Gladstone, Virginia celebrating 119 years of railroading at mile post 119

Wiley, Christopher W

Gene Huddleston, an historian and contributor to the Chesapeake er' Ohio Historical Magazine, writes, "Gladstone's only excuse for being is that the railroad had to build a terminal about halfway between Richmond and Clifton Forge, after the C&O acquired the old Richmond & Alleghany."1

To be exact, Gladstone is 119 miles from Richmond and 112 miles from Clifton Forge, at about the center of the James River and Rivianna Subdivisions. It is the western terminus of the Rivanna District, Richmond Division and the beginning of the James River District, Clifton Forge Division.2

This article will focus on the yard, station, C&O Baptist Church, YMCA and hotel buildings, car repair facilities, and locomotive shops at Gladstone, Virginia.

The community was not always called "Gladstone," nor did it start off as the important C&O facility that it eventually became. Across the river from the station stop was and is a settlement referred to as Bent Creek.

On March 23, 1865, shortly before the end of the Civil War, the James River & Kanawha canal company established a ferry at Bent Creek for the accommodation of the south-side trade and travel. (The canal was on the north side of the river.)3 This name, Bent Creek, was initially used by the Richmond & Alleghany Railroad between June and July of 1881 in its Richmond Division Timetables #9-10. In August of 1881 the name of the station stop was changed to "Gladstone."

Richmond & Alleghany RR Company: February 28, 1878 - May 20, 1889

With canal business slowing down after the Civil War, Col. Henry C. Parsons made several associations in 1877. "Through the efforts of Col. parsons, the rights of parties to the Charter of the Straight Shoot Railroad company were acquired, and the Act of February 28, 1878, was passed authorizing the incorporation of the Richmond & Alleghany Railroad Company," writes Decatur Axtell.4 The newly formed Richmond & Alleghany Railroad was incorporated, and purchased the canal company's lands and rights-of way to use as a railroad. General offices were set up at No. 2 Wall Street, New York.5

Track laying efforts from Richmond towards Lynchburg reached Bent Creek/Gladstone sometime between May 2 and June 18, 1881.(6) Evidently things were booming in Gladstone. On November 21, 1883, Decatur Axtell (general manager of the R&A) wrote a letter to the railroad's master carpenter requesting him to "double the size of the waiting room" at the Gladstone depot.7

The Richmond & Alleghany RR. Co. had financial troubles due largely to its lack of traffic and interest obligations. (These were, in fact, largely the same obstacles that had previously hindered R&A's predecessor, the James River & Kanawha Company.)

The Richmond & Alleghany had two divisions; the "Richmond Division"8 spanned the distance between Richmond and Lynchburg, while the "Alleghany Division"9 was the area between Lynchburg and Clifton Forge (then called Williamsons).

During the R&A era, Gladstone was like any other station stop along the way, not the division point that it would become under C&O control. No engine facilities were there; rather, they were located in Lynchburg, the R&A division point.

Gladstone as it was known then, was simply a large open farm with a few old canal locks and a depot. This would all change with a November 17, 1888, letter that Decatur Axtell wrote to Melville E. Ingalls, president of the C&O, stating that he was going to look at a 500-acre parcel of land, 119 miles from Richmond which could be had for $6,000. He also stated in the letter that he would purchase the land as soon as possible if it were suitable.10 Eventually the purchase was made and the community would be changed forever.

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. enters the James River Valley beginning January 20, 1890

M. E. Ingalls had been appointed president of the C&O Ry. by court order in October 1888. "One of the new President's first acts when he took charge of the property was to acquire the Richmond & Alleghany Railroad, which he began to operate in May 1889, and started preparations to open it for C&O traffic."11

The R&A was purchased by the C&O as part of the C&O's own reorganization and thus another era of transportation had begun.

Harry Frazier writes, "The opening of the Cincinnati Division, the advent of Mr. Ingalls, and his acquisition of the Richmond & Alleghany Railway, marked the beginning of a new era for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. It became, all at once, by that acquisition, the road of the lowest grades between the coal fields and tidewater, of all the transappalachian lines."12

The C&O made improvements on the old R&A and quickly began rerouting its trains over the new line. Over the years of C&O ownership, the railroad made many improvements and modifications to streamline its operations. One of the most notable improvements was the construction of the Gladstone yard.

After C&O General Manager J. T Harahan made a careful and comprehensive review of the operating conditions of the entire railroad, he arranged for the construction of yards, complete with roundhouses and coating facilities at both ends of the James River Subdivision, Gladstone and Clifton Forge.13

"Important improvements were made to the entire system," Decatur Axtell writes, "to enable the company to handle its freight traffic more efficiently. Many yards were constructed at division points for the grouping together separately of cars destined to different places and making up trains with the number of cars adapted to the condition of the section of road on which they were to be forwarded and the capacity of locomotive which was to haul them.""

Gladstone was chosen because of its location (between Richmond and Clifton Forge) and the availability of a large tract of land (a farm of bottomland for tracks with uplands for dwellings). The close proximity of a town or city was not a factor. The land adjacent to the railroad yard was purchased by the railway and lots were sold to employees for residences at low prices and on easy terms. Other land was sold for stores.'S Gladstone, once a bottomland farm along the canal, sprang up as a community created by and for the C&O.

The 1889 C&O Annual Report stated, ."At Gladstone ... the C&O purchased 922 acres of land, and has erected coal bins, water stations, hotel, and station house, and built 2.6 miles of side tracks, making it a terminus for freights on this division." The 1890 Annual Report states that C&O spent $209,305.26 on the yard and roundhouse in Gladstone.

Gladstone was like many "railroad towns" across America. The location was chosen for the needs of the railroad and the town grew up around the railroad facilities. Gladstone was almost halfway between Richmond and Clifton Forge, and Clifton Forge was now the point where three different divisions came together. Hence, the facilities at Clifton Forge had to be enlarged to accommodate the junction with the R&A division.16

Sonny Taylor, who covered the closing of the station on February 26, 1993, for the (Amherst) New Era Progress, wrote, "Most of the members of all families in the area were employed by the railroad. There were over 200 people employed here at one time".17 Clearly, working for the C&O Railway was a way of life for most of the Gladstone community.

The Young Men's Christian Association Building (YMCA)

The C&O hosted 12 YMCA facilities at the various division points along its route, including Gladstone. The YMCA at Gladstone was opened in 1891. Early 1900s photographs (COHS 7414 and 7561) are of the original YMCA structure in Gladstone.

The C&O employees' magazine of March 1925 made mention that M. I. Dunn, Jr., of the Engineering Department, had visited Gladstone in January "in the interest of health and recreation grounds. It is hoped that our grounds will be piped and leveled to start spring activities."

The June issue added, "The recreation grounds having been completed in part are a source of great enjoyment to the people of Gladstone. Many indulge in croquet, tennis, volley ball, etc."

The following month's issue continued, "The health and recreation activities have taken on new life of late and a great many are taking part in all kinds of games, more especially baseball. A day had been set aside to improve the grounds and we are hoping to accept challenges from almost any source."

Looking though subsequent years of the employees' magazine, interestingly enough, it seems the most popular baseball challenge was against the Southern Railway's work force at Monroe, Virginia. It appears, appropriately, that the C&O team was triumphant most of the time.

Chesapeake & Ohio Hotel, 1889

The R&A built the Gladstone Hotel in 1889 (while the R&A was under C&O control).

The hotel was located behind the station and the hotel annex was east of the main hotel building. This threestory structure was built in 1889 and was standing at least until 1966, when it was replaced by the cinderblock building that stands today.

The C&O employees' magazine in the 1920s listed Charles Battige as the manager of the hotel and John Butler as the hotel cashier (July 1925, page 32; October 1927, page 46).

The 1966 Hotel

The wooden three-story hotel was replaced in 1966 by a two-story cinderblock structure. Later this structure was sold, operated by a private company and renamed "Motel Sleepers."

Around 1995 the railroad began assigning its crews to other sleeping accommodations in nearby Madison Heights, and the 1966 structure was closed as a motel. Today it serves as a community center. The C&O Baptist Church at Gladstone

There were Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) facilities scattered across the C&O, but was there really a C&O Baptist church?

The answer is affirmative, and it is an interesting story of religion and railroad in the Gladstone community.

The C&O's support of YMCA's and the Gladstone Baptist church was perhaps motivated by the natural charitable inclination of its principal officers and the obligations they had to their employees and communities.

The YMCA gave C&O employees a clean, comfortable place to rest, and served to keep them out of the saloons and brothels so common in many railroad terminals in the late 19th century. The result helped to provide a sober, well-rested, alert crew, less likely to cause or to be victim of an accident. The church also helped build employees who were solid, sober, and hardworking. (More information about the railroad and religion is contained in the March 1923 issue of the Chesapeake & Ohio and Hocking Valley employees' magazine.)

Many of the activities conducted by the C&O Baptist Church, especially its Ladies' Aid Society, were frequently mentioned in the "Gladstone News" section of the C&O employees' magazine. The April 1925 issue mentioned that they held a supper for the benefit of the church and reported "encouraging success." Other events were held, such as a "Brunswick Stew" in February 1927.

The church was part of the community, the railroad was part of the community and the railroad was part of the church.

The Church is Named

In 1992, Rev. J. N. Williams wrote The Gladstone Memorial Baptist Church History, and he recounts how the church was given its original name.

The influence of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway was, as previously indicated, significant in the early years of the church. The contribution of the land and two hundred fifty dollars toward building costs was of such great importance that the church was named C&O Baptist.

The membership, for a number of years, was composed mainly of railroad employees, their families, and merchants serving these persons. Then came the time when the railroad personnel increased and many of these persons commuted from surrounding counties and the city of Lynchburg.

The Church is Established

The early history of the church and early history of the village of Gladstone are so interwoven that interdependency exists between the two.

There was no Baptist Church in close proximity to the village until early 1891, when some Baptist brethren appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions.

After sufficient funds were raised, with the C&O Railway subscribing $250.00, these brethren proceeded to erect the church. On October 30, 1892, upon completion of the building and payment of debts, it was dedicated to the service of God.

Dr. George H. Snead of Fluvanna County preached the dedicatory sermon standing on a pulpit over which was inscribed these words, "I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life. God is Love." The total attendance on this date is not known but the charter membership was made up of four men and eight women.

The letter of transfer of church membership for Mrs. Minnie Seay, a charter member, is on file with church materials. It is dated November 19, 1892, and written by the clerk of Kingswood Baptist Church.

When the C&O Railway conveyed the deed (Deed Book 26, page 79; Nelson County Court House) on July 1, 1892, to the church, the following were listed as trustees: W T Wright, J. A. Walker, J. J. Ancell, J. E. Martin, and Paul Wallace.

The description of the location of the plot was "west of the depot as it now stands, next door to the public school, and at right angles from the old James River & Kanawha Canal."

In addition to names previously listed, the family names below are copied from records of the treasurer during the first decade of the church's existence. They are Akers, Atkinson, Atwell, Bolton, Brown, Burks, Carter, Childress, Crew, Duval, Eberhart, Epps, Eubank, Foster, Fulcher, Gary, Harris, Henning, Karns, Kimbrough, Major, Megginson, Melton, Payne, Penn, Phaup, Robertson, Shannon, Stinnet, Terry, Wilkerson, and Williams.

The Church Grows

Growth in numbers appears to have been steady during the early years of the church. From the 12 charter members of 1892, the membership had increased to 32 by 1903. A spurt occurred in 1921 when membership jumped to 75. This was the year when there were 21 members added to the church roll. The largest membership recorded was in 1962 when there were 140 members.

The largest single event to indicate growth within the church came in 1957 when an addition of six Sunday School rooms and renovation of the sanctuary was completed. Beautiful stained glass windows were installed with four of them being commemorative windows dedicated to young men from the church who lost their lives in World War II. Of all of the memorials established in the church, the memorial to these men has been the most significant in that the church name was changed to Gladstone Memorial Baptist Church, its present name, in honor of them. These young men were Cecil Brown, Cabel Christian, Jr., Harry Thomas, and Alfred Wallace.

The Church in Transition

During the past 100 years, circumstances have caused the church to become an organization serving a much larger area than it did initially. As transportation improved, people were able to attend the church of their choice and this became a time when membership increased.

No longer were there just residents of the village who walked to church but there were those who chose to change membership from their former home churches some miles distant.

The School

Emily Taylor, daughter of W B. Taylor (yard conductor at Gladstone) wrote the following letter which was published in the June 1925 issue of the C&O employees' magazine:

I have been chosen to write you about our school. We have a three-room School here at Gladstone. About seventy pupils attend. Either the father or A close relative of all the pupils works on the Chesapeake and Ohio at this terminal.

We have been reading letters and seeing pictures in the Magazine, and so we are sending you a snapshot of the pupils. Hope you will find room in the employees' magazine for it.

Very sincerely,

Emily Taylor.

The Gladstone Station

The original construction date of Gladstone's station is unclear. Some sources indicate that it was built in 1888, but Decatur Axtell did not even visit the site to purchase it until November 1888. It is unlikely that the surviving station was built that quickly. Drawings in the C&OHS collection are dated March 1889. Records suggest that there was already an R&A station in Gladstone, with a second station built in 1888 or 1889 before Gladstone became a C&O division point. On November 21, 1883, Decatur Axtell wrote a letter to the R&A's master carpenter requesting him to "double the size of the waiting room" at the Gladstone depot.

The station was apparently a combination depot, telegraph office, and yard office (with additions having been made to the building from time to time).'8 It is the last remaining R&A station. Gene Huddleston once described it as being, "one of the most distinctive `Gay Nineties' buildings still standing on the C&O." The current location of the station, however, is not the original location. Joseph Taylor remembers when the station was put on skids and pulled 400 feet west by two teams of mules, to its present location.19

Close study of the 1914 postcard "Bird's eye view of Gladstone" (reproduced on page 5) shows proof that the station was originally west of the hotel and hotel annex. C&O Drawing No. X-3572 (dated October 9, 1922, and reproduced on page 9), detailing the heating, lighting, and plumbing for the depot, hotel, and hotel annex, shows the station in its present location east of the hotel.

The Freight Yard

The construction of the railroad yard included filling in a section of the canal and covering up several canal locks. The end result of the construction was a "mainline," medium-sized yard used to classify coal before it was carried down the Rivanna Subdivision to port in Newport News, Virginia. The yard was extended in 1920, and a new westbound yard was installed in 1922.(20)

In the October 1929 issue of the C&O employees' magazine, F. W Voelcher boasted of the following news: "All records were smashed at this point when 63,207 cars were moved through our yard in July. So far, the month of August bids fair to beat July's high record."

Gladstone yard was enlarged again in 1944.(21) In 1950, the yard consisted of 23.82 miles of track, 18 mainline switches, and 51 yard tracks.22

In February of 1963 the duties of Agent and First Trick Operator were combined and the position of operator was abolished.23 Further streamlining occurred on the last day of March 1965, when the Second and Third Trick Operator positions were discontinued.24

In May 1985 the yard, which had 40 tracks, was officially closed as a working yard. Though closed, it has remained a division point, and some train crews still changed there, the only difference being that the C&O YMCA sold its motel facilities.25 This was all about the time the railroad branch of the YMCA was being disbanded/disassembled nationwide.

The rail yard offices closed February 26, 1993, after 105 years of operation. The Locomotive Facilities

The Gladstone locomotive facilities established by the C&O were located at the northwest end of the yard. They included a coaling tower (wooden first, then concrete), sand house, engine house, hose house, two cinder conveyors, pump houses (to supply the water tanks), a wye for turning locomotives, inspection pit, and bunk houses.

As a division point for the C&O, this is where train crews and engine crews changed. Locomotives received light repair and fuel. The roundhouse was built in 1918, and its structure and track arrangement were changed sometime between April 26, 1923, and September 3, 1932. Three of the four engine house tracks were removed as well as the three tracks outside of the engine house.

One sand house was indicated in drawings on the west side of the coal tower. A sand house was later located just behind the roundhouse.

The Engine House

In March 1964, the railroad discontinued shipping engine sand in railway cars and made delivery of sand by truck as a cost saving item.

Three years later, in September of 1967, the roundhouse, bunk house, and the engineers' cookroom were retired, and Gladstone's small engine terminal was closed in 1985.

The engine house was razed in the early 1990s. It had most recently been used for freight car repair. During December 1991, the area around the roundhouse was regraded and the sandhouse building razed.

Water

The C&O Annual Report for 1924 mentioned a new water station at Gladstone, with a 150,000-gallon steel storage tank being constructed.

Prior to that, C&O drawings indicated that a 50,000-gallon and a 100,000-gallon water tank (between the main line and the engine tracks beside the roundhouse) had fulfilled Gladstone's requirements.

This new 150,000-gallon water storage tank supplied water to numerous Poage Style "H" water columns scattered around the Gladstone facility at the coating tower, roundhouse, and the east end of the wye near the station.

The 150,000-gallon steel water storage tank, built in 1924, was removed in the early 1990s. The clapboard pump house was located on the east side of the water tank, Also, a diesel fuel storage tank was located adjacent to the pump house.

Coal

Railway Age magazine in June 1922 described a new yard that had been established.26 The erection of a 300-ton frame coaling station was one of many post-World War I improvements made across the C&O.

The October 1923 C&O employees' magazine featured several rare views of Gladstone's railroad facilities.

According to C&O Drawings X-4297 and X-4488 (both issued in 1924), cinder conveyors were located on two tracks on the east side of the wye and another was located just east of the coal tower.

The wooden coal tower was replaced by the large Fanning-Schuett Engineering Co. concrete structure that stands today

The Car Repair Shops

On the south side of the yard, between the yard and the river, were several tracks and buildings that were the Gladstone car repair facility. The railroad used this area of the yard for running repairs on freight cars. The 1929 Fire Prevention Drawing 9405 shows some 13 different structures that made up the work area, including an oil house, brass house, locker house, stock room, office (9'x28'), blacksmith shop, and shed.

Gladstone Today

One will see in Gladstone today a much different town from years past. The station, cinderblock YMCA, diesel fuel tank, and concrete coal tower are the only railroad structures that remain. The station windows, however, are boarded up; the concrete coal tower has not been used in some 40 years; weeds have overtaken the diesel fuel tank; and the former YMCA is now used as a community center.

The two mainline tracks have been slightly relocated from the milepost marker west towards the coal tower. The tracks are no longer parallel to the station front, and new signals have been installed. Other changes include a great reduction in the number of yard tracks and a new yard lead and crossover just west of the station.

Many of the houses in the community remain, but the Masonic lodge building is no longer used. The church is still one of the best-kept structures in town. There are people living in the village now.

Eastbound and westbound CSX trains coming to Gladstone presently do not always stop for crew changes as they did in the past. Maintenance-of way trains have been known to stay over in the yard. There is some sort of container loading/unloading operation that occurs along the riverside track of the yard, with "Epic" containers steadily loaded and unloaded during weekdays.

Endnotes

1. Huddleston, Eugene L. "Trips to Virginia; Railfanning the C&O in Virginia in the Late 1970s." C&O Historical Society Newslet ter, May 1981, page 4.

2. Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. Co. Official Industrial Guide and Shippers Directory. For the use of the company's patrons and others seeking facts pertaining to its territorial resources mining, agricultural, manufacturing, commercial, financial and educational advantages. Issued by the General Freight Department. Copyright 1906 by W.H.H. (TWD Collection), page 164.

3. Proceedings of the President and Directors of the James River & Kanawha Co., Book No. 25 Containing Records from March 8, 1859 to December 12, 1866, page 401.

4. Axtell, Decatur. Manuscript written about 1920 on the History of the C&O Ry. Co. (C&OHS Archives collection), Chapter 11, page 11.

5. Armitage, Laura E. "Richmond & Alleghany Railroad." RLHS Bulletin #88, May 1953, page 60. (TWD collection)

6. Axtell, Decatur. Manuscript written about 1920 on the History of the C&O Ry. Co. (C&OHS Archives collection), Chapter 11, page 12.

7. Letter Press Books of Decatur Axtell (general manager of the R&A Railway 1881=1890), page 475. (C&OHS Archives Collection)

8. Richmond & Alleghany (Richmond Division) Timetable No. 1 (effective 10/4/1880) through Timetable No. 13 (effective 11/4/1881) (C&OHS Archives collection).

9. Richmond & Alleghany (Alleghany Division) Timetable No. 1 (effective 1 /29/1881 ) through Timetable No. 9 (effective 10/29/1881) (C&OHS Archives collection).

10. Letter Press Books of Decatur Axtell (general manager of the R&A 1881-1890), page 483. (C&OHS Archives Collection) 11. Frazier, Harry. "Recollections." Original in C&O Lines Magazine 1937 and 1938, reprinted by C&OHS, Alderson, W. Va., 1975, page 28.

12. Ibid., page 20. 13. Ibid., page 24.

14. Axtell, Decatur. Manuscript written about 1920 on the History of the C&O Ry. Co. (C&OHS Archives collection), page 42. 15. Ibid.

16. Turner, Charles W. Chessie's Road. 1956. Additions by T.W. Dixion, E.L. Huddleston. Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society, Alderson, W. Va., Revised Second Edition 1993, pages 105, 144.

17. Massie, Valarie. "Gladstone Rail Yard Office to Close after 105 Years," Amherst New Era-Progress, Amherst, Va., 25 Feb. 1993.

18. Huddleston, Eugene 1. "Trips to Virginia; Railfanning the C&O in Virginia in Late 1970s." C&O Historical Society Newsletter, May 1981, page 4.

19. Massie, Valarie. "Gladstone Rail Yard Office to Close after 105 Years," Amherst New Era-Progress, Amherst, Va., 25 Feb. 1993.

20. The James River Basin - Past, Present, and future, compiled by the James River Project Committee of the Virginia Academy of Science, Richmond, Va., 1950, pages 780, 782. (C&OHS Archives collection) 21. [bid.

22. Ibid.

23. Operating Department Cost Reduction Campaign, Cost Reduction Projects December 31, 1963, Office of General Superintendent Costs, Huntington, W. Va., January b, 1964. (C&OHS Archives collection).

24. Operating Department Cost Reduction Campaign, Cost Reduction Projects March 31, 1965, Office of General Superintendent Costs, Huntington W. Va. (C&OHS Archives collection.

25. Roy B. Evans, "Railfanning the CSX James River Subdivision." Railpace Magazine, Feb. 1991, page 18.

26. Railway Age Magazine, June 1922.

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