I am curious as to why O. Winston Link apparently did not photograph the N&W's North Carolina branch (Pulaski-Galax, VA). While not as scenic as the Abingdon branch, this line did have some nice scenery. I emailed Tony Reevy but have not yet gotten a response. Anyone have any background on this?

Thanks!

I don't know about Link not photographing that line, but I do know he made some sound recordings of it. They make up one side of his record, "2nd Pigeon and the Mockingbird." The recording in question is the "mockingbird" side, featuring a Y-6 struggling with 50 cars of wallboard. This engine can be heard from clear across a mountain, clawing its way up, dropping into simple for part of the way. There is an edited gap where the train is inaudible after coming over the crest; it picks up again as the train approaches the junction with the main line. After a stop and a restart with some wonderful slack action, the locomotive shoves the cars on an interchange track connecting the branch to the main. There is also a mockingbird on the record, making some beautiful sounds--but he's dubbed in! He was actually in Roanoke!

http://www.spikesys.com/Trains/owlink.html#records

http://www.amazon.com/2nd-Pigeon-Mockin ... B003YPPZSU

Pulled out my copy of "2nd Pigeon and the Mockingbird" to listen to that sequence. It was recorded on the Saltville Branch which joined the main line at Glade Springs, VA, not the Cripple Creek Extension which is the branch that left the main at Pulaski and ran to Galax.

The wallboard would have been produced at the U.S. Gypsum plant at Plasterco, VA, located on the branch.

U.S. Gypsum closed the plant and its nearby gypsum mine in the late '90s when they built a newer, lower cost facility in Bridgeport, AL.