The Beaver Dam Railroad

The Beaver Dam Railroad was born out of a need to transport cut lumber from the lumber mill of the Empire Lumber & Mining Company of Crandull, Tennessee, to outside markets. Chartered on August 6th, 1900, under the laws of Tennessee, this common carrier short line railroad was planned to be constructed from a connection with the Virginia-Carolina Railway at the Tennessee Virginia border to the lumber town of Crandull, Tennessee where the Empire Lumber & Mining Company had constructed a planning mill. The railroad officially opened for business on May 13th, 1901, Using a leased Virginia-Carolina Railway locomotive, a leased combination car, and a few logging spine cars. Initially, the railroad interchanged with the Virginia-Carolina Railway at the Tennessee Virginia state line. At its inception, tte Beaver Dam Railroad was controlled by the Empire Lumber & Mining Company though majority stock ownership.

Along with the Empire Lumber & Mining Company in Crandull, the Beaver Dam Railroad served the Tennessee Lumber Manufacturing Company in Sutherland, Tennessee. Serving these two businesses along with the numerous Manganese mines allowed the Beaver Dam Railroad to turn a profit early in its operating history. In 1902, the Acme-Bark Extract Company opened in West Damascus on the Virginia-Carolina Railway State Line Branch. Even though the Beaver Dam Railroad didn't directly serve the plant, this new factory generated traffic as lumber was shipped from the various mills on the railroad to the extract plant for processing. In 1905, the Acme-Bark Extract Company was taken over by the Smethport Extract Company. The new owners of this plant would soon become the saving grace for the Beaver Dam Railroad.

Unfortunately, both the Empire Lumber & Mining Company and the Tennessee Lumber Manufacturing Company were clear cutting operations so the Beaver Dam Railroad's prosperity was not going to last. Between 1909 and 1910, the Empire Lumber & Mining Company slowed and ultimately ended production at the Crandull mill. In 1914, the Tennessee Lumber Manufacturing Company ceased all operations at its facility in Sutherland. The numerous Manganese mines the railroad served were also playing out during this time. All these closures culminated with the abandonment of the railroad from the Tennessee Virginia state line to Crandull in 1918. However, the railroad wasn't entirely abandoned just yet.

On February 21st, 1910, the Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia was chartered under the laws of Virginia. This new railroad was incorporated by the Smethport Extract Company to operate the various lines once controlled by the Empire Lumber & Mining Company. These included the original Beaver Dam Railroad from the Tennessee Virginia State Line to Crandull, TN, and the Crandull & Shady Valley Railroad from Crandull, TN, to Shady Valley, TN. Along with those two lines, the Virginia-Carolina Railway branch from State Line Junction, VA to the Tennessee Virginia State Line was leased for a period of 25 years to the new Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia for an annual fee of $500. All of these lines were officially leased to the Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia beginning on April 1st, 1911. The original Beaver Dam Railroad route from the Tennessee Virginia State Line to Crandull became the Beaver Dam Railroad of Tennessee. By July 30th, 1913, the total millage of the Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia was 16.12 miles of mainline and 1.16 miles of spurs and sidings. Beginning in 1910, this branch was leased to the Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia. Under ownership of the Smethport Extract Company, the Beaver Dam Railroad officially purchased one locomotive and two passenger cars for service to the plant. All freight cars continued to be leased. In 1918, timber reserves bordering the Beaver Dam Railroad of Tennessee were just about done. This caused the Smethport Extract Company to abandon the entire Tennessee segment which included both the former Crandull & Shady Valley Railroad as well as the original Beaver Dam Railroad. The newer Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia from the Tennessee Virginia State Line to State Line Junction continued to be utilized as the Smethport Extract Company's plant was located near the State Line. In April of 1929, the Smethport Extract Company finally shut down the Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia for the final time due to the convenience of shipping by road. The railroad was promptly torn up and rolling stock sold. 

The Smethport Extract Company facility continued to operate into the 1980s under various different corporate banners including Bayer Chemical. All that remains of the factory today is a field. Interestingly, parts of the Beaver Dam Railroad right of way adjacent to the property have been converted into a trail. Nothing else significant survives of the railroad or the lumber businesses that once operated in the Shady Valley. Much of the right of way south of Damascus has been converted into a road. This includes the stretch that passes through Backbone Tunnel, long considered the shortest railroad tunnel in North America. The Beaver Dam Railroad is an interesting study because it demonstrates how some railroads built for a single purpose were able to survive thanks to factors that appeared much later. 

Corporate History

Created: 

• Beaver Dam Railroad Chartered under the laws of Tennessee on August 6th, 1900. First train ran on May 13th, 1901. Later became Beaver Dam Railroad of Tennessee when the Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia was chartered in 1910.

• Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia chartered on February 21st, 1910.

Dissolved: 

• Beaver Dam Railroad of Tennessee abandoned in 1918.

• Crandull & Shady Valley Railroad abandoned in 1918.

• Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia abandoned in April of 1929.

Start Point: 

• Tennessee Virginia state line (1901-1911) 

• West Damascus, VA (1911-1929) (Located in Damascus, VA) (Portion of route from junction with Virginia-Carolina Railway in Damascus to the Tennessee Virginia state line was leased from the Virginia-Carolina and later Norfolk & Western Railway beginning in 1910. South of the state line, the right of way was owned by the Beaver Dam Railroad of Tennessee.)

End Point:

• Crandull, TN (1901-1911)

• Shady, TN (1911-1918)

• Smethport Extract Co. Plant - Extract, VA (1918-1929)

Other Lines: Owned various spurs along the line. Poor's Manual states the Beaver Dam Railroad had 1.16 miles of spurs and sidings in 1910.

Interchanges

• Virginia-Carolina Railway at the Tennessee Virginia state line (1901-1911)

• Virginia-Carolina Railway at West Damascus, Virginia (1911-1919)

• Norfolk & Western Railway at West Damascus, Virginia (1919-1929)

• Crandull & Shady Valley Railroad at Crandull, TN (1910-1918) (Technically an interchange because the railroad was a separate entity, the two companies were both owned by the Empire Lumber & Mining Company later Smethport Extract Co. and operated in tandem. The railroad was leased by the Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia in 1910 but it'll stay on this list for understanding purposes.)

Gauge: 4 ft. 8.5 In

Total Length:

• 8.52 miles of mainline (Poor's Manual 1910)

• 16.12 miles of mainline (Poor's Manual 1913) (Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia full mainline State Line Jct - Shady Valley) 

• 1.42 miles of mainline (Poor's Manual 1925)

Headquarters: 

• Operation and corporate headquarters in Crandull, TN, until around 1910. Moved to Damascus, VA, around this time.

Owners:

• Empire Lumber & Mining Company (1901-1910) (Empire Lumber & Mining Co. was itself a property of the George M. Craig Lumber Co. of New York. George F. Craig is listed as a director in Poor's Manual of 1910.)

• Smethport Extract Company (1910-1929)

Presidents:

• George F. Craig (1902-1909) (Arbitration case against Virginia-Carolina Railway 1905) (George F. Craig owned the Empire Lumber & Mining Co.)

• Clarence A. Backer (1910-1925) (Poor's Manual 1910) (Clarence A. Baker was the owner of the Smethport Extract Co.)

Predecessors:

• The Virginia-Carolina Railway's State Line branch from State Line Junction, VA, (In Damascus) to the Tennessee Virginia State Line was leased beginning on April 1st, 1911, for $500 annually.

• The Crandull & Shady Valley Railroad was leased beginning on April 1st, 1911, for $250 annually.

• The Beaver Dam Railroad of Tennessee (Original Beaver Dam Railroad) was leased beginning on April 1st, 1911, for $250 annually.

Successors: The Beaver Dam Railroad of Virginia, the last rendition of the railroad, was abandoned in April of 1929.

Other Equipment:

• As listed in the Annual Report of the Railroad Commissioner of the State of Virginia (1901), the Beaver Dam Railroad contracted the use of 1 locomotive, 1 combination car, and a crew to run 6 days a week from the Tennessee Virginia State Line to Crandull and back for an annual rent of $300. Equipment and personnel were all rented from the Virginia-Carolina Railway.

• As listed in the Official Railway Equipment Register Volume 20, Issue 4 (1905), the Beaver Dam Railroad owned seven 50,000 pound flat cars numbered #101 to #107 and six 60,000 pound gondolas numbered #210 to #215 in February of 1904. Flat cars were for the transportation of lumber while the gondolas were for the transportation of manganese ore.

• As listed in the Official Railway Equipment Register, the Beaver Dam Railroad hauled, but did not own, 10 tank cars which transported tannic acid from the Smethport Extract Company's facility in Damascus, VA. The registry records the numbers for these cars as #100 through #109 all lettered as "Smethport Extract Co., Inc., Damascus, Va,".

• NOTE: Locomotive Specifics such as Driver Diameter, Cylinder Dimensions, and Engine Weight are to be taken with a grain as salt and NOT be taken for fact. I do the best I can in compiling rosters, but sometimes information just can't be confirmed without original primary source documents from the locomotive manufacturers. - Nick Jobe