Do you still have the builder’s plate? You can e-mail me at zzoxdoc@yahoo.com
John Fallon
I am doing some research on the old A&D Railroad. I didn’t even know it existed until my great grand-aunt told me about it. My great, great grandfather, Ruffus Allen was a car builder/repairer/oiler for the railroad from 1903-1914. He lived in Portsmouth, VA.
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JTB
Hello group, sorry that I’m a little late to the party but I am a big fan of the old A&D/NF&D. I am currently modeling the line on a double deck layout in my basement. On the Bottom level is West Norfolk to Lacrosse and the top level will be South Hill to Danville. The bottom level is about 95% complete and work will start on the top level in january. I have also been planning on getting a website up and running dedicated to the A&D/NF&D from 1949 til the present. I have been researching the line for about the last year and a half and am slowly getting all of my information organized to put in a website. However I have very little information on the Claremont Branch and the narrow guage operations. As I find information about this, I will gladly pass it on!
Dustin
Welcome to the forum! If you get your website up and going, please let us know.
Dustin: I do not know where you are located, but you may want to make a trip to South Hill, Virginia, and see the model train exhibits in the remodeled A&D/N F & D train stattion. There is an exhibit showing the old A&D line and two engines pulling the trains: the #1 and #2 which came back into service after the A&D had been sold. They were refurbished from the old No. 101 & 102. The train station is immaculate and houses the South Hill Chamber of Commerce and the train and doll museum. Many great pictures and old treasures of the A&D are within. It is open 7 days a week from 9:00 to 4:00. My father, Matt Rainey, was the depot manager for many years and was the early telegrapher on the line. I have a picture of him in the station with a calendar on the wall showing August 1935. It would be a good trip for you and your family. I have a copy of the A&D newsletter, The Chatterbox, dated 1951 with my picture in it. I was two years old and considered the first “new baby” born after the A&D began independent operation at midnight on July 30,1949. I would be happy to meet with you on any occasion. The museum is free to the public and close to our Tobacco Life and Farm Museum. I hope this reply is not to long for the forum. Thanks, Monty Rainey.
Mark,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I justed joined the group. I’m a big A&D/NF&D fan. I have been modeling the A&D for several yrs now. I started out in HO scale but have now moved to O 2-rail. I have a friend custom detailing/painting me a pair of RS-2’s and one RS-3 for the A&D right now.
If you have a specific question email me at fmullins@cox.net
Fred
Fred - Welcome to Trains.com! [C):-)]
I live on the Claremont Branch at Lumberton. The Depot, one dilapidated barn and Dickerson’s Store still stand. My dad died in 2012 at 92 and remembered when they could board the train at Lumberton at 6 am, arrive in Emporia at 10, shop 'till 2 and get back to Lumberton by 6 pm. I have some spikes, a few rail section pieces and there are several old fence-lines around that are anchored by rail-tie corner posts still solid after 80 years. The depot at Homeville is still in use as a farm building with its beautiful orange tile roof.
David Steele operated a mill on Blackwater River in Surry Co. and in Feb 1882 he built a tramway of 3 foot gauge, known locally as “Steele’s Railroad” to transport his backload of lumber from his mill to James River. As an entrepeneur, he desired to create a rail-line to feed his mill and he obtained a charter on 21 April, 1882 as The Surry County Railroad and Lumber Co.
On the same day, the Virginia Legislature in Richmond, eager to adjourn, granted a charter to The Atlantic and Danville for a line from James River to the interior without realizing they had granted two charters for rail service in the same place. After a lot of bickering about who owned what and where, the A&D bought Steele out on 28 June, 1883 and the Claremont Line of the A&D was official.
From the wharf at Claremont it stopped at Spring Grove and then roughly followed what is now SR40 through Savedge Depot to Waverly and on to Homeville. It crossed the trestle over Nottoway River where its pilings are still visible at low-water, passed Church Siding and on to where I live at Lumberton, then it crossed tracks with the Surry, Sussex and Southampton RR, which was another narrow-gauge logging line, and on to Yale Depot and Hilda, The line crossed the Virginian at Gray Depot, then went through Mason, Grizzard and the end-of-line at
When I worked for the Southern Railway, 1977-1980, we shared a bridge with the NF&D across the Buggs Island reservoir, from Jeffres, VA-Clarksville,VA. The NF&D was the successor to the Atlantic & Danville for the standard gauge portion, running from Norfolk to Danville. The single track bridge was the only signaled portion of the old Southern’s Richmond District. As I recall, if upon arriving at either end of this segment, no conflicting move was observed, the head brakeman would unlock and align the switch for his train’s movement. If the signal lit up clear, you proceeded, the flagman closing up behind you. If the signal still displayed stop, there was a waiting period, after which you could proceed at restricted speed. Normal position for the switches was lined for the NF&D. I only saw an NF&D train one time. One afternoon we were headed north on train 22, the Durham,NC-Keysville,VA, R&M branch local freight (south as #21 m-w-f, north as #22 t-th-sa). We had to wait at Clarksville Jct. for the NF&D to clear. As I recall, there were three Alco’s (C420-T6-RS-11, not necessarily in that order) and not many more cars. When I hired on the RF&P, the Road Foreman had a picture of an A&D passenger train on the standard gauge portion, taken during the 1930’s. A Southern light Pacific was the motive power and the RFE’s uncle was the engineer! I have a copy of Mr. Griffin’s book. Nice little history. Also, Bill Griffin was the director of personnel for the RF&P.
I am also interested in the A&D as well as the NF&D. I visit Clarksville in the summer, and I am interested in RR history of the area. Currently, the Buckingham Branch owns/operates the bridge across Kerr Lake, and the tracks around Clarksville. It serves the power plant, which in the summer recieves loaded coal hoppers (owned by NS) about once a week. It would be awesome if someone could give some detailed history of these RR.
Also an interesting fact, on the NC side of the lake, there is an old steam locomotive that sank in a river (before the dam was built) after a bridge collapsed.
The Norfolk Southern that ran into Norfolk was NOT the current Norfolk Southern. It was a regional that ran into North Carolina. The current Chesapeake and Albamarle runs on much of their track. So the roads that used the Norfolk depot were the N&W, Virginian, and Norfolk Southern.
I have done that. In S gauge, I kit-bashed several Bachmann On30 boxcars to A&D pulpwood cars. A&D did this after they could no longer ship the cars on to other lines. I have also custom decorated an RS3 for A&D #107. This was the only RS3 the line owned. They owned several RS2s and later the RS36s that Atlas produced in HO scale. Photos and videos of these are on my Youtube page.
Dear friends, I don’t know if this is the proper place for my comments but I just found your site tonight, got excited, and had to throw in my own twobits. I have been an A&D fan since the 1950s. One set of grandparents lived in West Norfolk and the other in Danville and there was a steady line of family members travelling by rail courtesy of the Southern until 1949. I have copies of Bill Griffiths’ work on the A&D (the latest edition and the earlier 1980-something edition). There was once an A&D historical society but it folded about 1990. Is there any interest out there in reforming it?
Definately make the trip to South Hill! Was just there a month ago. The station hold not only the RR part (displays, two layouts, etc) but also has a section for “dolls” and up front holds the SH CoC. The folks inside are definately nice folks and have no problem letting you check out the displays.
The layouts are standard museum types - self operating. One of which is modelled from South Hill to Clarkesville. The JH Kerr dam project model was fascinating to see. They mentioned that there was a club there. You may want to ask about it. The man who started all this has now passed. If im not mistaken he was of Aussie background.<