The history of the Big Stony Railway Company is definitely what one would label as being "Short but Sweet". Most well known as being part of the Norfolk & Western Railway's Potts Valley Branch, the Big Stony Railway was chartered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia on January 16th, 1892 and officially organized in 1894. Originally built between Big Stony Junction, Virginia, near Ripplemead, and Interior, Virginia, the line was built with the idea that it wouldn't be used for transporting coal, like it's neighboring routes, but for transporting iron which was plentiful in the region the railroad planned to serve. Historically, the railroad would also be used to transport virgin timber which was common along the proposed right of way.

 One company that utilized the railroad was the Tri-State Lumber Company which used an incline system to lift narrow gauge skeleton log cars to areas with available timber. The logs would then be transferred to the standard gauge cars of the Big Stony at a place called Ray's Siding, West Virginia, and be transported to wherever the market was located. In 1906, two other independent railroad companies were formed connecting to the Big Stony. One of which, the Interior & West Virginia Railroad, was chartered to construct a rail line from a connection with the Big Stony at Interior about 6 miles to Waiteville, West Virginia. Connecting with the Interior & West Virginia Railroad was the second railroad, the Virginia & Potts Creek Railroad, which was built from Waiteville, West Virginia, to Paint Bank, Virginia. 

On June 21st, 1910, the stockholders of the Interior & West Virginia Railroad, and the Virginia & Potts Creek Railroad (Stock was held by chief N&W officials foreshadowing a takeover) decided to sell both railroads to the Big Stony Railway Company. The same shareholders finally decided that on December 9th, 1910, the Big Stony would officially be deeded to the Norfolk & Western Railway and become it's Potts Valley Branch. After the timber and iron in the region dried up, the railroad hung on until July of 1932 when finally, the line was abandoned from Paint Bank, Virginia, to Kimballton, Virginia, with a five mile spur still surviving to serve a limestone mine now controlled by Lhoist America.