Ronald Sullivan
Published: 2017-03-15
Total Pages: 160
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Volume 2 of "If Rails Could Talk..." is the second of a planned eight volume series about the railroad logging along the Blue Ridge and adjoining North Carolina Smoky Mountains. In volume 2, there are the stories of logging the West Fork of the Pigeon River watershed by rail. Located near present day Lake Logan, the logging town of Sunburst, North Carolina is the center of the story that spans the years from 1906 through 1926. The book covers the extensive logging railroads built by Champion Lumber and Suncrest Lumber into the Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wildness and Areas. It also contains the story of the beginnings of the Champion Fibre Company. The book contains over 75 photographs, many published for the first time. Author Ron Sullivan, his wife Marilyn, and hiking partner Jerry Ledford spent many days hiking the old grades, most of them off of established trails and roads. They carefully used a GPS to trace the rail grades and transfer them to USGS topo maps. Edited by Gerald Ledford.