail missing from the N&A's history as we present it. There are no photographs of early locomotives #2 or #3. Also, none anywhere (found as of yet) on N&A #8. But also, the only photograph of #5 is from the Manhattan Railway (their 2nd #60) showing the locomotive at a station (from the Collection of New York Transit Museum Archives). No photograph of #6 (also from the Manhattan Railway) was ever located. Later, in 1928, Virginia Alberene acquired a used locomotive originally slated for the Chile Exploration Railway (#15) of which only a builder's photo exists (that we are aware of). So, we now reach out to you, our readers, for the opportunity to support the society and share (for scanning) your photographs of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway (or predecessors or subsequent owners). Whenever you share memorabilia or photographs we are asking for permission to share a photograph with the proper credit (such as: From the Collection of New York Transit Museum Archives - Do not Copy without Permission). We've asked for your help before, but now we are working to fill in gaps in the visual history of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway during the upcoming months to provide the most accurate data we can to our members and researchers. Please contact us at the following email address if you can help in this area: nelsonalbemarle@comcast.net

"Fairville" and the movie "Virginia" -

The Nelson & Albemarle / C&O Connection

Recently, I was reading a new book acquisition, "Appalachian Conquest: C&O, N&W, Virginian, and Clinchfield Cross the Mountains" (ISBN-13 978-1883089795) relased by TLC Publishing in conjunction with the C&O Historical Society in 2002 that held an interesting storyline on the Nelson & Albemarle and the fabled use of the Esmont depot for a set of scenes in the movie, "Virginia" (1941). As luck would have it, the fictional town of "Fairville" was recreated elsewhere - evidently with much dismay according to reports on the reactions of local people in Esmont noted in various books. However, it is part of my own family history that the movie crew ended up in Howardsville and that my Grandmother & Grandfather (on my Father's side) were both extras that appeared on the station platform behind Fred MacMurray (holding his movie-daughter, Carolyn Lee in his arms) in scenes that included the arrival of the Nelson & Albemarle train on the C&O James River Line at the Howardsville depot. (My other Grandfather, my Mother's father, was Section Gang Foreman for the C&O in Howardsville, and while not where the camera was ever trained on him, he was likely present in his official capacity). Now, the Howardsville depot wasn't really gussied up for the occaision, but it did have a new, albeit temporary name, "Fairville" and I've included a photo in the Image Repository by that name that shows some of the movie crew out in front of the station. I've got little comment on the actual movie itself, except that it bore some resemblance to another movie of that period. "Viriginia" has it's best moments (in my opinion) not only when my Grandparents are on camera, but also when the Nelson & Albemarle train comes into view and I hear that whistle blowing. This movie is somewhat available (in a less-than-good-quality copy on DVD) from http://classicreels.com/product_info.php?roducts_id=46 for $10 + shipping. It's listed in Black & White now, but there were older copies in color on DVD, so if you want a color copy, look for it on iOffer or eBay. It's also available (in Color) from http://www.ashfaultsclassicmovies.com/virginia41.html for $14.99 plus $5.00 media mail shipping. + There was much talk about the filming in the 1963 publication of Steam Locomotive & Railroad Tradition (May issue, #13-14) when H. Reid mentioned it in his feature article, "An Upcountry Romance: A reminiscence of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway". Evidently, this was considered an affront to the good people of not only Esmont and many citizens of the area, but also the Nelson & Albemarle crew that ended up being replaced with C&O counterparts. It seems in any publication commenting on the movie filming, there is a lot of speculation over the locomotive and cars used to serve this unique opportunity. + So, I took my first color copy of the film and spent some time breaking down the original movie and lighting so that I could lighten the background and hopefully get a clear picture of the engine and coach arriving at the station. Now, I've recently stated that engine 11 (a 2-4-2T) had lettering that matched that seen in the movie as shown in some photographs. But, after spending a lot of time with the movie, it is obvious that the locomotive that arrived was #9 and by using stop action on the movie, I was able to tell this when the scene turned to a conversation with the engineer just after arrival. The lettering for Nelson & Albemarle Railway is nice and bright on both the engine and the boxcar behind it. The number 9 on the cab side underneath the window is faded and also matches the font/style used by the builder (as seen in the builder's photograph used in this site's logo). So, #9 - the 2-6-2T primary engine of the era, was used for this starring move role. I also saw where Eugene Huddleston, author of the Appalachian Conquest, believed that a "doodlebug" might have been used as a replacement for the combine. That's really hard to tell in the movie scenes as these copies are quite dark. I've asked my video editor brother to break down the scenes for me with his AVID production-editing equipment, so we will know the answer soon. What I can tell is that mail bags were thrown off the train by a baggage door (either a combine or doodlebug would have that) and that the arrival of Miss Dunterry was off the rear steps which could be either the combine or the doodlebug and no one could really tell the difference in the manner in which this was portrayed and used in the filming. Guess I'll have to wait for my brother's efforts to show more detail and possibly which car was used in this scene. But with a little luck from my new fine-detail monitor, I've been able to notice one thing that didn't stand out before. And it related to my preparations for the October 2009 Article as I reviewed photographs from the California State Railroad Museum. It turns out the arrangement of wall, baggage door, wall, windows and stove pipe stack align to the photos taken by Charles Clegg in January 1946 - 5 & 1/2 years later of the combine used in day-to-day service. So it appears that this may be the same combine used with a boxcar that had a wider opening and no door (2x4's appear to be the only blocking to keep a large boxed-soapstone piece from shifting out of the car). Engine # 9 was the primary locomotive for the N&A in 1940's Nelson & Albemarle counties and having it taken up with a day of filming must have put a crimp in the normal operations that most trains adhere to on a very accurate schedule. + I frequently enjoy these types of mysteries as they require some investigation and discussion among friends and fellow fans of the N&A. It appears that the normal train of the day was used for filming with no substitutions! It's also been 70 years since this scene was shot and while there likely are still certain families upset at the change of venue, it's only lucky that we have a slice of life to savor in the beginning 3 and 1/2 minutes of the film showing Howardsville as it was in 1940 near the Nelson & Albemarle county line.

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This Month's Article: 2016 series

The N&A's Motorcars

In the early days of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway, there was a need for transportation that allowed executives and their family to get from the company house in Esmont to Schuyler, but more importantly, from Schuyler to the connection at Rockfish where passenger trains came direct from Washington, D.C. and direct connections to the Northeast and Midwest where much of the soapstone business was derived. When not in use this mode of transportation was available for other company officials and crews when needed such as bridge or track inspection. In 1888 Fairbanks, Morse Company added Sheffield Velocipedes to their catalog and became the 'general sales agency' for the Sheffield line. In 1896 when Sheffield introduced a gasoline-powered motorcar, the Sheffield works in Three Rivers Michigan was the premier location for development and assembly of quality modes of transportation on rails for section gang foreman, crew, and even some single-truck trolley cars. The gasoline-powered motorcar could attain speeds up to 25 mph. By 1918, the Sheffield Company would be entirely merged into F-M and disappear as the innovative manufacturer of velocipedes that had started a new mode of traversing rails.

This Month's Article: 2016 series

Found! Locomotives #3 and #8

It's been 7 years since we started chronicling the Nelson & Albemarle Railway and the locomotives that plied those spindly rails through two counties. We reported on detail found on locomotives previously on the Manhattan Railway and those from Ohio and one originally planned to ship to Chile! But the elusive ones were #3 and #8 where little if any information was documented or found in numerous archival letters and reports stored at the Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia. In the early 1920's it was fortunate that 4 men led by Charles E. Fisher formed the Railway & Locomotive History Society. As part of that endeavor, Charles Eben Fisher started publishing (and selling) rosters of various rail lines and his 30 page list of rosters (held in the archives at Youngstown State University library) includes a notation for the Nelson & Albemarle Railway (2 pages). While the library at Youngstown State University does not have the actual rosters, the R&LHS does have them in their archives held in Florida. I recently requested the Virginia State and Industrial shortline section (paying for the entire set of pages as a member) and found #3 and #8 listed. However, it wasn't really #3 and #8 at all.

This Month's Article: May-June 2016

Cabooses of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway

Early in the life of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway, the purchasing agent recognized great deals in buying much equipment for the line as good-used or pre-owned from other railways or railway supply dealers. This was especially true of non-revenue equipment used to transport stone from quarry to the gang saws or providing the last car on trains bound for Rockfish or Esmont from Schuyler. While there are no photographs of the earliest non-revenue equipment, the numbering scheme used on the Nelson & Albemarle Railways first two cabooses is easy to follow. While locomotives (either Steam or Diesel) started with number 1 and went up to number 15 (steam), the first cabooses on the N&A were numbered 101 and 102.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Topographic Maps USGS: Covesville and Lovingston Quadrangles

Aerial Photographs from 1937