My dad and his 5 brothers and sisters were born and raised in Todd and lived there beginning in 1920s through 1950s. Dad said there was a huge lumberyard where the depot now sits. And I’m pretty sure he said there’s was a turn table at the end of the track where they would turn the locomotive around to make the return trip. It would push the cars back to W. Jefferson. He said Todd was a bustling place while the railroad was there. They enjoyed a wonderful childhood there. Thanks!
THAAANK YAAAALL Please keep these kinds of content rollin. These memories that our Families have, need to be recorded and restored 🙏🚂🎼🌹🎵🎶 ~C< 3)>>-Z->}
I lived in West Jefferson back in 1953. I enjoyed this video. I remember the “turn around” when the train would come into West Jefferson make the return trip to Abington, Va. We lived just a short distance from the station next to a cemetery. I plan to make that trip real soon. I’m now 83 years old so I’d better hurry.
Thanks so much for this video. My grandfather surveyed this line for N&W. When the job ended in West Jefferson/Todd he met my grandmother, settled there and married her. They named the community Nella (Allen reversed) after him for his work as the surveyor.
James Allen Sr. They told him that they already had an Allen station in N.C. So they just turned it around. He later became West Jefferson station chief. His son, James Allen jr., a silver star recipient in WW2, became mayor of West Jefferson. Mr Allen sr. Also surveyed the road to the top of Mt Jefferson and also surveyed parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
@@TwooldFartsTraveling Thanks for the info! You wouldn't have a photo of James Allen Sr., would you? If so, I would love to have a copy for a social media post. My email is info@appalachianmemorykeepers.org Thanks!
THis Is Wonderful, Lots Is Lost With The Passage Of Time, There Are Very Few That Remember It The Last Train Was March 31 1977 Engineer Bob "Frog: Lester And Conductor L C Berry. Lester Lived In Glade Spring, Mr Berry Lived In Chilhowie, But I Do Believe Both Has Passed On. Joe McNew Ran The Steamer, Then The Diesel Came, Joe Never Ran A Diesel, Dug Hughes Ran The Diesel Till Frog Lester Took The Job. Dug Retired When It Went To Three Days A Week. Gary Williams At Damascus Was A Brakeman On It, Sadly He Passed On In 2012 .
Nice video!! The Virginia portion of the "Virginia Creeper Railroad" is an outing everyone should experience. Go to Damascus, rent a mountain bike and enjoy the 17-mile gentle downhill ride from Whitetop Station to Damascus on the old rail bed. It is something most anyone young or old can handle. More adventurous folks can ride the entire 34 miles between Abingdon and Whitetop. In 1977 when rail service was discontinued, forward-thinking locals partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and secured the railroad’s right-of-way from Abingdon to the state line to create the 34-mile “Virginia Creeper Trail”. This bike trail is second to none and provides a huge continuing economic boost for the locals. Sadly, North Carolina locals missed the boat when they saw no benefit in such a scheme for the remainder of the railroad grade from the state line to West Jefferson!
As I understand it, when the N&W Ry. abandoned the creeper, Virginia and North Carolina were given the opportunity to purchase the route for recreational purposes. Virginia jumped on the opportunity while NC. showed no interest in it at all. Va.’s efforts in establishing a rail-trail on this line have been massively successful! Being a North Carolinian, I’ve often wondered if the state “powers that be” realize what a huge mistake they made by not taking the southern portion of the line! The economic benefits for that area would have been great, but there’s o turning back now because the grade has obliterated in places and had structures built on lt in many more!
"Rail to Trail" requires local support. In 1977, there were not enough forward thinking folks in Ashe County to allow the radical idea of a bike trail to succeed. Had there been local support, state support would have probably happened given the political balance then present in Raleigh.
@@dogpatch75 Agreed! I was 17 in ‘77 and remember hearing bits and pieces about it, but don’t recall much about the events that took place. Honestly, I don’t think anyone back then could have imagined what a resounding success this rail trail has become! West Jefferson, which was established because the railroad refused to route the line through Jefferson saying it would cost $50,000 more dollars to swing over there, has seen an uptick in tourism in the past few years. The widening of Hwy 221 has somewhat “opened up” that area, and a White Top to W-J or Todd would be a great fit! Hindsight’s 20/20 as they say!
There used to be a old cabos sat in the yard across from the todd store it was wooden. We walk down and play on it for hours i am glade you made this it brings back alot of good. Memorys for me.
Loved and enjoyed the video. I would have loved to hear some stories from someone about Stykes Holler. The look of that place has fascinated me for 40 years. Also I know they pulled the train from both ends so they didn’t have to turn the whole thing around but I’ve always wondered in WJ and especially Todd, how did they get the locomotive from the front to the back for the return trip? I don’t see a space in either location to loop around.
I have been told that in Todd they had an actual turntable which was covered up and buried when the train left Town. In WJ I have been told that there was a single small spur that went up behind where the small depot (not it's original location) is now behind the Backstreet that they used to switch engines.
@@AppalachianMemoryKeepers my grandparents house is the white one on the backstreet in WJ right in front of where the tracks were. It was originally my great grandpas house and he was a foreman on the railroad. Thanks for this video! ❤
If I had the money I would rebuild those tracks and run the original creeper there of course "with safety standards" and run excursions from one end to the other really doing this for my mother's mom west Jefferson and the creeper was her childhood, you should do my hometown Taylorsville nc it's got a railway that started in 46 and ended its glory days in 77 but is still in use but not much anymore for what I know if soo shoot me a message
Sounds like you and I have similar interests. Hope we get to meet sometime. Check out what I posted this week on Ashe County highlighting Todd and the Virginia Creeper.
Keep these coming and take care of the Golden Girl 😊
My dad and his 5 brothers and sisters were born and raised in Todd and lived there beginning in 1920s through 1950s. Dad said there was a huge lumberyard where the depot now sits. And I’m pretty sure he said there’s was a turn table at the end of the track where they would turn the locomotive around to make the return trip. It would push the cars back to W. Jefferson. He said Todd was a bustling place while the railroad was there. They enjoyed a wonderful childhood there. Thanks!
I was born and raised in todd and can remember going to west jefferson on the back street and watching the train comming in
I wish I could have seen it!
I love these local videos. Sam Shumate great local historian and great at retelling the stories. Have not heard some of them.
Sam is a true treasure!
THAAANK YAAAALL Please keep these kinds of content rollin. These memories that our Families have, need to be recorded and restored 🙏🚂🎼🌹🎵🎶 ~C< 3)>>-Z->}
I lived in West Jefferson back in 1953. I enjoyed this video. I remember the “turn around” when the train would come into West Jefferson make the return trip to Abington, Va. We lived just a short distance from the station next to a cemetery. I plan to make that trip real soon. I’m now 83 years old so I’d better hurry.
Thanks so much for this video. My grandfather surveyed this line for N&W. When the job ended in West Jefferson/Todd he met my grandmother, settled there and married her. They named the community Nella (Allen reversed) after him for his work as the surveyor.
Cool story! I had never heard that story about how Nella got its name but had always wondered. What was your Grandfathers full name?
James Allen Sr. They told him that they already had an Allen station in N.C. So they just turned it around. He later became West Jefferson station chief. His son, James Allen jr., a silver star recipient in WW2, became mayor of West Jefferson. Mr Allen sr. Also surveyed the road to the top of Mt Jefferson and also surveyed parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
@@TwooldFartsTraveling Thanks for the info! You wouldn't have a photo of James Allen Sr., would you? If so, I would love to have a copy for a social media post. My email is info@appalachianmemorykeepers.org Thanks!
THis Is Wonderful, Lots Is Lost With The Passage Of Time, There Are Very Few That Remember It The Last Train Was March 31 1977 Engineer Bob "Frog: Lester And Conductor L C Berry. Lester Lived In Glade Spring, Mr Berry Lived In Chilhowie,
But I Do Believe Both Has Passed On. Joe McNew Ran The Steamer, Then The Diesel Came, Joe Never Ran A Diesel, Dug Hughes Ran The Diesel Till Frog Lester Took The Job. Dug Retired When It Went To Three Days A Week. Gary Williams At Damascus Was A Brakeman On It, Sadly He Passed On In 2012 .
Thank you for making this video. Very interesting!
Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice video!! The Virginia portion of the "Virginia Creeper Railroad" is an outing everyone should experience. Go to Damascus, rent a mountain bike and enjoy the 17-mile gentle downhill ride from Whitetop Station to Damascus on the old rail bed. It is something most anyone young or old can handle. More adventurous folks can ride the entire 34 miles between Abingdon and Whitetop. In 1977 when rail service was discontinued, forward-thinking locals partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and secured the railroad’s right-of-way from Abingdon to the state line to create the 34-mile “Virginia Creeper Trail”. This bike trail is second to none and provides a huge continuing economic boost for the locals. Sadly, North Carolina locals missed the boat when they saw no benefit in such a scheme for the remainder of the railroad grade from the state line to West Jefferson!
I have really enjoyed the contents of this video. You do a wonderful job of explaining the history
Thank you very much!
we have property off Deep Ford Rd near Lansing and I really appreciate this video yall did. Love learning the history of the area / county.
Glad you enjoyed!
My great grandpa was a foreman on this railroad. He lived at a home in WJ right on the railway and had a home in Damascus ❤
As I understand it, when the N&W Ry. abandoned the creeper, Virginia and North Carolina were given the opportunity to purchase the route for recreational purposes. Virginia jumped on the opportunity while NC. showed no interest in it at all. Va.’s efforts in establishing a rail-trail on this line have been massively successful! Being a North Carolinian, I’ve often wondered if the state “powers that be” realize what a huge mistake they made by not taking the southern portion of the line! The economic benefits for that area would have been great, but there’s o turning back now because the grade has obliterated in places and had structures built on lt in many more!
"Rail to Trail" requires local support. In 1977, there were not enough forward thinking folks in Ashe County to allow the radical idea of a bike trail to succeed. Had there been local support, state support would have probably happened given the political balance then present in Raleigh.
@@dogpatch75 Agreed! I was 17 in ‘77 and remember hearing bits and pieces about it, but don’t recall much about the events that took place. Honestly, I don’t think anyone back then could have imagined what a resounding success this rail trail has become! West Jefferson, which was established because the railroad refused to route the line through Jefferson saying it would cost $50,000 more dollars to swing over there, has seen an uptick in tourism in the past few years. The widening of Hwy 221 has somewhat “opened up” that area, and a White Top to W-J or Todd would be a great fit! Hindsight’s 20/20 as they say!
Water under the bridge!
There doing rails to trails in Hendersonville and Transylvania county Id rather them have keep the trains .
There used to be a old cabos sat in the yard across from the todd store it was wooden. We walk down and play on it for hours i am glade you made this it brings back alot of good. Memorys for me.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment!
Please remind em it's 'feenick' mountain. Awesome content, thanks.
Loved and enjoyed the video. I would have loved to hear some stories from someone about Stykes Holler. The look of that place has fascinated me for 40 years. Also I know they pulled the train from both ends so they didn’t have to turn the whole thing around but I’ve always wondered in WJ and especially Todd, how did they get the locomotive from the front to the back for the return trip? I don’t see a space in either location to loop around.
I have been told that in Todd they had an actual turntable which was covered up and buried when the train left Town. In WJ I have been told that there was a single small spur that went up behind where the small depot (not it's original location) is now behind the Backstreet that they used to switch engines.
@@AppalachianMemoryKeepers my grandparents house is the white one on the backstreet in WJ right in front of where the tracks were. It was originally my great grandpas house and he was a foreman on the railroad. Thanks for this video! ❤
If I had the money I would rebuild those tracks and run the original creeper there of course "with safety standards" and run excursions from one end to the other really doing this for my mother's mom west Jefferson and the creeper was her childhood, you should do my hometown Taylorsville nc it's got a railway that started in 46 and ended its glory days in 77 but is still in use but not much anymore for what I know if soo shoot me a message
Sounds interesting! Tell us more at info@appalachianmemorykeepers.org
Sounds like you and I have similar interests. Hope we get to meet sometime. Check out what I posted this week on Ashe County highlighting Todd and the Virginia Creeper.
Great video. Looks like a great place for me to explore from Cleveland Tennessee
There is lots to do and see in Ashe County!