Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad

Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad
Locale North Carolina, USA
Dates of operation 1897 (1897)–1912 (1912)
Predecessor Aberdeen and West End Railroad and
Asheboro and Montgomery Railroad
Successor Norfolk Southern Railroad
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)[1]
Length 56 mi (90 km) mainline
82 mi (132 km) total[1][2]
Headquarters Biscoe, North Carolina[2]

The Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad (A&A), known locally as "Page's Road,"[2] was the conglomeration of two previous railroads built by the Page family of Aberdeen, North Carolina, at the turn of the 20th century.[3] The railroad ran 56 miles (90 km) to connect its namesake cities with a 20.75-mile long (33.39 km) branch connecting Biscoe to Troy and Mount Gilead and another branch connecting West End to Jackson Springs.[4][5][6][7]

Background

The first railroad built by the Pages, known as the Aberdeen and West End Railroad (A&WE), had been a logging railroad since about 1887.[8] Soon after this line connected Aberdeen and Pinehurst, shippers in Montgomery and Moore counties, who had been sending their freight by wagon to Manly on the Seaboard Air Line, created a demand for the A&WE to haul more than logs; this demand led to the line becoming a common carrier rather than an industrial line.[9] The line was also listed as carrying passengers on one train per day in each direction between Aberdeen and Candor by 1890.[10] It was extended from Aberdeen to Star, NC, and was completed in 1895.

In 1896, the Pages organized and built the Asheboro and Montgomery Railroad, which extended from Asheboro, NC, southward to Star.[9]

History

In 1897, the two lines merged to form the Asheboro and Aberdeen Railroad,[11] but was known as Aberdeen and Asheboro by the end of the year.[12] From the outset, only non-smokers were hired to work on the A&A; this was not out of health or safety concerns, but because its founder, A.F. Page, "not only did not tolerate dram drinking, but was equally opposed to cigarettes."[13]

On January 22, 1898, a runaway on the A&A occurred at Asheboro when a train's engine crew uncoupled the locomotive from the train without applying sufficient brakes on the cars; the cars were left on a hill while the engineer took the locomotive to a nearby water tower downhill. The collision pinned the engineer and fireman in the locomotive, both with non-fatal injuries.[14][15] The fireman in the accident, J.M. Burns, later died on February 10, after amputation of his injured leg.[16] Burns' family filed suit against the A&A seeking $2,500.[17] The case was settled in December 1900 with the judge awarding $3,125 to the Burns family.[18]

By March 1898, surveys had begun to extend the Troy branch to Mt. Gilead,[19] with construction beginning on April 20.[20] The extension opened later that year, appearing on timetables soon thereafter.[6]

As traffic grew on the line, rumors began circulating by the end of 1898 that passenger services would soon be doubled with two daily trains each direction.[21] The new trains began operating on January 3, 1899.[22]

The railroad's founder, Allison Francis Page, died on October 17, 1899.[8]

On December 12, 1899, the railroad's station at Millboro was destroyed by fire; the cause was not immediately known.[23]

Passenger services on the A&A continued to grow in 1900 with the addition of through services from the Southern Railway to Pinehurst over the A&A in February.[24] The addition of this service enabled passengers to ride from Pinehurst to New York with only one change of cars while en route.[25] To handle the increased traffic to Pinehurst, the A&A rebuilt the station there with a larger building opening in April 1900.[26] Soon after the through car service was added, rumors began to circulate that the A&A had been sold to a Northern interest, with some rumors saying that the Southern Railway had bought the A&A.[27] Henry Page, the A&A's president, was quick to deny the rumors in a letter to the newspaper that reported them,[28] and the rumors were further disproved through contact with the Southern Railway and denied by Southern's vice president, A.B. Andrews.[29] Southern's through service was initially handled by Southern Railway crews but was changed to A&A crews aboard the trains beginning on December 26, 1900.[30]

The Page sons sold their interest in the lumber mills served by the A&A to W.W. Mills of Carthage in 1900. Although it was reported that the sons would not "devote their entire time to the management of their railroad property," the impact of the Southern's through service was said to have "taken from the Seaboard the monopoly of Southern Pines and Pinehurst business."[31]

August 1900 brought a severe drought to the region, so negatively affecting the A&A's ability to fill its locomotives' boilers that some passenger services had to be annulled and the railroad was forced to warn freight shippers that they might not be able to move their cargo.[32][33] The effects of the drought, although severe, were not enough to stop the railroad's further expansion, with a branch from West End to Jackson Springs announced the following month,[34][35] and completed in early 1901.[4] Through service over the new branch to Jackson Springs from the Seaboard Railroad began on June 17, 1901.[36]

With more connections and greater service frequencies, other local railroads also sought to connect to the A&A with the Charlotte and Durham Railroad completing its line to Star in 1901.[37][38][39] But even with the increased demand for service over the A&A, both from local residents and from other railroad companies operating interchange and through service, the railroad's management refused to operate the railroad on Sundays.[40][41]

At a meeting of many area railroad officials in Raleigh on June 28, 1902, the A&A agreed to adopt per diem fees for freight cars in interchange service replacing mileage charges that were previously assessed.[42]

At a meeting of industry and political leaders on July 1, 1903, Robert N. Page, who by that time was a state congressman while also retaining his position as A&A secretary and treasurer, pledged A&A resources and logistics for use in the North Carolina state exhibit at the St. Louis Worlds Fair of 1904.[43] By August 1903, the A&A was valued at $330,000,[44] for which it was assessed $822 in taxes by the state.[45]

At the close of receivership for the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad in March 1904, Henry Page, the A&A president, was one of three executives, with R.T. Gray of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad and businessman W.T. Lee of Haywood, who were tasked with inspecting the A&NC property.[46]

On May 13, 1904, a major fire burned in Biscoe that destroyed the A&A's station, offices and restaurant there.[47][48]

An A&A passenger train derailed and fell down a small embankment near the Troy station on January 24, 1905, killing Reverend G.A. Oglesby, who was "one of the most prominent Methodist ministers in the state," and his son and injuring many more.[49] Early reports indicated that the rails had spread out of gauge to cause the accident,[50][51] which was called the worst in the A&A's history.[52] Cleanup of the wreckage lasted more than a week with crews working into February.[53] Representative Robert Page, who was still acting treasurer of the A&A was requested to be the administrator of Oglesby's estate after the accident, a position that was considered likely to cause a conflict of interest.[54][55]

In Summer 1905 the Page brothers purchased the electric streetcar company in Pinehurst; track gangs began removing some of the street trackage on Broad Street in September 1905. Rumors suggested that the streetcar line was going to be incorporated into the A&A system with a new Pinehurst station to be built in the city and the line would be operated by steam power with the rest of the railroad. This connection allowed the A&A to connect directly to the Seaboard Air Line at Pinehurst, in addition to its existing Southern Railway connections, and would enable additional through trains to be run to major markets.[56] By this time, there were as many as 11 A&A passenger trains serving Pinehurst daily.[57]

In 1906 the A&A opened a new Land and Industrial Department office, headed by Manly Luck, with the goal of increasing settlement along the A&A line.[58] Also in 1906, a new railroad line was planned to connect Carthage to a point on the A&A either in Pinehurst or West End.[59] By December it was known as the Carthage extension of the A&A.[60]

On December 3, 1906, the A&A was the scene of another derailment and wreck; around 6:00 a.m. local time, a special circus train for Spark's shows derailed at Roberdo, a flag stop four miles south of Troy. The cause of the accident was not immediately evident. A livestock handler riding in one of the train's horse cars was crushed to death when the car overturned and several horses landed on top of him; two other show workers were seriously injured. In the aftermath of the accident the A&A crew and the show crew got into a fight.[61] Members of the show crew placed blame for the accident on the train's conductor, Mr. Slack, and beat him senseless in the melee.[62]

The A&A later became part of the Norfolk Southern Railroad in 1912.[63]

References

  1. 1 2 The Railway Equipment & Publication Co. (1907). "Table Showing Miles Operated, Gauge and Rolling Stock Equipment of the Railroads of the United States, Canada and Mexico". The Pocket List of Railroad Officials. Primedia Information. 13 (2): 5. Retrieved December 30, 2015 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 3 "Visit to Troy". The Chatham Record. Pittsboro, NC. September 28, 1905. p. 3. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Aberdeen and Asheboro Ry. Co.". News and Observer. Raleigh, NC. August 24, 1899. p. 205. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "(untitled)". The Greensboro Patriot. Greensboro, NC. February 27, 1901. p. 4. Retrieved October 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Aberdeen & Asheboro R.R. Time Table". The Pinehurst Outlook. Pinehurst, NC. October 22, 1897. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 "Aberdeen & Asheboro R.R. Time Table". The Pinehurst Outlook. Pinehurst, NC. January 6, 1899. p. 7. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "A New Railroad Map". The Morning Post. Raleigh, NC. May 12, 1900. p. 8. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "Mr. A.F. Page Dead". Daily Concord Standard. Concord, NC. October 17, 1899. p. 2. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "The Pluck of the Pages". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. January 30, 1906. p. 9. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Aberdeen & West End R. R. Time Table". Montgomery Vidette. September 25, 1890. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Asheboro Courier". The Union Republican. Winston-Salem, NC. March 4, 1897. p. 3. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "The Caucasian and Mr. Page: Correction of Wrong Statements". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. October 3, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "State Press". The Wilmington Messenger. Wilmington, NC. December 29, 1899. p. 2. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "A Wreck at Asheboro". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. January 23, 1898. p. 8. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Winston Daily Journal (January 27, 1898). "A Horrible Accident on the Asheboro & Aberdeen Railroad". Webster's Weekly. Reidsville, NC. p. 2. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Fireman Burns Dies". The Western Sentinel. Winston-Salem, NC. February 10, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "The Cause of the Delay of Court". Daily Concord Standard. Concord, NC. July 26, 1899. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "(untitled)". The Greensboro Patriot. Greensboro, NC. December 12, 1900. p. 4. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "New Railroad in Montgomery County". County Union. Dunn, NC. March 9, 1898. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Short Statements". The Press-Visitor. Raleigh, NC. April 21, 1898. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "News in Brief". The Pinehurst Outlook. Pinehurst, NC. December 9, 1898. p. 5. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Better Train Service". The Pinehurst Outlook. Pinehurst, NC. January 6, 1899. p. 4. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Notes from High Point". Greensboro Telegram. Greensboro, NC. December 13, 1899. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Valuation of the State's Railroads". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, NC. January 1, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Aberdeen & Asheboro R.R.". The Pinehurst Outlook. Pinehurst, NC. January 5, 1900. p. 7. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "News in Brief". The Pinehurst Outlook. Pinehurst, NC. April 6, 1900. p. 4. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "The Aberdeen & Asheboro Sold?". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. January 30, 1900. p. 8. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Aberdeen & Asheboro Not Sold". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. January 31, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "(untitled)". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. February 1, 1900. p. 4. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ "(untitled)". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. December 26, 1900. p. 2. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Important Deal: The Southern Invades the Seaboard's North Carolina Territory". Virginian-Pilot (First ed.). Norfolk, VA. February 8, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Great Damage to Crops". The Wilmington Messenger. Wilmington, NC. August 21, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ "Millions Lost by the Drought in This State". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, NC. August 21, 1900. p. 2. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ↑ "Telegraphic Summary". The Wilmington Messenger. Wilmington, NC. September 26, 1900. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ↑ "The A.&A. to be Extended". Greensboro Telegram. Greensboro, NC. September 26, 1900. p. 2. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ↑ "Railroad Service to Jackson Spring". The North Carolinian. Raleigh, NC. June 13, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved October 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ↑ "(untitled)". The Chatham Record. Pittsboro, NC. April 25, 1901. p. 2. Retrieved October 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ "Spirits Turpentine". The Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, NC. May 17, 1901. p. 2. Retrieved October 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ↑ "Local Records: The D. & C. R. R.". Chatham Record. Pittsboro, NC. December 19, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved October 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ↑ "(untitled)". News and Observer. Raleigh, NC. August 30, 1903. p. 10. Retrieved November 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ↑ Johnson, Archibald (July 3, 1904). "Comments on Living Topics". News and Observer. Raleigh, NC. p. 5. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ↑ "Adopt Per Diem System". News and Observer. Raleigh, NC. June 29, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved October 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ↑ "Bright Prospects for Our Exhibit". The North Carolinian. July 2, 1903. p. 8. Retrieved November 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ↑ "The Net Earnings Confirm Stock Valuation". News and Observer. Raleigh, NC. August 5, 1903. p. 5. Retrieved November 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ↑ "(untitled)". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, NC. August 21, 1903. p. 6. Retrieved November 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. ↑ "Examiners Named". The North Carolinian. Raleigh, NC. March 13, 1904. p. 8. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ↑ "Biscoe is Burned". News and Observer. Raleigh, NC. May 14, 1904. p. 5. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  48. ↑ "Fifteen Thousand Dollar Fire at Biscoe". The Greensboro Patriot. Greensboro, NC. May 18, 1904. p. 3. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ↑ "Fatal Railway Wreck in North Carolina". Davenport Daily Republican. Davenport, IA. January 25, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  50. ↑ "Rails Spread". Belvidere Daily Republican. Belvidere, IL. January 25, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  51. ↑ "Wreck in North Carolina". The Galveston Daily News. Galveston, TX. January 25, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  52. ↑ "Wreck on A. and A. Railroad at Troy". The Morning Post. Raleigh, NC. January 25, 1905. p. 2. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ↑ "Montgomery County News". The Courier. Asheboro, NC. February 9, 1905. p. 4. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  54. ↑ "Capitol Chat". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. January 26, 1905. p. 2. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  55. ↑ "Will Have to Sue His Own Railroad". The Enterprise. Albemarle, NC. February 2, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  56. ↑ "Tearing Up Track". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. September 11, 1905. p. 9. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  57. ↑ "A. & A. Train Service". The Pinehurst Outlook. Pinehurst, NC. December 2, 1905. p. 18. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  58. ↑ "New Office of A. & A.". The Courier. Asheboro, NC. April 12, 1906. p. 5. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  59. ↑ "New Railroad for Carthage". The Wilmington Messenger. June 15, 1906. p. 3. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  60. ↑ "A Corking Hazard". The Pinehurst Outlook. Pinehurst, NC. December 1, 1906. p. 8. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  61. ↑ "Train Wrecked Near Troy". The Charlotte News. Charlotte, NC. December 3, 1906. p. 1. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  62. ↑ "Localettes". The Reidsville Review. Reidsville, NC. December 4, 1906. p. 3. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  63. ↑ Coleman, Alan (2008). Railroads of North Carolina. Arcadia Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 0738553360. Retrieved September 8, 2015 – via Google Books.
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