Transportation
15
The railroad station at Foster Falls stood along a rail section branching from Norfolk and Southern's Radford Division Line near Pulaski. This extension ran south and branched to Galax and Fries. Known as the Cripple Creek extension, it was developed by the New River Plateau Railroad Company to reach mineral deposits near Speedwell Furnace. The Cripple Creek extension began in 1882 and reached Speedwell in 1906, incorporating Galax. Tracks branched off at Cripple Creek and followed the New River to carry supplies to the Fries textile mill, reaching Fries in 1901. The Foster Falls section was completed by 1886, and the station operated until closing in 1956-57. In 1889, the New River Plateau Railroad Company was absorbed by the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company and became the North Carolina Branch of the Cripple Creek extension. The North Carolina extension closed in 1985 and was later donated to become the New River Trail.
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