the Marion and Rye Valley Railway and Virginia Southern Railroad connected a lumber mill in Fairwood with the Norfolk and Western Railway in Marion
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
the Marion and Rye Valley Railway and Virginia Southern Railroad connected a lumber mill in Fairwood with the Norfolk and Western Railway in Marion
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
The Marion and Rye Valley Railway hauled manganese, iron ore, and timber products in the Blue Ridge of Smyth County south and east of Marion. In its first year of operations, with one locomotive and one flat car and less than seven miles of track, it hauled over 8,000 tons of mineral ores and almost 3,000 toms of logs.1
"Annual Report of the Railroad Commissioner of the State of Virginia, Volume 25," Virginia Railroad Commissioner, 1901, pp.586-54, https://books.google.com/books?id=d-kpAAAAYAAJ (last checked June 11, 2020)
After the General Assembly approved the charter for the Marion and Rye Valley Railroad in 1891, six miles of track were built into Currin Valley where manganese deposits had been identified. Steel mills desired manganese, so there was a ready market. The connection with the Norfolk and Western Railway was at the stockyards of Marion, where the community pool is now located.
the former junction of the Norfolk and Western/Marion and Rye Valley railways is now the community pool in Marion
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Marion VA 1:24,000 scale topographic quadrangle (2019)
However, hauling mineral ores did not provide enough revenue for the railroad. In 1900, the Marion and Rye Valley Railroad was sold at auction and reorganized as the Marion and Rye Valley Railway.
In 1896, track was extended 12 miles east to Sugar Grove in order to haul more timber products from that area. Between 1902-1904, the Grayson Lumber Company organized the Virginia Southern Railroad and built about 10 more miles of track to the south, deeper into the mountains. The United States Spruce Lumber Company provided the financing.
The additional track went from Sugar Grove, across the Eastern Continental Divide, to a new mill constructed by the United States Spruce Lumber Company. The mill was located on Fox Creek in Grayson County. The Virginia Southern Railroad built through Dickey's Gap, then by Troutdale. At the end of the line on Fox Creek, a community called Woodmont began to develop. It was renamed Fairwood after the Fairwood Lumber Company purchased the assets of the United States Spruce Lumber Company in the area.
The United States Spruce Lumber Company purchased the Marion and Rye Valley Railway in 1904.1
"Virginia Southern Railroad Company et al. Abandonment," Interstate Commerce Commission, decided February 19, 1932, pp.504-506, https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/VX5uxIlxqa4C;; Gary P. Price, "The Switchback Scenic Route - A History of The Marion and Rye Valley Railway," Whistle Stop, Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society & Museum, April 2012, pp.4-6, http://www.wataugavalleynrhs.org/newsletters/201204WhistleStop.pdf; "Historic Architectural Survey of Smyth County, Virginia," Hill Studio, P.C., 1997, p.26, https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/pdf_files/SpecialCollections/SM-035_Historic_AH_Survey_Smyth_County_1997_HillStudio_report.pdf (last checked June 11, 2020)
in 1889, before the railroad, the area south of Rye Valley was largely unpopulated wilderness with old-growth timber
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Wytheville VA 1:125,000 scale topographic quadrangle (1889)
With lower-cost transportation, population in the mountainous area increased. Several mills and furniture factories started up near Troutdale. Local farmers raised enough turkeys, shipped by rail to Norfolk, Baltimore, Philadephia and New York for Thanksgiving, to justify calling the town Turkeydale. In 1917, a circus brought elephants, lions and tigers to Troutdale.
The timber companies did not practice the modern forestry techniques to produce a sustained yield, and instead cut trees in Grayson and Smyth counties faster than the forest regrew. There was never a plan to maintain the sawmills in the area; once the old growth timber was cut, the companies planned to move on. In 1916, the United States Spruce Lumber Company sold the Marion and Rye Valley Railroad to local investors. The lumber company closed the mill at Fairwood in 1918, but two other companies continued to process and ship timber from two portable sawmills.
In 1919, there were 2 trains going each way on weekdays and one on Sundays. In 1920, the furniture factories were prepared to ship large orders to Cuba when the sugar crop there failed. The orders were cancelled and the bank closed. The sawmill at Fairwood closed because most of the timber had been harvested, and rails from Fairwood to Troutdale were removed.1
Charles Greer, "History of Troutdale, Virginia," New River Notes, 1963, https://www.newrivernotes.com/grayson_places_troutdale_history.htm; "String of Pearls: The stories of Marion & Rye Valley Railroad, Troutdale," Smyth County News, February 26, 2019, https://www.swvatoday.com/smyth_county/news/article_2c62ffd0-36e3-11e9-bb3b-c778f8569265.html (last checked June 11, 2020)
One legal case involving the Marion & Rye Valley Railroad during World War I reached the US Supreme Court. After the US Government seized the railroads at the end of 1917 to streamline operations, it paid the private corporations for the "taking" of their property as required under the Fifth Anendment of the US Constitution. The Marion & Rye Valley Railroad claimed it was entitled to compensation equal to the rental value of its property during the time of Federal control.
The US government contented that it owed the railroad no compensation. The United States Railroad Administration had never assumed responsibility for Marion & Rye Valley Railroad operations, and had never interfered in any way with them. Since there had been no impacts on the isolated railroad due to the nationwide seizure, there was no financial loss and no basis for any compensation. The US Supreme Court upheld the government, and the case became the basis for other compensation claims after World War II.2
"Marion & Rye Valley Ry. Co. V. United States," US Supreme Court, 270 US 280 (March 1, 1926), https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/270/280 (last checked June 11, 2020)
The Marion and Rye Valley Railway went through foreclosure in 1923. It had made a profit on operations every year, and paid interest on its bonds until 1921. At that time it was unable to repay the principal due on its 20-year bonds. The purchaser planned to cease operations and sell the equipment and rails for the salvage value, which would cut the Virginia Southern Railroad's connection to the Norfolk and Western Railway at Marion.
A shipper on the line filed suit with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to require continued service. The state agency made clear that it had the authority to block the sale of asset that would end service. The 1923 decision makes a clear contrast to how the Roanoke and Portsmouth Ralroad was allowed to destroy its track and interrupt service, once competitors in Petersburg claimed ownership, in 1844:1
"Commonwealth of Virginia ex rel. Virginia Table Company Incorporated wt al. v. Minnie E. Knight et al.," Virginia State Corporation Commission, Case Np. 1789, July 19, 1923, Public Utilities Reports, Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company, 1924, pp.819-820, https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAUkAQAAIAAJ (last checked June 11, 2020)
The line stayed in operation, and the new owner leased it to the Virginia Southern Railroad. When the Virginia Southern defaulted on its scheduled mortgage payments in 1926, the primary investor in the Marion and Rye Valley Railway was appointed as the receiver. He continued the joint operations of the two railroads, though technically they still remained as separate corporations.
the Marion and Rye Valley/Virginia Southern railroads hauled manganese, iron ore, and timber products from mines and mills in the Blue Ridge of eastern Smyth and western Grayson counties
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Rural Retreat VA 1:48,000 scale topographic quadrangle (1931)
In 1926, the Virginia Southern Railroad hauled 6,236 tons of freight and the Marion and Rye Valley Railway hauled 14,142 tons. Business declined as the timber was exhausted, and then the Great Depression suppressed demand.
In 1931, the Virginia Southern filed a petition with the Interstate Commerce Commission to stop operating. That year the Virginia Southern Railroad hauled 65% less tonnage compared to 1926; business on the Marion and Rye Valley Railway was 47% of tonnage hauled in 1926. The pettition was granted for the Virginia Southern Railroad to stop operating in 1931, and for the Marion and Rye Valley Railway to stop in 1932 after its contract to haul the US Mail had expired.1 "Virginia Southern Railroad Company et al. Abandonment," Interstate Commerce Commission, decided February 19, 1932, pp.504-506, https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/VX5uxIlxqa4C
The Marion Brick Company was the last customer on the Marion and Rye Valley Railway. Its brick-making plant at Furnace Hill relied upon the connection to the Norfolk and Western Railway.1
"String of Pearls: The stories of Marion & Rye Valley Railroad, Troutdale," Smyth County News, February 26, 2019, https://www.swvatoday.com/smyth_county/news/article_2c62ffd0-36e3-11e9-bb3b-c778f8569265.html; Kimberly Barr Byrd, Debra J. Williams, Smyth County, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, p.43, https://books.google.com/books?id=EkpYozzuKnQC (last checked June 11, 2020)
in 1935, the Marion and Rye Valley Railway ran from the Norfolk and Western Railway at Marion to Furnace Hill
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Marion VA 1:24,000 scale topographic quadrangle (1935)
the old growth forest, like the Virginia Southern Railroad, is long gone from Fairwood and Troutdale
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Trout Dale VA 1:24,000 scale topographic quadrangle (2019)