Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-04-13
W. VA. MIDLAND RAILROAD.

chartered under the laws OF w est Vir
; ginia to build railroad from Gassawa
to the town OF MarlintOn, on th,
Greenbrier branch Of The q. j. y. Ry
The road runs from Mt. Holly juno
ton, where it connects With the b.
o., TO Webster Springs, w. Va.
The above announcement was mad,
through the press last week. If THU
road is built it will develop tue Ell
river to its head. Those familiar witt
that river know that it rises in Poca-
hontas Co. w. Va, and flows south
Westwardly by u tOrtuous course into
the Great Kanawhs at Charleston. II
passes through a section covered with
virgin forest and underlaid with coal
Until few years ago the country il
drains was almost impenetrable. Only
footpaths led into 1t and the agricul
tural development was of the crudest
and most primitive nature. This ha.
been somewhat changed, but only par.
TALLY so. There is no county road
down the channel of the river from its
source until near Addison the county
seat OF Webster county. Below Adj.
son the same conditions exist almost
to Sutton, the county seat of Braxton
county.
Some ten or twelve years ago q rail-
way beginning at Charleston was push
ed up Elk to Clay G. H., a distance OF
| about 6O miles, known rs the Charles
ton, Clendennin " Sutton. There it
stood still for some years, then IA
| miles more were added, and at this
junsture the road was sold to a snydi-
cate headed by ex Senator Hy. G.. Davis
and the name changed to the Coal &
Coke. The new corporation at once
began building further up Elk, until
a point now called Gassaway was
reached. Here Elk river turns rather
abruptly East, aud here the new line
left the river and bore northwardly
through the country near Buckhannon
and Oh to BealinYton where it makes
connection for Elkins. This leaves
Elk river nadeveIoped by rail from
dassaway to its source. At Mt. Holly
Junction b. 4 o. branch road crosses
Elk, and has its present eastward ter
minus at Redwood in Nicholas coun.
ty. From this point not by the main
Elk river, but by Holly river. . tribu-
tary OF Elk, Col. John Il. MeGraw and
associates have bpllt a narrow gague
railway to Addison, ana this is the
railway the w. Va. Midland has
bought. Whether this railway will be
made standard gague is only probmet
ical, but it is believed that if . road is
now built it Will start az Holly juno
tion and extend up the main Elk river
to its source, and over to the G.. & O.'s
Greenb.ier branch at Marlinton or
Glover Lick.
To use the Holly river road would
not only be to take longer route, but
one with heavy grade, whereas the
fall from Addison to Holly Junction
by the Elk is not over 10 feet to the
mile. From Addison east into Poea.
hontas county the country is entirely
undeveloped. Some poplar timber has
been doated to Charleston In years
gone by, but all the heavier woods are
there. and above Addison the heaviest
Spruce and Hemlock forests In W. Va.
are found. In addition TO this vast
supply of timber the whole country is
lnderlaid with coal, in fact from near
ne head of Elk to Charleston, a dis.
'ance by the river of say $50 miles. the
entire territory 10 underIaid with coal.
Elk is a peculiar river. 1t flows
rom its sources to near Addison on or
lnder limestone bed At Split Rock
Pocahontas county Elk sinks and
oes not appear again until at Cow.
'er's Mill in Webster county, leaving
kept during rainy seasons, the bed ,
ocky and dry. 1t has therefore cut
own through the sandstone and coal
leasures to the hard limestone which /,
has as yet been unable to erode.
his leaves the coal and timber above
40 bed of the river 30 that a railway
long it will get all OF it's freight BY
a condition entirely diff.
'ent from that of Gauley. sister riy- :
?, rising also ID P0cahontas county
nd lowing almost parallel into the
reat kanawha east Ut Charleston. :
he dauley flows over a plateau pro-
IDLY 500 feet higher than Elk and =
me of the coal along it lies under the :.
ID of the stream. :.
Such railway line as the W. Va,
idland seems to be about to under. :,
Re, therefore, presents great posi-. II
lilies. 1t forms the nucleus for an RI
her East and West trunk line from n,
70 lakes TO the seaboard, traversing a =,
nper and coal country equal to any N
the present trunk lines, and If Judi. ce
ously built can equal if not excel any h,
them in grade and distance. II this =;
le reaches Marlinton or Glover Lick -,
Pocahontas county, it should cross n
Allegheny at the Rider Gap, down "
lck Creek to its mouth at ar
cksons river, thence turn IN
nth up Jackson's river to a D,
Int opposite Green Valley on n
Cow Pasture river In Bath county, p.
'nce Cross over to Green Valley and q r
low the line Of tbs old Harrisonburg :.
d Warm Springs turnpike through
'ning's Gap into the Valley of Vir.
Ia, thence east to Stanton. Char.
tesville and Richmond, to Newport wi
WIS. There would be no tunnels IN. res
through spurs from Marlinton is
Staunton by this route, the line az ;It
nld be direct and easy grades could is
maintained. Then too it is The most on