The Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society has released a publication that highlights a Virginia rail line from the late 1800s that operated until 1961. The 112-page book, titled “Chesapeake & Ohio’s Craig Valley Branch,” is a history of this relatively unknown operation in a state with tremendous railroad heritage.
The Craig Valley Branch was unique because the line primarily hauled iron ore from mines adjacent to its territory, but also supported agricultural shipments and passenger traffic, connecting goods and people to wider markets who might have otherwise been economically isolated.
A collaboration between authors Al Kresse, Chuck McIntyre, and Dave Ostrander, this new Craig Valley publication is intended to be the second in a series of three volumes on the C&O Railway’s James River Subdivision, the first of which was the Lexington Virginia Branch published in 2016 and the third to be a future title on the area’s section of the main rail line itself.
Expanding upon a 16-page article entitled “The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway’s Craig Valley Branch” published in the August 1991 issue of the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Magazine, the book is intended to provide a detailed history of the construction, operation, decline and abandonment of the line, as well as of iron mining operations in the Craig Valley which it was built to serve.
While the authors brought different strengths to the published work, for all three historians, Chesapeake & Ohio’s Craig Valley Branch was a labor of love that appealed to each for unique reasons.
Describing how he became interested in this rail line, co-author Al Kresse commented on his work to preserve iron ore industrial history along with the Craig Valley’s rail history, “I got interested in this project after being introduced by a local C&O Historical Society volunteer to James Blizzard Mead, who was raised in Low Moor, had worked as a newspaper reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch/News Leader, and was retired living in Roanoke. Jim was the nephew of James Blizzard, the comptroller for the Low Moor Iron Company that oversaw the liquidation of the company’s equipment and properties between 1927 and 1930. While researching the local blast furnaces and iron mines along the C&O Railway near Clifton Forge for the Alleghany Iron project in 2010-2012, Jim, the local iron industry historian, drove me around to most of the sites of the former Low Moor properties in the Low Moor and Rich Patch, Potts Creek, and Craig Creek Valleys. I knew then that the C&O’s Craig Valley Branch’s operations deserved more than a 16-page article on the subject.”
According to the C&O Historical Society, construction of the Craig Valley Branch of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway was initiated by the Craig Company in 1889. The line was acquired and completed by the C&O Railway in June 1890 and August 1891, respectively. Generally following Craig Creek, the branch line extended 26.45 miles from Eagle Rock at Milepost 213 along the C&O’s James River Subdivision to a terminus at New Castle. In addition to its primary purpose of hauling iron ore from mines in Craig Valley, for the first 35 years the line was active hauling pulpwood, agricultural goods, livestock, and modest passenger traffic. Once mining operations ceased in the mid-1920s, however, another 35 years and three applications to the Interstate Commerce Commission were required for abandonment of the line. Seventy years after it was constructed, the branch line was formally abandoned in 1961, and subsequent to rail removal, the right-of-way and bridges were donated to the Commonwealth of Virginia for highway purposes in 1962.
Co-author Chuck McIntyre detailed his personal introduction to the rail history of the Craig Valley region, “My association with the Craig Valley Subdivision began with a train excursion on the James River line in 1968 when I was only 10, and the trip itinerary pointed out the bridge crossing the James River, which I looked for and saw. Ten years later, I was working and volunteering at the Alleghany Central Steam Railroad on the C&O Railway’s former Hot Springs Subdivision, run by Jack Showalter. Jack had worked on the steam locomotives 377 and 378 and Bill Bursey, his regular engineer, had fired those locomotives on the Craig Valley Branch. I heard a number of great stories about this line and I wanted to know more about it. One of the other volunteers lived on Craig Creek near Bridge 13, and I went on a number of trips surveying the whole line at their invitation in the early 1980s. I became fascinated by how much of it was left and visible with the numerous bridges and it was very scenic. Jack had actually had it in mind for a scenic railroad when the abandonment came up; however, the line went to the Commonwealth of Virginia, and he had to wait about 15 years until the Hot Springs line became available. Any time any information or article about ‘the Craig’ surfaced, I was all about it and I am glad to be a part of the telling of its history. Even the 377 can be seen today [in Baltimore].”
Putting the Craig Valley’s history into perspective, co-author Dave Ostrander reflected, “Each branch line in the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway system had a distinctive character due to the purpose for which they were built and terrain through which they passed. The Craig Valley branch is unique as one of only two Chesapeake & Ohio branch lines developed primarily to haul iron ore, rather than coal, and is notable for its reuse of seven truss and girder bridges originally constructed for main line service. Once almost ubiquitous in their use on both railways and highways, the truss and girder bridges that have survived to this day on the Craig Valley Branch represent a veritable museum of late 19th and early 20th century bridge technology.”
The 112-page softbound book features hundreds of historic illustrations related to the Craig Valley region. The publication Chesapeake & Ohio’s Craig Valley Branch may be ordered online from ChessieShop.com or from the C&O Historical Society’s Business Office & Archive, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and may be contacted by telephone at 540-862-2210 or by email at cohs@cohs.org. The book is also available in the C&O Railway Heritage Center’s gift shop, open from Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at 705 Main Street, Clifton Forgess.
The C&OHS archive database is available online at archives.cohs.org. Updates and additional information can be found on Facebook under @cohs.org or on Instagram @ChessiesRoad.
~ Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society
