November 2020 Article

This Month's Article: November 2020

Chapter 10 - Publications of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway

[Publication of the long-awaited book on the N&A is progressing and expected during 2022. All of the completed chapters are in progress of re-formatting to fit a new book design which includes breaking down each photograph, securing rights/permission to use, and professional recreation of the new Nelson & Albemarle Railway map. Please enjoy Chapter 10 as recently edited. Note that the full listing of publications can be accessed from the left sidebar.]

CHAPTER 10 – PUBLICATIONS

While the Nelson & Albemarle Railway dates back to 1903 and its predecessors start of operations date back to 1898 and 1901, there are few photographs of the soapstone industrial sites or the locomotives and equipment used to transfer the soapstone from quarry to mill in those early days with the exception of locomotive builder or dealer photographs prepared for the sale of a new or used steam locomotive. In much the same fashion, there were little writings about the small soapstone railroad outside of industry publications. In 1910, Mineral Resources of the United States Part II – Non-metals was prepared and officially published in 1911 by the Washington Government Printing Office with a reference to the soapstone works on page 986: “The Virginia Soapstone Co., with quarries at Schuyler, and mills at Schuyler in Nelson County and Alberene in Albemarle County, is the largest producer and has a branch railroad connecting it with the main line of the Southern Railway at Rockfish, as well as with the C&O Railway at Warren on James River. The deeper portion of the quarry has been practically abandoned at Schuyler and the openings have been extended to the northeast.”

Another interesting set of publication during these early days were postcards that used photography of sites and scenes. Postcards in the United States had been authorized by Congress since 1861 but only gained popularity in the 1880’s and 1890’s. The use of photographs for the back of these postcards started in the 1890’s and the World Columbian Exposition held in Chicago saw official postcards of the exhibition released, the first commercially-produced postcards. Late in the 1890’s the release of a new product that used negatives sized like postcards and easily printed onto card stock, the Kodak #3A Folding Pocket Camera, started the golden era of postcards that took off in 1900. A big boon to the use of postcards was also the reduced postage required to mail them. In 1898 a special reduced postage rate applied to postcards and stamped cards was put into place. Scottsville on the James River was home to a photographer, William Edward Burgess (1871-1935) who captured over 400,000 images that were used on postcards. His arena was his home city of Scottsville, Virginia and the surrounding communities and industrial settings. Because the soapstone works of Alberene and Schuyler were large employers, they were both part of the images captured on postcards as well as Rockfish, Esmont, and Warren. His 1910 color postcard of the Slate Yard and Mill in Esmont of the Standard Slate Corporation of Norfolk, Virginia was one example of the other industrial photographs used on his hand-tinted postcards. Of the postcards in that era Willie Burgess included multiple views of Schuyler and Esmont (see plate XIV).

By 1930, the Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice (reprinted in the Train Shed Cyclopedia series as #37 in 1975) was including the saddle-tank locomotive built for main line service on the Nelson & Albemarle Railway. Purchased new in 1920, the description and photograph of the locomotive as built were in Section 18 Industrial Locomotives and Service. Page 1354, Figure 3193 (original Vulcan Builder’s Photo) was captioned “Six-coupled (2-6-2) Saddle Tank Locomotive for Industrial Railroad Service. Built for Nelson & Albemarle Ry. Co. by the Vulcan Iron Works. Gage-4 ft. 8 ½ in., Cylinders-17”x24”, Steam Pressure-180 lb., Diam. Of Drivers-46 in., Tractive Force-23,065 lb., Rigid Wheel Base-9 ft. 0 in., Total Wheel Base-24 ft. 7 in., Heating Surface, Tubes-1,608 sq. ft., Heating Surface, Firebox-102 sq. ft., Heating Surface, Total-1,710 sq. ft., Grate Area-21.8 sq. ft., Weight on Drivers-119,700 lb., Weight, Total-155,300 lb.”

While many people believe that a publication is a book or magazine, we’ve included film in our publications list because a significant chapter of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway’s history took off when a film company came to Albemarle, Virginia in 1940 to shoot sequences for the feature film, “Virginia”, starring Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll and a cast including Sterling Hayden and Helen Broderick. Advance crews had selected Esmont and the saddle tank engine #9 (purchased in 1920 and featured in the 1930 Locomotive Cyclopedia) with it’s mixed train of boxcar and combination coach/baggage car (commonly referred to as a combine car) for the arrival scene of Madeleine Carroll at the fictitious town of “Fairville”. When it came time to actually film the scene, it was decided that the natural lighting in Esmont wasn’t going to work for the film and the scene was moved (much to the chagrin of Esmont folk) out onto the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad’s main James River Line at Howardsville, Virginia. Here the story becomes personal as my grandparents on my Father’s side appear in the film as extras on the depot platform and would not have if this had been staged in Esmont as originally planned. Needless to say, the citizens of Esmont and the immediate area were disappointed. In the movie, Fred MacMurray is on the depot platform at fictional Fairville, Virginia awaiting the arrival of the train (as many people evidently were accustomed to doing) and then you hear the whistle blowing. The camera shifts and in comes Nelson & Albemarle #9 with a boxcar and combine. all newly lettered with road name. The movie itself followed in the footsteps of more famous, “Gone with the Wind” that had been released a year earlier. There are copies of this film available on DVD ever so often, but the view of an old South in the film represents a bygone age that is thankfully bygone. Early in 1941, the Montreal Gazette newspaper printed a story on the railway playing a major role in the film but based on the original plan to film in Esmont and not the actual site in Howardsville.

The attention paid to the Nelson & Albemarle Railway after the film was released in 1941 may have led to Archie Robertson including a visit to the rail line as described in Chapter 2 of his book, “Slow Train to Yesterday” that was published in 1945. Titled Root, Hog, or Die (pages 5-11) the first part of the chapter outlined what Archie considered a last glance at the local which included the N&A’s mixed train run daily. His description of post-depression/war era Esmont is accurate in its simple leanings. While traveling on the N&A, Archie noted the Chesapeake & Ohio lettering on the combine, a testament to the ties between the two railroads, a part of the agreement for use of the tracks between Esmont and Warren where the actual ownership waw retained by the C&O. There are some quaint anecdotes told by conductor H. C. Drumheller and brakeman J. P. Critzer. Archie chronicles the ride to Warren with a note of another shipper on the line, the slate mill. The return trip from Warren all the way to Schuyler running backwards as it were (there are no turntables to reverse direction on the line), led to an overnight stay at the nondescript ‘hotel’ in Schuyler. The next day, his trip continued over to Rockfish still running backwards where the crew engaged in ‘poling by’ a boxcar left by the Southern Railway for delivery to Schuyler so that the engine would be in front and the boxcar would end up between it and the combine. The descriptive nature of this movement is best read directly from the book. It can still be found on occasion on auction sites or in used bookstores. Unfortunately, there were no photographs of the N&A in the publication.

About the same time as Archie Robertson’s book was published, Railroad Magazine’s “Information Booth” segment in their December 1945 issue (Volume 39, Number 1) carried a reader question (#6, page 61) that the magazine answered: “Give a short history of the Nelson & Albermarle (sic) Railway” – "Nelson & Albermarle (sic) was incorporated under the laws of Virginia on September 14th, 1903, and on June 19th, 1905, absorbed the Schuyler Railway. The road owned and operated extends from Guthrie to a point near Schuyler, Va., 6.8 miles; thence to another near Rockfish, 4.6 miles, giving a total owned of 11.5 miles. It is operated under lease or contract into Rockfish, and from a point near Guthrie to Esmount (sic). Rail is 56, 80, and 85 pound, and equipment consists of two locomotives and two service cars. The N&A is controlled by the Alberene Stone Corporation, through stock ownership." It should be noted that the equipment consist mentions only two locomotives which must be the two 'road' engines, #9 and #10. However, #11, #12, #14, #15 owned by the soapstone company were also on the property in 1945. (and again, there were no photos included in the magazine). Later in the listings of publications a separate section is devoted to prototype and model railroad magazines that held articles on the Nelson & Albemarle Railway.

Whether it was the movie from 1941, Archie Robertson’s book of 1945, or just being a fan of railroads, Lucius Beebe and his photographer partner, Charles Clegg, Jr. visited soapstone country in Virginia and not only rode on the line but photographed it as well for the book, “Mixed Train Daily: A book of Short Line Railroads” that was published in 1947. A part of page 59, all of page 60, and most of page 62 were dedicated to the N&A with a half-page photograph of N&A’s #9 and mixed consist shown on page 61. This is another book that gives a great description of life in the backwoods environs of Albemarle and Nelson counties of Virginia but recaptures most of the story that Archie Robertson collected earlier. In the era of film being used in cameras any photographer expecting to get ‘just the right shot’ of anything would be capturing more than one image and so it was with Charles Clegg. His collection of negatives and prints were donated to the California Railroad Museum and the trip to Esmont and Schuyler that the museum shows as January 1946 included 16 negatives that allowed for a selection (as noted in the photo print collection with notations on the prints) as to suitability for publishing in the book. A listing of these negatives, their description and comments is included in Chapter 9 – Photographers. Another of the photographs from this trip would appear in the later Lucius Beebe & Charles Clegg book, “The Age of Steam: A Classic Album of American Railroading” published in 1957.

Various magazines published stories about the soapstone industry in Virginia or the Nelson & Albemarle Railway (prototypical or modeling) during this era through early 2011 including as previously noted, Railroad Magazine, Trains, Virginia & The Virginia County, Virginia & The Virginia Record (same magazine with name change), Shortline Railroader, Steam Locomotive & Railroad Tradition (more on this further in this chapter), Extra 2200 South, Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Newsletter, Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Magazine, The Short Line (TSL): The Journal of Shortline & Industrial Railroads, The Magazine of Virginia – The Commonwealth, Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette, Railroad Model Craftsman, and Turntable Times – the publication of the National Railway Historical Society, Roanoke Chapter.

The significant publications that give a vivid picture of the N&A continued with the magazine/bulletin, “Steam Locomotive & Railroad Tradition” of May 1963 (Number 13-14). The article, “An Upcountry Romance: A reminiscence of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway” by newspaper man H. Reid starts on page 27 and includes 8 photos (4 of them builder’s photos) as well as a two-page comical diagram of the entire line plus a copy of an Agent’s ticket stub and a simple map. And maybe most important to this article is the inclusion of a roster of locomotives starting with #5 and #6 – the Forney’s purchased secondhand from the Manhattan Railway Company having been built in 1893 and 1894. Number 4, the first new engine on the line, was purchased in 1904 from Porter and is shown listed next followed by the Old Dominion Soapstone Company’s #1 and #2 Vulcan locomotives. Then locomotives purchase in the early 1920’s are described: #9 and #10 – for mainline service then #’s 11 through #15 though there was never any #13 (for superstitious reasons I am sure). See the end of Chapter 7 – Misc. Powered Equipment for the listing of rosters and content shown from three publications, this one, followed by Richard Prince’s book “The Richmond-Washington Line & Related Railroads” from 1973, and the phenomenal booklet published by author, Garth G. Groff in 1991 “Soapstone Shortlines: Alberene Stone and its Railroad” which gives a distinct feel for the more human side of the soapstone companies operation of the railroad. Not to be forgotten is the 2-page roster available from the personal collection of then editor of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Charles E. Fisher. That was the earliest available listing of locomotive equipment of the N&A but only available by mail and not published anywhere. For those of you wanting to know more about Charles E. Fisher and his influence on capturing railroad history, I recommend you reach The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin #125 Golden Jubilee Issue (October 1971, pp. 47-50) where David P. Morgan of Trains Magazine fame gives a tribute to him that outlines how his contributions to collecting not only the histories but the people that knew the histories and could best express them in a forum for railroaders and rail fans.

Notable in the list of publications is the book “Hill City Trolleys – Street Railways of Lynchburg, Va.” by Harold E. Cox. It’s page 96, the last page of the book that garners the interest of anyone loving the history of Nelson & Albemarle Railway predecessor, Schuyler Railway – an electric trolley line starting operations in 1901 and being absorbed into the N&A in 1905. First you see the discussion of what would become the Schuyler Railway’s primary equipment purchased new for the Lynchburg Street Railway when cars 1-6 are bought and delivered from Lewis & Fowler Manufacturing Company in Brooklyn, New York from March to May 1891 (described in Chapter 3 – Rolling Stock, on page 43). It is well known that these original 6 cars were troublesome for the LSR having been built with Eickemeyer trucks and motors and inadequate for the route they would be used. Car 1 would be rebuilt with a different Eickemeyer truck (with double-reduction motors) but this proved no better. Finally, all 6 would have Westinghouse #3 motors mounted on Maguire #20 trucks to remediate issues in mid-1892. Two Brill cars were purchased as 7 and 8 in the numbering series and I mention it so that an understanding can be gleaned from a car-barn fire that occurred on 18 April 1898 destroying 4 of the 8 cars (including both Brill-built and 2 of the Lewis-Fowler). In August of 1899 Virginia Soapstone Company would purchase three of the remaining cars for their new line. Finally, we get to page 96 – that last page – which describes the second life of the Lewis & Fowler cars as the motive power for the Schuyler Railway. In other publications, these cars are mentioned, and it sometimes includes a 4^th car acquired possibly for parts. Anecdotal tales provided to Archie Robertson that he quotes in his book from 1945, “Slow Train to Yesterday” included references to trolley cars coming from Baltimore and Washington, D. C. but there is no evidence that this was true, though any records of the Schuyler Railway are long gone. This book provided a clear view of the evolution of the trolley from horse-drawn to eventual change out to buses in Lynchburg, Virginia. Because this book was published directly by Harold Cox, the number of copies from that original publishing in 1977 is unknown.

1977 also saw the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society publish “The Story of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway Company” in their September issue (Volume IX, Number 9). Seven pages are used to tell the story mostly from pre-published newspaper articles. There is 1 map shown, but no photographs. The article outlined operations and is another good place to understand how the N&A daily life was led.

Soon after, “The Short Line (TSL): The Journal of Shortline & Industrial Railroads” (1978, Volume 6, Number 1, TSL #31) would publish an article by Ed Fielding with a photograph of N&A GE diesel #1 by Warren Calloway, Jr. and an uncredited photo with the title “Nelson & Albemarle Railway – Alberene Stone Company”. This industry magazine was and is also followed by the shortline/industrial rail fan. It’s a unique article as it provides notes on the original rail line construction and merger with the Schuyler Railway followed up with a roster of equipment on site at abandonment. In the next issue they would follow up with a Very Short News Item on page 11 referencing Hamburg Industries (1978, Volume 6, Number 2, TSL #32) receipt of a new locomotive as their #2 – a 44T GE (30956 12/50) with only one builder’s plate left (and with incorrect builders number as in 12/50 it would be 30856, the 44T unit built for the N&A. This unit was sold by Georgia Marble to Industrial Maintenance, but they never took delivery and instead sold the GE unit to Hamburg Industries. The former N&A #1 would be repainted into Hamburg Industries colors and lettered for their company but would fall victim to the scrap heap as TTX, Inc. bought Hamburg Industries and used the unit as a trade in for a refurbished GE 45T.

As you might imagine, there are several books/magazines with a limited reference to the N&A. One of those books put out in 1982 for “Crossties to the Depot, Volume 1: Virginia Railroad Stations” compiled and edited by John F. Gilbert. It included only one reference to the N&A, but it was a good one. On page 40 a photograph of “ESMONT on Alberene Branch” (C&O Railway) was provided in a C. K. Marsh, Jr. shot taken in September 1961 from the collection of Tom King. Another single reference, but with another great photograph is the book “C&O, Old Dominion Steam” by Thomas W. Dixon, Jr. in 1988. On page 37 the Nelson & Albemarle #9 locomotive is pictured taking on water from the C&O water tank in Warren, Virginia on the C&O James River Line in photograph by August A. Thieme but with no specific date associated.

“Soapstone from Alberene – Quarry towns scarred by a dying industry” by Susan Tyler Hitchcock appeared in “The Commonwealth – The Magazine of Virginia” in the July 1983 issue (Volume 50, Number 7). This provided a deep view of life in the company town as well as the workers daily lives. The railroad was not featured as this was a look at the demise of the soapstone industry (at that time) and had interviews and quotes n the ups and downs experienced. When you think about the ebb and flow of the economic times (including the depression era), this is a distinct reminder of life in general and a treatise on the mining business in rural America.

We come to the point now where the human side of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway gets exposed to the public in the writings of Garth G. Groff. In the magazine, “Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette”, a railroad modeling publication, Garth describes “The Story of Alberene Stone and it’s Railroads” in a seven-page article that includes 10 photographs, 2 maps and a chronology. The magazine calls it a ‘soft soap story’ in a pun on the mineral that was hauled by the N&A. This is the first of Garth Groff’s publishing efforts and leads to his 1991 booklet “Soapstone Shortlines: Alberene Stone and its Railroads”. Garth’s work is superb and his ability to tell the tale of personal stories is phenomenal. Its 52 pages were the largest description of the N&A Railway ever published and is a very abridged version of a full unpublished manuscript (only available for viewing in the Albert & Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia where Garth worked during his career). My recommendation is if you are looking for a great writing on the Nelson & Albemarle Railway, this booklet should be at the top of your list. It was reviewed in the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Magazine in the August 1991 issue (Volume XXIII, Number 8) by Thomas W. Dixon, Jr. in a great recommendation. Garth also presents an article in the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Magazine in April 1992 (Volume XXIV, Number 4), “Nelson & Albemarle: Early Days on a Soapstone Shortline” in 5 pages with six photographs and 3 track diagrams that are also featured in his unpublished manuscript.

If you remember from a few paragraphs before this, the major motion picture “Virginia” (1941) exposed the Nelson & Albemarle Railway to the world. Rail fans came to Nelson and Albemarle counties in Virginia to photograph the rail line and its locomotives. “Steam Locos on Industrial & Short Lines – Volume 2” was a DVD series of rail motion pictures including a segment of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway filmed by August A. Thieme likely in 8mm amateur video. There may be other amateur films of the N&A out there, but this was evidently purchased from August Thieme for the DVD release in 1990. The production company that issued this DVD is no longer in business, so auction sites become the best place to find a copy of this rare footage. An expert diagram of N&A #9 was prepared by Ed Gebhardt for the “Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette” of November/December 1995 and was based on a plan from the Vulcan Locomotive Works Catalog #33 – Industrial & Contractors’ Locomotives (heaviest of four 2-6-2 shown).

I mentioned newspaperman H. Reid earlier in this chapter as a photographer and rail fan probably best known for this book, “The Virginian Railway”. He was a prolific photographer of steam locomotives with prints being sold (some are in the NEARHS collection). More of his work shows up in the “National Railway Bulletin” of the National Railway Historical Society, Volume 55, Number 4 from 1990. Two photographs of the N&A are included in the story “Ghost Rails of the Old Dominion” by Edgar T. Mead. Another publication out of the National Railway Historical Society was “Turntable Times” the publication of the Roanoke (Virginia) Chapter of the NRHS which included article “The Nelson & Albemarle Railway (and it’s tributaries)” by Butch Tweedy which was noted as from the newsletter of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the NRHS in their “Blue Ridge Dispatcher”. Again though, there are no photographs.

There are a few reference books to mention and they are also listed at the end of this chapter. The 1998 book, “Virginia Railway Depots” includes detail on the N&A in the writings of Donald R. Traser and was officially published by the Old Dominion Chapter of the NRHS. You will find Louis D. Rubin, Jr’s memories of the last day of N&A passenger service included in his book, “A Memory of Trains: The Boll Weevil and Others” that came out in 2000. In “The Architecture of Jefferson Country: Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia” by K. Edward Lay the 2000 publication included references to the Alberene Stone Company, the Nelson & Albemarle Railway, Esmont area buildings, Warren Mill, Warren Store, Warren Tavern, and Warren Depot. And in the “Comprehensive Guide to Industrial Locomotives” (3^rd Edition) from 2002, Jay Reed includes detail on two of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway diesels, N&A #1 – shown as TTX (Trailor-Train) – Hamburg Division as their #2 and N&A #2 shown as Alabama Carbonate #2 at Gantts Quarry in Sylacauga, Alabama. While this guide did not mention N&A #3, it is alive and well as you probably read in Chapter 6 – Diesel Locomotives.

The last twenty years provided multiple books that gave light to the Nelson & Albemarle Railway and the soapstone company. “Appalachian Conquest: C&O, N&W, Virginian, and Clinchfield Cross the Mountains” published in August 2002 includes a photo of N&A steamer #9 at Warren with a boxcar, hopper, and combine from a shot taken in January 1946. Five years later steam will have virtually vanished from the N&A with the exception of #11 which remained on the property as a backup until 1954. Mallory Hope Ferrell would publish “Slow Trains Down South …Daily except Sunday (Volume 1)” in 2005 and include 6 pages primarily of photographs of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway in the steam days before 1951 with captions. In all there are 10 pictures including two of #9 running backwards and the description of the Soapstone Short Line is a single paragraph. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Historical Society started a book series that was initiated with “Virginia Railroads – Volume 1: Railroading in the Old Dominion” in 2010 by William E. Griffin, Jr., and Thomas W. Dixon, Jr. who we have previously mentioned. This is a primer on Virginia railroads and a great place to start to learn the history. Volume 2 released in 2011, and much like Volume 1, included small amounts of data/photos on the N&A. “Yesterday’s Trains Across the Commonwealth” by Dale Diacont mentions the Nelson & Albemarle in a short description on page 37 in this 2012 book. Dale presented a talk on his book at the Scottsville Museum that this author was fortunate to attend.

Ok – here is a little deviation from our normal publications which came out in 2012: an eBook on the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway by Steven P. Hepler that was published by the Whippany (New Jersey) Railway Museum and accessible at http://www.whippanyrailwaymuseum.net and you ask me why would this be part of the publications for the Nelson & Albemarle Railway. Glad you asked! The VBR’s first #4 steam locomotive was not mentioned anywhere in previous histories of the line. Vulcan-built saddle tank engine with 0-4-0-wheel arrangement was built for the Old Dominion Soapstone Company in October 1909 under construction number 1436. If you read the earlier chapter on the N&A Steam Locomotives, then you already know the history! This was the second #2 on the Nelson & Albemarle gaining that status in February 1917 when the Old Dominion Soapstone Company was merged into the Virginia Alberene Corporation. It was in service with the N&A until December 1931 when it was stored “out-of-service”. In June of 1942, Old Dominion/N&A #2 was sold to the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway and numbered as #4. While being used for only a year and a half, #4 played a critical role in hauling ballast trains to upgrade the VBR roadbed for increased traffic. VBR sold the engine in December 1943 to tanning extract manufacturer Leas & McVitty, Inc. in Buena Vista, Virginia (getting more for the engine than they had paid for it). In the late 1950’s she was again taken “out-of-service” and finally sold in 1962 to Charles Watson who promptly displayed the locomotive in front of a motel in Marion, Virginia (yes, a photograph of the engine at the motel does exist). But in a unique twist of fate, Old Dominion/N&A #2 would be the last remaining steam engine (albeit without its signature saddle-tank) in a purchase by Will Harris and the movement of the locomotive to his lumber yard in Goshen, Virginia where it remains today. I hope you enjoyed this little side trip. This author also visited the Whippany Railway Museum and enjoyed former Virginia Blue Ridge Railway locomotives that made the trip north for rail fans to see.

Lastly, the Nelson County Historical Society News (newsletter) of June 2014 contained an article “Schuyler – A Nelson County Historic District” which included a segment “Alberene Stone Plant” and also “Streetcars in Schuyler” which was primarily a recollection from Mr. Thomas Drumheller on where the streetcars were purchased though the actual acquisition of those first cars was definitely from Lynchburg. What is most interesting though is the additional description of some seats being removed from the cars and the remaining open area used to haul supplies back and forth. Then the next words are a real surprise when it’s mentioned that during the summer when the river level was too low to generate power for the trolley, a “narrow-gauge” steam engine (referred to as a ‘dinky’) was used to pull the cars. This likely was a small standard gauge engine rather than narrow gauge as the cars from the Lynchburg Street Railway look to be standard gauge (as do the Brill streetcars also in use in the early days of the LSR).

The final publication in this chapter is this publication which includes chapters on all aspects of the Nelson & Albemarle Railway including detail on the predecessors and the various soapstone companies/mergers that were in place through the years.

Send email to NelsonAlbemarle@comcast.net if you have any comments or questions. Copyright 2020 - Nelson & Albemarle Railway Historical Society.