Station Number: 118
Code Number: 0178

Noel^* was named for John R. Noel because he sold the railroad permission to run the right-of-way through the middle of his plantation (Hanson, 1969). The ticket agency at Noel was closed in August of 1926. The 1937 Side Track Record showed only a waiting shed alongside the main, so the station was obviously torn down before then. In 1937, the passing siding in Noel (track number 843) was 2059' long. In the mid-1940’s it was lengthened to 4264'. The C&O asked for authority to discontinue handling freight at Noel in December of 1956. The waiting shed was retired in July of 1962, but still appeared on the 1963 track charts.

For many years, Noel was known world-wide for its post office, run for 76 years by a Mrs. W. T. Anderson. At Christmas time each year, Mrs. Anderson hand-stamped mail posted at Noel with an angel stamp and people from all over the world mailed their Christmas greetings to Mrs. Anderson to have them postmarked from Noel. The post office closed in 1969 when Mrs. Anderson retired.

*-I always pronounced this “know-ell” (as in Christmas), but locals invariably pronounce it as “knoll”.

This passenger shelter was moved from its location sometime after 1963. It is now in use as a storage shed on a nearby farm. (2002 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

This is the siding at Noel, facing east. (November 2001 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

This is the siding at Noel, facing west. (November 2001 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

This map was prepared from U.S.G.S. topological maps, C&O track charts dated 1963, C&O Side Track Records dated 1937, a copy of the Side Track Records updated through the 1990’s, and C&O Valuation maps, also updated through the 1990’s.

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