One of the men behind the railroad: Decatur Axtell, C&O vice president

Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Magazine, Apr 1999 by Wiley, Christopher W

Decatur Axtell, described as being "prominent in the social life of Virginia," started off with the C&O in 1891 as the 2nd Vice President (the number three man in charge of the railroad). Becoming the sole Vice President in 1899, he served the C&O as a Vice President for 29 years. (1 pg 1)

In 1888 the C&O was in the midst of its second reorganization, without foreclosure. The railroad moved from the control of Collis P. Huntington to that of the Vanderbilts and J.P. Morgan. In an effort to call attention to the new regime and to give the C&O a new image, a new president was put in place. (2 pg270) "Since the Morgan and Vanderbilt interests already held some first mortgage bonds of the R&A when they bought out Huntington, they felt that the consolidation (of the R&A and the C&O railroads) would be a natural step." (2 pg98)

Melville E. Ingalls was appointed president of the C&O Railway by Court order in October 1888. "One of the new president's first acts when he took charge of the property was to acquire the Richmond & Alleghany Railroad, which he began to operate in May 1889, and started preparations to open it for C&O traffic." (3 pg28) (4 ch8 pg37)

"The opening of the Cincinnati Division, the advent of Mr. Ingalls, and his acquisition of the Richmond & Alleghany Railway, marked the beginning of a new era for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. It became, all at once by that acquisition, the road of the lowest grades between the coal fields and tidewater, of all the transappalachian lines." (3 pg20)

And Decatur Axtell was one of the most important persons who brought it all together for the new Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. After the C&O took over the R&A, M.E. Ingalls appointed Axtell as 2nd Vice President to serve as the number three man in the new C&O organization. George Stevens was directly under Ingalls in his organization giving Axtell the responsibility of the executive side of the railroad. Axtell brought things together and carried the railroad on through the early 1900s. (5)

While doing research on the C&O's James River Subdivision and the predecessor railroad Richmond & Alleghany, ll; became intrigued with this man named Decatur Axtell. It seemed that he was involved in a little bit of everything and he always developed a clever solution to the obstacles in front of him.

Living between 1848 and 1922, the following was written about Decatur Axtell in the book, Men of Mark in Virginia, published in 1909: "It will thus be seen that much of the larger part of Mr. Axtell's life has been given to efficient and productive services in the Southern states, and that about two-thirds of his adult years have been spent in building up interest and advancing the prosperity of the state and city of his adoption. It is pleasant to say that his fellow citizens of the Old Dominion recognize his work with grateful appreciation, and regard him not only as a most valuable agent in material development of this section of the country, but also as a gentleman of worth and culture whom it is a privilege to know." (6 pg20)

Harry Frazier wrote in his book, Recollections (1937), the following description of Axtell: "He was a quiet but discerning gentleman, modest and retiring always, and one who never jumped at conclusions about anything without painstaking care and investigation. He was the flywheel which maintained steady and smooth movement in those departments thoughout all of the years that followed before his retirement in 1918, and his influence was felt in other departments during all of that time." (3 pg62)

At the suggestion of his father, he started his railroad career at age 16. He started as a rodman on a corps of civil engineers engaged in the construction of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. His desire to "stand in the front rank of his profession," quickly moved him to assistant engineer and division superintendent of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad. "He afterwards became chief engineer of the Cario, Arkansas and Texas, consolidated at a later date with the Iron Mountain." (6 pg20)

Decatur Axtell, C.R. Mason, and W.A. Kuper (the latter two being civil engineers for the C&O from the beginning of the railroad) were contractors for the extension of the C&O Railway Between Covington and White Sulphur Springs in the late 1860s. This work included the tunnels at Jerry's Fill and Lewis Tunnel (2 pg6l, 62; Richmond Dispatch 8-27-1868).

Axtell was called to start with the Richmond & Alleghany in 1880 as the railroad's General Manager and moved to Richmond Virginia. (5 ch II pg11) He supervised the construction and operation of this railroad. While with the R&A he was general manager, vice-president, receiver, and director. (6 pg20) (The R&A would eventually become the James River Subdivision and the Rivanna Subdivision of the C&O in 1890.)

His involvement with the R&A had a tremendous impact on the fledgling railroad. Perhaps he is best known for his engineering of the "sunken track" in Lynchburg. The R&A tracks had to cross the N&W's already established main line. There were two major obstacles. First, the R&A railroad owned land associated with the canal, but the water in the canal had to be maintained as part of the R&A's obligation to provide water power to Lynchburg's industries along the canal (as specified in the charter of the railroad). Second, the N&W was a competing east-west railroad that would not allow the R&A to cross its tracks. When the R&A was being built, this hostile conflict could only be resolved by state legislation. However, this legislation only allowed the R&A to use a temporary track in conjunction with the Virginia Midland for three years (Va. Midland was a predecessor to the Southern). After that, the R&A had to develop their own solution.