Historic Furnishings Report: Thurmond Passage Depot and Offices--New River Gorge National River

252 Pages·1993·11.7 MB·English

by  Caplinger, Michael

29.88/2-2: T 42
I
Historic Furnishings Report
THURMOND PASSENGER DEPOT AND OFFICES
NEW RIVER GORGE
National River/West Virginia
U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation
http://archive.org/details/historicfurnishiOOcapl
DEPOSITORY ITEM
NUV q 1994
CLEMSON
HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT
f.lBJ^RY
THURMOND PASSENGER DEPOT AND OFFICES
New River Gorge National River
Thurmond, West Virginia
Prepared by
Michael W. Caplinger
Institute for the History ofTechnology
and Industrial Archaeology
West Virginia University
Under contract for
National Park Service
Harpers Ferry Center
Division of Historic Furnishings
1993
-
APPROVED:
John Reynolds
Regional Director, Mid-Atlantic Region
April 2, 1993
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
vii
ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1
INTERPRETIVE OBJECTIVES
1
PRIOR PLANNING DOCUMENTS
2
HISTORICAL DATA
3
STRUCTURAL HISTORY
3
ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL OCCUPANCY/FIRST FLOOR 9
Baggage Room 9
Express Room 10
Union News and Lunch Room 11
Waiting Rooms 12
Ticket Office 13
ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL OCCUPANCY/SECOND FLOOR 15
Yard Master's Office 16
Conductors' Room 20
Telegraph Office 22
Track Supervisor's Office 26
Car Distributor's Office 27
Chief Clerk's Office 28
Train Master's Office 29
McKell Coal and Coke Office 29
East Office 29
General Depot Life 30
C&O
Furnishings Context 34
Acquisition of Furniture 36
Office Supplies, Office Machines, Stationery, and Ephemera .... 39
EVIDENCE OF ROOM USE AND FURNISHINGS 42
FIRST FLOOR 42
Baggage Room (101 & 102) 43
Express Room (103) 44
Union News and Lunch Room (106) 44
Men's Waiting Room (107) 45
Women's Waiting Room (110) 45
Ticket Office (109) 46
SECOND FLOOR
47
Yard Master's Office (201) 48
Conductors' Room (202) 48
in
Telegraph Office (203) 49
Track Supervisor's Office (206) 50
File Room (208) 50
Toilet (209) 51
Car Distributor's Office (210) 51
Chief Clerk's Office (211) 51
Train Master's Office (212) 51
McKell Coal and Coke Company Offices (214) 52
East Office (215) 52
FURNISHING PLAN
53
RECOMMENDED FURNISHINGS and WORKING DRAWINGS 53
Baggage Room (101 & 102) 53
Men's Waiting Room (107) 60
Women's Waiting Room (110) 64
Ticket Office (109) 68
Yard Master's Office (201) 75
Telegraph Office (203) 82
Train Master's Office (212) 90
ILLUSTRATIONS
97
APPENDIXES
175
APPENDIX A Job Descriptions
APPENDIX B C&O Supplies and Stationery Catalogue, ca.1940
APPENDIX C Historic Floor Plans
BIBLIOGRAPHY
179
IV
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
DEPOT INTERIORS
1. Baggage room, unknown C&O/L&N depot, 1945.
2. Baggage wagon, unknown C&O depot, ca.1945.
3. Baggage room, unknown C&O depot, ca.1945.
4. Baggage room & storage Area, C&O depot at Newport, Kentucky.
5. Waiting room, unknown C&O/N&W depot, ca.1945.
6. Waiting room, unknown C&O/N&W depot, ca.1945.
7. Waiting room & ticket window, unknown C&O/N&W depot, ca.1945.
8. Waiting room & lavatory door, unknown C&O depot, ca.1945.
9. Waiting room & lavatory doors, unknown C&O depot, ca.1945.
10. Ticket window, unknown C&O depot, ca.1945.
11. Ticket office, C&O depot at Huntington, West Virginia, 1946.
12. Ticket/operator office, depot at Erie, Pennsylvania, 1915.
13. Operator at Prince, West Virginia, C&O depot, 1923.
14. Agent/operator office, C&O depot at Pratt, West Virginia, 1925.
15. Agent/operator office at Solway, Minnesota, ca.1912.
16. Agent/operator office, C&O depot Renick, West Virginia, 1958.
17. Yard office, Western Maryland R.W., Hagerstown, Pennsylvania, ca.1948.
18. Operator at desk, Western Maryland R.W., ca.1955.
19. Operator/Agent office in B&O depot, Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia,
ca.1955.
20. Train master's office, Clifton Forge C&O depot, ca.1935.
21. Train master's office, Clifton Forge C&O depot, ca.1935.
DEPOT FURNISHINGS
22. Standard swivel chair, with rollers, Hinton Railroad Museum.
23. Standard straight back chair, Hinton Railroad Museum.
24. Flat top desk, currently in women's waiting room, Thurmond Depot.
25. Standard wooden filing cabinet, Hinton Railroad Museum.
26. Standard wooden locker, Hinton Railroad Museum.
27. Storage cabinet, Hinton Railroad Museum.
28. Remington No. 12 typewriter with stand and office supplies, Hinton Railroad
Museum.
29. 1913 Western Electric "candlestick" telephone, C&O Historical Society.
C&O
30. Telegraph relay, Historical Society.
C&O
31. Telegraph sending/receiving equipment, Historical Society.
32. Fire extinguisher, ca.1930. Hinton Railroad Museum.
33. Train order snatch pole, Hinton Railroad Museum.
C&O C&O
34. lantern, Historical Society.
35. C&O standard drawing, waiting room bench, 1923.
C&O
36. standard drawing, straight back chair, 1928.
C&O
37. standard drawing, safes, 1928.
C&O
38. standard drawing, steel lockers, 1930.
VI
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report would not have been possible without the aid of numerous individuals
who gave their time, patience, and advice. National Park Service personnel, namely
David Wallace and Kam Sloan at the Division ofHistoric Furnishings at the Harpers
Ferry Center, Loretta Schmidt and Reba Scott at the New River Gorge National
River, and Mike Hunter at the New River Support Office; Tom Dixon and the staff
C&O
at the Historical Society; the staffat the Institute for the History ofTechnology
and Industrial Archaeology, particularly Stacie Webb, who aided in research at the
C&O Historical Society; Dorothy Boley at the Hinton Railroad Museum; the staff of
the Pocahontas County Tourism Commission at Marlinton, West Virginia;
interviewers Paul Nyden, Ken Sullivan, Jim Worsham, and the railroad employees
they interviewed in the early 1980s; and, especially, the Reverend Stewart Frazier,
who was kind enough to walk through the Thurmond Depot on two extremely hot
summer days and share freely the memories ofhis youth. To all involved, a heartfelt
"thanks."
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