After departing Hampton Junction through Tunnel No.1, the G&B continues west towards the End of the B&O's World and the lower coal fields around Erbacon and Cowen. The mainline follows French Creek southwest to Adrian, WV, where it joins the old Coal and Coke RR's right of way just east of the small town. About a mile west of Adrian is a short spur that serves the inactive Adrian Mine, although interestingly the spur is still listed in the recent editions of the Cowen Subdivision timetable. The G&B continues west from here in the small Bull Run Valley until the railroad encounters two different ridges in less than two miles resulting in the short Abbott and Jones Tunnels. On the western side of Jones Tunnel is another small town, Frenchton, WV, that contains a short 2850 ft passing siding which is the usual eastern limit of the Burnsville Helper territory. Helpers usually cutoff to the east of the road crossing in town after shoving loaded drags up the Orlando Grade from Burnsville. Below Frenchton the Cowen Sub enters a new watershed and pass through the short 427 ft French Hill Tunnel as the railroad descends along the West Fork River to the backwaters of the Stonewall Jackson Lake near Crawford, WV. A relatively flat 5512 ft passing siding is located here that stretches west to the small town of Walkersville, WV.
Over the next several miles the railroad continues high and dry above the lake on fills and bridges before the line crosses the backwater and enters the 1887.5 ft Jacksonville Tunnel. The tunnel allows the railroad to exit the West Fork Valley and enter another watershed, the Clover Fork Valley, resulting in an uphill climb for eastbound loaded trains out of Burnsville requiring the use of helpers. The G&B drops downgrade from the tunnel along the northern side of the Clover Fork valley passing through the small town of Chapman before entering the Oil Creek valley near Orlando, WV. Before World War II the WV&P's Richwood main crossed the Coal and Coke's track at Orlando resulting in the WV&P being located on the opposite side of the Oil Creek Valley to Burnsville. The town of Burnsville, WV, is situated at the confluence of Oil Creek and the Little Kanawha River and serves four important roles for CSX today: 1) Helper layover and dispatching terminal, 2) a location for passing or relieving trains at its 5460 ft long passing siding, 3) a terminal for a local to work the nearby Weyhauser Plant at Heaters, WV, and finally 4) a stop for road crews to take a break before getting the rest of the DTC blocks towards their destination. The Cowen Subdivision enters the Burnsville Yard Limits from the northeast and splits at the eastern switch of a wye, where the Elk Industrial Track (former B&O Elk Subdivision) continues west on the straight leg of the wye towards Gilmer Station and an interchange with the now inactive Elk River Railroad. The Heaters Turn's cars are usually kept on the far side of the straight leg of the wye on the Elk Main or the stub Gasco Siding, while the helpers are usually kept on the leg of the wye itself. The Cowen Subdivision leaves the C&C right of way as it continues south from the wye through Burnsville where it reaches the eastern end of the Burnsville Siding on the far side of the Little Kanawha River bridge. The railroad heads south from the Burnsville siding over the former West Virginia and Pittsburgh right of way twisting along the bottom land of the Salt Lick Creek through the small communities of Gem and Rollyson. Near Rollyson the railroad leaves the Salt Lick valley and enters the Right Fork of Salt Lick valley where the grade remains relatively flat. A few miles further south at Heaters is the rather new Weyerhaeuser Plant that receives empty boxcars from CSX to fill with its products for shipment back north at least several times each week. Near the old location of Berry Siding below Heaters, the G&B begins to climb out of the Right Fork Valley towards Flatwoods, WV, on an westbound ascending grade, but since this climb is against empty trains, no helper is required. At Flatwoods, WV, the line leaves the old WV&P right of way when it enters the deep Flatwoods Cut that was blasted out in the 1950s as part of a grade reduction following the "Sutton Lake Bypass". From this cut, the railroad continues south on a relatively gentle roller coaster grade across the hills and valleys until it reaches the shore of Sutton Lake about four miles west of Flatwoods. For the next five miles, the Cowen line remains high above the water until it crosses over the lake via the Elk Bridge and immediately enters the 565 ft Elk Tunnel on the other side. The railroad continues to follow Sutton Lake for another five miles to the small town of Centralia, WV and th 5250 ft long Centralia passing siding where the Cowen main rejoins the old WV&P right of way and turns south into the Laurel Creek Valley which it will follow for the next twenty miles to Cowen. As many as three mines ranging from small to medium size operations were active between Centralia and Prestonia during the 1960s and 1970s, but these closed soon into the 1980s. From Prestonia the railroad continues south through an isolated and uninhabited section of Laurel Creek until it reaches the small town of Erbacon, WV, which marks the northern boundary of the active lower Cowen coal fields. Until 1999, two major mines could be found within five mines of Erbacon, although Anker Energy's Brooks Run -1 Mine is the only one active today.
A 5100 ft passing / storage siding is also located in Erbacon, with a short branch diverging from the main at the west end of the siding to serve the Brooks Run -1 Mine. Less than two miles below the town is the second Erbacon area mine, the Juliana Mine, which shutdown during the summer of 1999 due to a lack of coal reserves. From Juliana, the G&B continues south along the Laurel Creek bottomland to Arcola, WV, where the railroad begins a steep westbound climb near 2% out of the valley. To gain elevation, the line is literally cut into the hill side on a steep shelf that follows every twist and turn of the valleyside, resulting in westbound empty trains grinding upgrade if Grafton was less than generous with the power assignments. Going downhill is often a problem too, with runaways occuring all too often for train crews, not to mention burned up traction motors and nerves. After the four mile grade, the railroad enters the Cowen Yard Limits near the community of Halo, WV, where the single track main splits into two tracks to provide a loading track for the Evergreen Mine at the throat of the East Cowen Yard. At one time, the East Yard was used to assemble trains for and from the mines around Cowen but with the decline of the mining industry, the eight tracks are now used to load and store cuts of hoppers from Evergreen trains. At the western end of the East Yard is the small Cowen Yard Office which serves as a southern base of operations for the Cowen Subdivision, inaddition to a crew dispatching location for the Cowen District crews. A wye that once connected the Cowen Subdivision with the Williams River Subdivision still exists which sees occasional use for turning road power, although the Williams River Subdivision that now connects to the Cowen Subdivision's Williams River Industrial track two miles further east is no longer active. The old B&O shop building still stands in the middle of the wye near WN Tower, although it now sees bad order hoppers instead of locmotives - in fact, CSX no longer does locomotive servicing or any repairs other than minor jobs at Cowen, resulting in power having to be fueled, sanded, and ok'd before leaving the terminal in Grafton. To the west side of the wye is the West Cowen Yard containing three yard tracks, the main and wye tracks and a runaround allowing trains from Grafton to have their power moved to the east end. From the West Yard, the Cowen Subdivision continues through the town allowing trains head room before reaching the Cowen Subdivision's end several miles farther west at MP BUC119. The old Richwood Subdivision continues south from here to Allingdale and a connection with the SC&M, although this line has not seen any revenue freight traffic since 1996. In 1997 CSX sold the Richwood Sub and a section of the SC&M line it owned to the Gauley River Railroad, a paper company that never did operate the line. After several years of letting the paper settle, the GRIV / CSX abandoned the line below Cowen forcing the seperate SC&M RR to do the same. Currently the line sits dorminant awaiting a scrapper and rail train with the NTSB's stamp of approval. Although today's Cowen Yard has a much smaller and downsized role since its construction in the late steam years, the terminal remains active and will continue so as long as the Brooks Run and Evergreen Mines still give CSX a reason to permit its existance, continuing its role at the End of The World for over fifty years.
|
[Click to enlarge]
A westbound empty T824 with two SD70MACs is nearing Abbott, WV, as it heads west towards Burnsville on the old Coal and Coke right of way.
[Click to enlarge]
Cowen Turn E133 is racing west at Frenchton with SD70MAC #700 on the point and another SD70MAC and GP38-2 (Heaters Turn power) trailing with 80 empties for loading at one of the lower mines. Jones Tunnel dating back to the days of the C&C Railroad cuts through the ridge in the background.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Chris Strogen. A Grafton bound Heaters Turn has taken the siding at Frenchton to await the arrival of a westbound Cowen Turn on a dreary winter day in the late 90s.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Chris Strogen. Christmas is in the air as three SD60s making up the Burnsville Helper shove a loaded B&LE T800 upgrade east of Chapman on December, 18th, 1997. Jacksonville Tunnel is located around the bend in the background.
[Click to enlarge]
In the days before AC locomotives, the Chessie System often relied on several six and four axle units on the Burnsville Helper. Just east of Orlando, Western Maryland GP40 #3798 is the trailing unit in the helper as it shoves a loaded drag upgrade in the summer of 1985.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Randy Strogen. It's the 1980s and Chessie power is not yet classic, as the three units on the point of this northbound drag begin the climb up the mountain to Jackonsville just east of the Burnsville wye.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Brad Moyers. The 90s version of the Burnsville Helper includes three SD60s - complete in the YN1 paint scheme. These units are sitting on the straight leg of the wye with the Elk Industrial Track behind the photographer and the mainline to the right behind the units.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Randy Strogen. On the evening of March 28th, 1999,
the CSX Avoca Turn is dropping off empty hoppers for the Elk River Railroad units at Gilmer Station. The Elk River bought the old B&O Elk Subdivision between Gilmer Station and Charleston from CSX in the early 1990's, with the promise of a new mine being built near Duck, WV. This mine never came about and the ELKR relied instead on coal coming from the Avoca coal mine near Dundon, WV. Unfortunately, the railroad ceased operations in August of 1999 following the mine's coal not meeting the required AEP standards.
[Click to enlarge]
An eastbound U800 with two CSX SD70MACs have pulled onto the Burnsville siding to meet a westbound T980 on this early April day. Trains from Cowen or Hampton Junction often only get the DTC blocks into the Burnsville Yard Limits, where they then get their next set of orders from the CI Dispatcher.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Brad Moyers.
A westbound Cowen empty train is pulling off the Burnsville passing siding onto the main track and the GEM DTC block. In another two hours, this train will arrive in Cowen barring another meet or other delays.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Scott Lothes. One of the classic shots on the lower Cowen Subdivision is a near horseshoe curve near Rollyson. On a bright October day, a westbound T824 is wrapped around the curve with empties bound for a late evening loading at Evergreen mine.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Randy Strogen. A good amount of CSX power on the Cowen Subdivision is AC and this train on March, 13th, 1999, is no exception. Two SD70MACs are Cowen bound as it heads west near Rollyson with E133-19, Grafton to Cowen empties.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Scott Lothes. The same T824 seen a few shots above is winding across the bottomland of the meandering Salt Lick Creek Valley near the Weyerhaeuser Plant at Heaters. This section of the Cowen line is relatively flat, although within a few miles the two SD70MAC will be powering up for the climb over the ridge at Flatwoods.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Chris Strogen. The B705 Heaters Turn power is heading up the short, but steep industrial spur to the Weyerhaeuser Plant at Heaters in this view from Rt 19. The three SD60s are the Burnsville Helper power, which CSX often uses to switch the plant, along with westbound Cowen Turns and single locomotives out of Burnsville.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Brad Moyers. An empty AEPX Turn with CSX #7554 in the lead has reached the summit of the westbound Flatwoods Grade as it passes the Agents Spur near Shaversville.
[Click to enlarge]
CSX #756 and #7381 are just over the summit as they pull ninety AEPX empties west on this T980 through the Flatwoods Cut. This section of the line was rebuilt in the late 1950s to ease the eastbound Flatwoods grade, which required helpers on all loaded trains from Centralia.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Scott Lothes. A post merger SD70MAC lashup is heading north to Grafton as it crosses a bridge over Laurel Creek near Centralia.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Scott Lothes. Deep within the mountains of Webster County, two Conrail SD80MACs lead an eastbound train of loads over Laurel Creek and past the abandoned tipple area at Prestonia - a location truly in the middle of nowhere.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Scott Lothes. North of Erbacon, the Cowen Sub follows Laurel Creek through a remote canyon as the previous few photos also show. On the morning of August 20, 2000, two GE's lead empty AEPX hoppers south towards Evergreen Mine for another load of coal.
[Click to enlarge]
Signs of change.... On April 29th, 2000, the first T805 in the system since July of last year has almost finished loading at Brooks Run with one exception - the train no longer receives its coal from the now inactive Juliana mine, but from Brooks Run. Added to this is the freshly repainted CSX SD80MAC #801 that is flooding loading the train.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Jose Nevarez. The two units on this Brooks Run train have pulled under the mine's loadout and are preparing to begin flood loading the empty coal hoppers.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Scott Lothes. An empty Cowen Turn is approaching the beginning of the steep climb up the mountain to Cowen near Arcola, as the AEPX train passes under a canopy of brilliant autumn colors.
[Click to enlarge]
Eastbound U833-28 with three six axle units and seventy five loads of Evergreen coal are drifting downhill from Cowen near the Halo roadcrossing in the spring of 2000.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Scott Lothes. Evergreen Mine looms over empty hoppers in the staging yard at Cowen, WV. The weather seems fitting on this damp, quiet Sunday afternoon.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by Chris Strogen. On August 30th, 1998, CSX SD70MAC #723 has the honors as it passes the East Yard with another SD70MAC and a train of empty hoppers. The empties in the East Yard are most likely cuts for the Evergreen Mine - the mine's white storage silo can be seen in the background.
[Click to enlarge]
Photo by John Plishka. In early March of 1999, CSX #721 and another SD70MAC sit near the yard office at the Cowen yard awaiting a call to shift the local mines.
[Click to enlarge]
At The End of The World... A Cowen District crew is pulling their eighty eight car train on the main through the West End of the Cowen Yard, before reversing directions to begin breaking the AEPX train into several cuts in the East Yard for loading at Evergreen -- This is the farthest west most trains go on the Cowen Subdivision, the true End of the World.
During a meet at Erbacon, a westbound Cowen Turn (T980-27) has taken the siding for an eastbound loaded train (U833) that has descended the Mountain from Cowen. The T980 is first heard clearing the DTC blocks between Erbacon and Burnsville back to the Dispatcher, with the blocks then being given to the Grafton bound U833. Shortly thereafter the U833 releases the blocks to Cowen allowing the T980 to proceed south. A train is loading at the nearby Brooks Run -1 Mine resulting in some interference during the conversations.
[erbacon_action.ram]
Note: If your browser does not support imagemaps or javascript, Click Here.
Copyright 2004 © Northern WV's Railroads
|
|
|
