Category: Trains
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Hatton Post Office
The Hatton Post Office began operation at Brown’s Landing (now called Hatton) in late 1883. The postal facility sat just inside the front door of Brown’s Store and contained walnut mail boxes (shown above) for its customers and a wooden window through which mail and stamps were dispensed. Although a post office most often assumes…
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Doctor Percy Harris, Sr.
Shown in this 1915 photo, Dr. Percy Harris, Sr. stands beside his Maxwell car on West Main Street with Valley Street behind him. The building just behind his right elbow is W.F. Paulett Lumber and at the photo’s left is a three-storied, white building called the Travelers’ Rest Hotel. Percy enrolled in the Medical College…
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J.B. Tindall’s Groceries
James Benson Tindall, Sr., began his career as a businessman at Brown’s Landing (now Hatton) in 1906 when he rented Brown’s Store and renamed it ‘J. B. Tindall’s Groceries.’ In 1914, Tindall purchased the store from Brown’s descendants and managed it until his death in 1945. This store was built on a strong foundation comprised…
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Buckingham Lining Bar Gang
In a rich baritone voice, John Laury chanted these words during his June 4th visit to Scottsville Museum with the Buckingham Lining Bar Gang: “I got a gal who’s long and tall Sleeps in the kitchen with her feet in the hall.” Mr. Laury served as the “caller” for this African-American work song during an…
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Passenger Train from Richmond
The passenger train from Richmond made four trips daily to Scottsville in 1915; each trip took three hours. This photo, taken by Burgess at the C&O Depot in Scottsville, shows the State Farmers Institute Train, which Virginia Polytechnical Institute outfitted with agricultural displays in the coaches. At each stop, local farmers boarded this train to…
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Train Spotting at Scottsville Depot
The James River Division of the Chesapeake and Ohio (previously property of the Richmond and Allegheny Railroad Company), was of great importance to Scottsville as it hauled freight, passengers, and the daily mail to town. As did the James River and Kanawha Canal before it, the C & O train connected Scottsville to the commercial…
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Train Wreck at Warren!
By Evelyn Edson It was early in the morning of September 10, 1935, when two C&O freight trains collided head on just west of Warren. There was a single track there, and the west-bound train received a signal to move onto a siding to let the east-bound train through. The engineer had received the signal…
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Getting Off the Cars from Richmond ~ ca. 1914
Riding the ‘cars’ in 1914 was still a popular mode of travel, as shown in this photo at Scottsville Depot. Burgess captured the William Day Smith family arriving on the Richmond passenger train. Note the throng of townspeople gathered at the depot to watch the train arrive, a Scottsville custom that may date back to…
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The Nicholas Section Crew
The crew members in this photo are (L to R): C.C. Hill; J.W. Wood; C.E. Ballowe; Alfred Davis; C.W. Schumaker, section foreman; and E.D. Thompson. The Nicholas Section crew maintained the six-mile section of Chesapeake & Ohio track just east of Scottsville. This six-man crew worked 40-hour weeks and were lead for many years by…
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Train Derailment at Lock 22 ~ 1880
In the waning days of the James River and Kanawha Canal, the canal was conveyed to the Richmond & Allegheny Railroad (later C&O) by a deed dated March 4, 1880. Railroad construction workers promptly started laying tracks on the towpath. Canal freighters delivered railway ties along the Canal, stacking them on the towpath for workmen…
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