Prince of the new river

Prince, West Virginia, is among the last places on the C&O system that one would imagine being selected for the construction of a large, state-of-the-art railway station in the immediate post-WWII period.

Prince was an unincorporated town with a population of around 50 people. What made it important was the fact that it was the C&O mainline station that served Beckley, W Va., about 18 miles distant. Consistently, Prince had the largest passenger counts of any station between Clifton Forge, Va., and Charleston, W Va., and continuing good patronage keeps a full-time agent here even in the austere times of Amtrak today. Passengers to and from Beckley used the branch line connecting train or drove by private automobile or taxi to and from the station until the branch passenger train was eliminated in 1950.

Thereafter folks came to and from the trains at Prince only by automobile.

For whatever reason, the C&O selected Prince as it pressed ahead with its plan for numerous new postwar stations. By the time other stations were designed and ready to be built, the great postwar passenger contraction had begun and they were canceled.

Prince's stark Moderne design, its innovative features for the time, and its isolated position deep in the remote and wild New River Gorge, combined with its position as one of the few high-- design railroad stations built after the war anywhere, has given it certain cachet in architectural circles, and interest among modelers and C&O fans. Its styling contrasted with NI Cabin - the old Victorian signal tower located across the track - which stood until recent times.

In this view looking eastward from NI Cabin's window, C&O K-4 No. 2709 contrasts with the streamlined new station at Prince, W. Va., as the Kanawha heads west with train No. 104 in June 1946. This mostly mail and express train is heavy with head-end cars. Finishing touches are all that is needed for the new station. The lamp post and the Art Deco-style "PRINCE" platform signs have yet to be installed. Across the road, the infamous "Beer Joint," as it was called, is being built. The establishment would cause trouble for railroad employees and passengers alike over the years. It was a rough place at times and shotgun blasts were sometimes a common sound on weekend nights. (C&O Ry. photo; C&OHS collection)

Prince is located at milepost 380 on the Chesapeake & Ohio's New River Subdivision, about 23 miles west of the division point of Hinton, W Va., and 11 miles east of the other New River Gorge location which has received much attention: Thurmond.

Prince is the point at which the Piney Creek branch leaves the main line for its 27 miles of line in coal mine territory (plus many smaller branches), including the bustling town of Beckley, 18 miles up the line. Trains on the branch, as well as those on the Laurel Creek branch, were assembled in the small yard at Quinnimont, only a mile to the east.

Prince is born

The origin of the picturesque Fayette County town of Prince turns the calendar back to 1870, a full three years before the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad cut its path and laid rails in 1873. The town's creation can be attributed to Mr. William "Bub" Prince, who was known as resourceful and enterprising man. Bub was operating a general store in the developing town of Beckley at the time and might have owned most of the city had he chosen to stay on top of the mountain. With the fervent news of the C&O's fast approach, Prince hurried down to the point where the waters of Piney Creek join with the ancient New River in the shadow of Batoff mountain, to stake a claim on the main line. Pitching canvas tents and striking kerosene lanterns, Bub and his brother, James Prince Sr., made their first camp just below the location of what would be Stretcher's Neck Tunnel. After several hard scouting trips on foot, the brothers Prince bargained several hundred acres from their cousin, General Alfred Beckley. It would be these lands that would bear the names of Prince and Quinnimont. The Raleigh County courthouse would show these names on the deeds for many years to come.

When Bub Prince moved his family from Beckley in 1873 there were no roads leading in or out of Prince's camp. Facing large trees and heavy brush, Bub was forced to hew his own path down the mountain while guiding the unwieldy ox-drawn sled that bore his wife and child. Navigating over rocks and reversing direction hundreds of times, the crude sled finally delivered its human cargo and provisions to their camp along the New. The town of Prince was born.

After the weary construction crews laid the last steel rail and the mainline railroad was completed, commerce flowed like the water from Piney Creek. A wagon road was hacked out of the side of Batoff mountain and numerous merchants began hauling goods in from surrounding counties through the new town of Prince for shipment on the C&O at Marmet and Kanawha Falls.

Being an ambitious entrepreneur, Bub Prince capitalized on this newfound wave of traffic and established a ferry just below the present site of the Route 41 highway bridge. It was there that Bub ferried the wagons and carts across the New River on their journey to Beckley and other points.

The area continued to develop, and eight years later the first mining operation in Raleigh County was opened at Royal. Located directly across the river from Prince, the unearthed coal was conveyed to the C&O for loading in the form of an aerial tramway. Moving 600 tons per day, the coal made the tedious trip across the New in 60-ton riveted steel half-buckets traversing a stretched Al steel cable to waiting wooden C&O hoppers.

The C&O built its first station at Prince in 1880 with none other than Bub Prince donning the first station agents cap. This original station was not an imposing structure, but it served its purpose for eleven years. In 1891 it was enlarged to take care of the rapidly increasing trade.

The old station suffered a fire in 1917 and was rebuilt shortly thereafter. This structure, plain by C&O standards, served the expanding town of Prince and the surrounding area for many years until a man with a vision saw a need for its replacement.

A vision becomes reality

It was to be America's finest train, without question. A daylight streamliner designed for speed and luxury. Nothing quite like it was ever built before or after, and it is still remembered to be in a class by itself. A marvelous train that was, yet never was.

Robert R. Young assumed control of the C&O in 1942 following a five-year scuffle with some majority stockholders and a few of his own backers. For the next twelve years the C&O and Robert R. Young were synonymous in a way that few modern large corporations and individuals had ever become. With precise automation Young's thoughts and actions became the C&O's thoughts and actions. The company's transformation was immediate and spectacular.

For the years after the World War 11, Robert Young dictated that C&O passenger service would be absolutely first class. It would take the concerted effort of car builders, Young's own research staff, and above all, Young himself He would create, as a capstone and symbol, a luxury train surpassing anything on rails ... The Chessie.

The Chessie was to be ahead of its time in style, functionality, and efficiency. New passenger cars from Budd, steam turbine locomotives (Nos. 500502) from Baldwin, and an upgraded central reservation system would be just the beginning of Young's daylight domeliner. Mainline physical upgrades including Fort Spring Tunnel, curve realignments and major track relocations all worked in harmony to produce The Chessie's posted 12-hour schedule from Washington, D.C. to Cincinnati. Two new streamlined coal docks - one at Hinton, the other at Clifton Forge would satisfy the steam turbines' appetite for their black fuel.

Being in the public's eye, Young decreed that new ultramodern passenger stations would replace the older structures in cities like Charleston, W Va., Alderson, W Va., Waynesboro, Va., and Prince, W Va. Of the fourteen stops planned for The Chessie, Prince was the choice to be the first of many new stations to be built along the "Chessie Route."

The station is built

The new station was built from plans prepared by the C&O's own architects in collaboration with the architectural firm of Garfield, Harris, Robinson & Schaffer from Cleveland, Ohio. The actual planning and direct supervision of the work was carried out by Alexander C. Robinson III, the C&O's consulting engineer of buildings. John P Pettyjohn & Company, contractors of Lynchburg, Virginia, handled the construction.

As the first yards of earth were moved and construction started, the newspaper headlines read "Small Town Station Goes Ultramodern,11 "New C&O Station Features Innovations," and "Finest Station between Richmond and Huntington." When completed, the new Prince facility boasted many features not found in other stations.

These features were related in detail by Railway Age, Tracks (the C&O's own publication), and other railroad trade journals and publications. Prince station was described as being rectilinear in plan and elevation. The station is 125 feet long and 22 feet wide and has exterior walls of common brick faced with reddish brick. The sills and trim are gray Indiana limestone. Covering the station is a tar-and-gravel roof resting on a fourinch-thick concrete slab. A 500-foot concrete passenger platform is protected by a reinforced concrete canopy of streamlined design. The parking lot can accommodate 38 automobiles.

The waiting room is 55 feet by 20 feet with toilet rooms, a ladies' lounge, and a utility room at one end. The other end contains a freight, baggage, and express room measuring 35 feet by 20 feet. The waiting room, with its high ceiling, gives a feeling of spaciousness and is bright and cheerful. The floor is terrazzo, laid out in sections with an image of Chessie herself inlaid in the center of the room. The side walls incorporate large plate glass panel-type windows. Taking advantage of the station's location within the Appalachian Mountains, these serve as picture windows as well as ensuring an abundance of natural light. The principal wall areas are faced with Colorado travertine. A large photomural of a C&O H-4 2-6-6-2 and crew working the mine at Crab Orchard graces the waiting room's west-end wall.

Located in the corner of the east end of the station is the ticket agent's office, enclosed by plywood and triplex glass. A ticket counter of marble and soapstone ensures a steady surface for passenger and agent alike. A curved corner of the enclosure and counter, together with a ticket sign in bold outline letters, adds to the decorative effect.

The loudspeaker system has its microphone next to the ticket window and 14 public address speakers strategically located so that no one will miss an announcement anywhere in the station or on the grounds. Other passenger conveniences include parcel lockers; a telephone booth; six streamlined benches seating six persons apiece and equipped with plastic fabric back cushions; and an electrically cooled water fountain. The toilet rooms contain ultraviolet lights for added sanitation.

Technological breakthroughs adopted for Prince station include "Solar Orientation" and "Radiant Heating."

Solar orientation was considered in the building's design to take advantage of the warming rays of the sun in the winter while shading the interior during hot weather. The platform canopy on the south side of the station shades the lower part of the large window area on that side. Since the canopy roof is not as high as the building roof, however, it does not shade the top row of windows. This row is afforded shade in the summer by the overhang of the projecting roof of the station. The amount of overhang was calculated to use the seasonal position of the sun to shield this window area from the high summer rays, yet still expose it to the sun's lower-- angled warmth in the winter.

For heating and ventilating, Prince station employs two methods not widely used by other railroad structures. Radiant heating circulates hot water from a coal-fired, screw-stokered boiler through cast iron pipes in the floors and ceilings. This eliminates cold, damp floors, hot spots, and insures maximum comfort for occupants.

Air circulation in the waiting room in older railroad stations primarily depended on the opening and closing of exterior doors. Prince station supplements this method with manually controlled ventilating sashes built into the high and low window panels. The draft created by the hot air escaping out the top sashes pulls cooler air in through the bottom sashes, ensuring constant ventilation on hot summer days.

The job completed

After many months of construction, the new Prince station was turned over from the contractor to the C&O Railway on May 3, 1946. Station Agent L. C. Aldridge and his staff took over 11 the most modern station of its size in the east." Once the transition was complete, the wooden Prince depot, which had served since 1917, had finally outlived its usefulness to the company and was dismantled with little notice.

In April 1946 Mr. Jack A. Nichols, a member of the Beckley Chamber of Commerce, started working on the details of the dedication of the new Prince station. This was no small affair, as Governor Clarence W Meadows, Representative E. H. Hedrick, and Senators Harley M. Kilgore and Chapman B. Revercomb were invited to represent the State of West Virginia at the ceremony.

The C&O sent a delegation of 45 employees, supervisors, and company executives. Leading the C&O delegation was President Robert J. Bowman. Joining President Bowman were A. T. Lowmaster, vice-president; W C. Hull, vice-president; Walter J. Tuohy, vicepresident, and other C&O men ranging from freight agents to a senior road foreman of engines.

Dedication

After much planning and hard work, the date of June 26, 1946, was chosen after arrangements had fallen through for a May 23 dedication. The stage was set to put the community of Prince, West Virginia, on the map!

The word spread like wildfire throughout Beckley, Raleigh County, and Fayette County. Newspapers proclaimed the "finest station in the East to be dedicated," "C&O President to dedicate new Prince station," and "National, State and C&O officials to aid in dedication!"

It was apparent that the C&O would need to run a special "Fanny" (the nickname of the railway's local Beckley-Quinnimont passenger train), sponsored by the Beckley Chamber of Commerce, from Beckley to Prince to accommodate the large number of people who wanted to be in attendance.

As the morning of Wednesday, June 26, 1946, dawned over the New River Gorge, all details were in place and the crowd started to gather around the new brick station.

Meanwhile, up the Piney Creek Branch at Beckley, a special train waited for its 1:00 p.m. departure. This would be the largest Fanny ever to polish the rails down the Piney Gorge. The Fanny made an awesome sight with two H-4 Mallets leading ten Pullman green heavyweight coaches and one full baggage car. At the throttle of the lead locomotive was veteran engineer R. T Eckle of Beckley, with D. L. Humphrey in the left-hand seat with the job of firing. Senior Conductor C. Smith was in charge back in the coaches. Conductor Smith had the honor of being the first "captain" of the Fanny on its maiden run in 1903.

By the time 1:00 pm rolled around, the C&O had sold 1,536 tickets at 25 cents apiece. The ten coaches were said to be packed full with folks sharing seats and standing in the aisle for the trip "down Piney."

Excitement filled the air as the Fanny left Beckley and made a stop at Raleigh Yard. Probably the happiest person on the train was little James Henderson II, who was celebrating his third birthday with his first train ride. The special also carried the bulk of the Woodrow Wilson "Flying Eagles" band. Presumably the baggage car was for the band's equipment. Following the overcrowded Fanny down Route 41 were about 125 automobiles.

Upon the arrival of the special Fanny at Prince, the Woodrow Wilson 100-piece band provided 45 minutes of musical entertainment. By the middle of the band's performance the crowd had grown to an estimated 3,000 people. Highly appreciated was the number "Little Red Caboose," played for a mother who had requested it as a favorite of her soldier son, who lost his life in battle during WWII. Then it was the C&O Male Quartet's turn to entertain with three songs of their own, following which they led the enthusiastic crowd in the community singing of "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" and "The West Virginia Hills."

Then, promptly at 3:00pm, the throng fell silent as the invocation was given by Dr. J. L. Lineweaver, former Pastor of the Beckley Presbyterian Church. With thanks to the Lord given, the dignitaries took their places on stage. They were introduced by Mr. Austin Caperton of Slab Fork, who served as master of ceremonies. Sharing the stage were C&O President Bowman, C&O Vice-presidents Hull and Tuohy, C&O General Manager Geyer, and Manager of the Advertising or "Chessie" department, W S. Jackson.

Representing the Beckley area were Beckley's Mayor W A. Burke, E. D. Armstrong (president of the Chamber of Commerce), W R. Fugitt (Chamber Secretary), and the president of the county courts of Raleigh, Fayette, and Wyoming. West Virginia Governor Clarence Meadows joined the group after visiting with friends around the new station.

Master of Ceremonies Caperton first invited C&O President Bowman to speak. President Bowman told the assembled crowd that the C&O planned other stations modeled after the one at Prince and that Charleston, West Virginia, would have a modern station very soon (this was never built). To roars of applause, he also told of the new streamlined trains planned by the company, powered by coal-burning turbine engines which were then on order.

Governor Clarence Meadows said that Prince was "a dream come true" for Beckley and that the crowd present showed the appreciation for the cooperation of the railway.

As gray storm clouds loomed over Garden Ground and Buery Mountains, Mr. Caperton introduced the keynote speaker, C&O Vice-president W C. Hull. Here is an excerpt of Hull's speech:

On behalf of the Chesapeake er Ohio Railway I make grateful acknowledgment of the interest and compliment this gathering implies. I particularly want to thank the Beckley Chamber of Commerce of it thoughtfulness in arranging this ceremony. It not only symbolizes the dedication gf the new Prince station, but also evidences the importance the people of Raleigh and Fayette County attach to this event. The new station represents quite a different spectacle in contrast to the structure that formerly served here. The chaste functional design of that new station building and the advanced ideas that have gone in to its making; such as glass sides, panel heating, and ultra-violet sanitation seems to highlight the transformation time has wrought to railroading...

... The name Prince was selected because the community was founded and developed by one of the family -The Princes. William Prince donated the railroad right-of-way through his property and was the first C&O agent here. His son, James Prince, purchased the first ticket sold at today's new station. It was a round-trip ticket on train No. 43 from Prince to Charleston on May 3, 1946 Any reference to the early development of this area would not be complete without recalling with admiration and respect such additional names as the Beckley's, Miller, McCreery, and Buery, names that will forever linger as precious memories in the minds of people here and in other sections of West Virginia....

... The management of the C&O view the future with confidence believing that the time is near when the railroads will be handed larger amounts of freight and greatly increased numbers of passengers. That faith may be realized in the C&O with the inauguration of the new streamlined daylight trains between Washington and Cincinnati early next year. The new train will afford a daylight scenic ride along the Ohio and Kanawha rivers, through the famous New River Gorge and Blue Ridge Mountain and across historic Virginia and the Bluegrass section of Kentucky. These trains will be the finest and most revolutionary built since the advent of the streamlined train. In addition to providing maximum safety and riding comfort, ultramodern air purification and sanitation, observation vista-domes and other recent developments of the car and equipment builders, it will incorporate many new and original features including a moving picture theater, art and industrial exhibits, news ticker, travelogue and library services, curved aisles for smooth passage through the train, spacious lounge areas in every coach, special facilities for the care and entertainment of children and new features in dining car service. We also have under construction three coal-fired locomotives of a radically new design which will haul these trains, without change of engines, between Washington and Cincinnati. We shall also purchase, as soon as they can be built, new cars for our other through trains which will enable us to greatly improve our present local services. The sleepers will be of the latest design and construction with every convenience, comfort and safety device known, affording a service beyond any Pullmans of conventional design ever built.

It was about this time that Mother Nature could hold back the clouds no more and a fierce rain storm ensued over Prince. The crowd rushed to huddle under the shelter of the massive concrete platform and in the station itself. Many were caught in the open. Vicepresident Hull immediately took the microphone under the station shelter to conclude his speech:

... again I express our indebtedness to the Beckley Chamber of Commerce and the citizens of Raleigh and Fayette counties for the expression ofgood will towards our railroad in arranging this celebration. We are proud to be one of you and we want our railroad to be looked upon here, as well as in other towns we serve as a good citizen, and our railroad is a good citizen when it contributes to the welfare and happiness of the men and women who make up the many towns we serve by providing safe and dependable transportation, pays taxes for the support of the local and county governments, schools, and roads, and when its employees contribute to the social, the civic, and religious activities that make each community a better place in which to work and live!

A thunder of applause went out from around the station and echoed in the hills. There were numerous handshakes, hugs, and talk of great new things to come for the C&O and Prince.

The crowd took turns touring the station until it was time for the special to board passengers for the return trip "Up Piney" to Raleigh Yard and Beckley. With two short blasts of the H-4's whistle, the Fanny pulled up to the station and the rain-soaked passengers boarded while Route 41 began to clog with automobile traffic. This day was the start of a long career in passenger service for the new Prince Station. It is doubtful whether the opening of a new railroad station would get this response today.

Changing times at Prince

In the years following its opening, Prince station witnessed many changes. Steam power gave way to the diesel. Pullman green was replaced by Enchantment Blue and Federal Yellow on C&O passenger cars. The number of passenger trains eventually started to decrease. Of most importance, The Chessie, the domeliner that the C&O management boasted about, never ran a single revenue mile. The Chessie was made to quietly go away by management in response to the overwhelming onslaught of the passenger automobile, good roads, and airline travel.

It was in that light that Prince would be the only station built to serve The Chessie, and the second-to-last station ever built by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway.

The story of Prince continued through to the end of C&O passenger service, the dawn of Amtrak, and the creation of Chessie System.

Amtrak assumed control of Prince station on March 17, 1975. On a Thursday night in October 1981, the stations doors were locked permanently - or so most observers thought. The Cardinal had been eliminated from the Amtrak system schedule and for the first time since 1880 Prince was without railroad passenger service. An uprising of public support for the Cardinal caused the tri-weekly train to be reinstated.

A tradition of service continues

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. Amtrak train number 50, the eastbound Cardinal has left Thurmond and is running on time. Expected arrival is 12:06 pm. Amtrak wishes you a safe and comfortable journey and we thank you for patronizing our trains."

The 50-year-old public address system conveys the message from Prince's ticket agent, Mr. Marvin Plumley. In the next minutes the five-car stainless steel-clad streamliner known as the Cardinal emerges from Stretcher's Neck Tunnel through a cloud of exhaust. The Cardinal comes to a stop amid the sounds of squealing disc brakes and a single blast of the F40PH's melodious five-chime horn. Car attendants and the conductor place yellow step boxes on the platform and perform the time-honored duties of detraining and boarding passengers eager to find a comfortable seat for the trip eastward.

One car back from the engine, a big baggage door is opened to reveal a waiting baggageman ready to assist Agent Plumley with the checked baggage and company mail. The 50-year-old baggage wagon is positioned and the baggage is carefully transferred on and off the CardinaL With the last of the passengers and baggage taken care of, a voice crackles loudly over the two-way radio. "Conductor to engineer on number 50.... Ready to leave town on time, B.J." The reply: "That's a Roger, Bob ... here we go, leaving town on time!" The Cardinal then slips away from the station with two blasts of its horn and accelerates around the curve toward Quinnimont. "Amtrak number 50 has a clear signal, number one track ... Quinnimont."

The last of the checked baggage is distributed to waiting passengers while the sounds of car doors and automobiles leaving the station can be heard. "CSX A.M. dispatcher to Amtrak number 50, ready to copy the Hinton Block over?"

Meanwhile, back at Prince station, an envelope of quiet has descended on the platform. The only sounds to be heard are the rushing waters of the New River.

Marvin Plumley, having taken care of all the passengers, walks down the platform accompanied only by a broom. He begins the tasks of sweeping the platform, cleaning the station, and finishing the ever-present paper work. As the sun shines high in the sky, Prince station had taken care of yet another passenger train.

Prince Ticket Agent Marvin Plumley Marvin Plumley was born on September 26, 1947, near a place known as "XN" Cabin in the old C&O timetable. XN Cabin was located within the town of Prince, at the western portal of Stretcher's Neck Tunnel. The Plumley house was adjacent to "Apple Orchard Curve" where the C&O had built XN to protect trains in the then single track tunnel. XN was torn down in 1934 when the tunnel was double tracked. The C&O also had a tool house, motor car set-off, and section house in place.

To reach his first-grade classroom at Quinnimont, Marvin and his school mates had to walk the dark 1,588-foot concrete tunnel. A great feat for a seven year old! Finally a school was built at XN known as "Estuary School."

Marvin hired on with the C&O Railway on July 21, 1967, as a clerk on the Hinton extra board. He worked at different stations on the Hinton Division until he was able to get the job as swing clerk, working two nights at Prince, two nights at Hinton, and one night at White Sulphur Springs. Amtrak took these jobs over in 1978 and the passenger clerks were removed from Hinton and White Sulphur stations.

Marvin took the relief job at Prince, working five nights per week from October 1978 until October 1981. After being discontinued, and then reinstated, the Cardinal's schedule changed in January 1982 and Bob Morris, who had more seniority than Marvin, became the regular agent at Prince. On November 24, 1984, Bob Morris suffered a heart attack and Marvin transferred from signal cabin duty to become the agent at Prince. That was on December 12, 1984, and Marvin has been there ever since, a testament to his dedication.

Remembering 50 years

On Sunday June 30, 1996, members of the George Washington Chapter of the C&O Historical Society remembered the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Prince station. After train No. 50 had departed the station, a crowd of nearly 100 people assembled inside for a short ceremony presenting Marvin Plumley with a certificate commemorating the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Prince station and recognising Marvin's dedicated service to the C&O and Amtrak. Presenting the certificate was Matt Crouch, current president of the George Washington Chapter. Marvin accepted the certificate and gave a heartfelt talk remembering the years at Prince and how it has always been a part of his life. With a robust round of applause, the group went outside to enjoy a specially decorated cake that read "Prince, 50 Years." After the cake was consumed folks walked around and toured the station, which has changed very little over the years. Of special interest to attendees was Gary Burdette's displayed model of Prince station. Gary commemorated the event by having Marvin autograph the inside of the roof and validate the model with the station's validation punch. A great time was had by all that day.

An oft-quoted saying is, "time grinds along, yielding to no man." This is true for the Town of Prince and the Moderne-style station that was dedicated over a half-century ago. Amtrak Genesis engines have replaced the F40s. Chessie no longer proclaims "Sleep like a kitten" or "Purr-fect transportation." Chessie herself has turned the railroad over to CSX Transportation, which continues to haul black diamonds through the New River Gorge. Three days a week the Cardinal still makes her stops at Prince, carrying on a tradition from 1880 into the 21st century. All aboard!

Acknowledgments

This article is dedicated to Prince Ticket Agent Marvin Plumley.

Special thanks go to Doug Andre, Ken Miller, Tom Dixon, Herb Parsons, Bill Sparkmon, Jerry Doyle, and the rest of the "G. W. Chapter Gang."

by Matt Crouch

with Douglas Andre

Copyright Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society, Inc. Jan 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved