This is a new Rail Trail following the trackline of the Potts Railroad for around 4.5 miles.. Following the Civil War surveyors began looking for a gentle grade crossing of the Eastern Continental Divide to connect iron and manganese ore mines in this valley to the main railroad on the New River near Pearisburg. By 1909 a railline followed Stony Creek from the New River over the mountain to Waiteville and the Potts Creek Valley.
The 38 mile rail line operated as the Potts Valley Branch of the Norfolk and Western Railway. Soon after opening it became apartent that it was cheaper to produce metal using ore and furnaces in the Great Lakes Region. The railroad turned its attention to the vast stands of virgin timber on the valley slopes. By 1920 most of the first growth timber had been cut and demand for lumber was decreasing.
The railroad hung on for another 12 years to carry passangers, livestock, mail, and agricultural supplies. By 1932 its operators received permission to abandon the line and take up the track. Seventy-eight years later the Trail was opened.
This is a clear one liter bottle with the usual variety of swag.