Below are my own recollections of the West Virginia Northern Railroad from the first time when I was captivated by the short line to the railroad's last run in 1999. At the bottom of the page are links to many different photos of the railroad by location, along with a brief history of the Northern. ~ Matt Reese.
Driving east on US Route 50 through the cold morning fog of November 21, 1999, I was upbeat with the expectation of shooting one of my favorite local railroads, the West Virginia Northern. My mood however, was tempered by that fact that today's run would bring to close a century of railroading for the Preston County short line that had begun in 1899.
|
|
The railroad with coal mines as it appeared in 1985.
|
Over the railroad's eleven miles of jointed rail between Tunnelton and Kingwood, the West Virginia Northern, or the "Northern" as it was frequently called, twisted and climbed on grades reaching well over 4% through the back country of Laurel Mountain. From the beginning of it's existence through November of 1991, the railroad had but one purpose - to bring loads of coal from the mines of western Preston County to the B&O interchange at Tunnelton for shipment to points far removed from the mountains of Appalachia. Throughout weekdays until the late 80s the Northern could be found somewhere along it's roller coaster route switching those nameless coal tipples, doing it's part to keep the local economy in action. It was here how I first discovered the railroad, in fact almost entirely by accident. On one hot and humid summer day in 1985, my father and I were passing the time in WS Tower, just west of Tunnelton. The crew of a westbound St. Louis Trailer Jet reported to the operator, "them Northern boys are dropping off loads, better get ahold of M&K and call a crew to go get'em". Having seen hoppers in the yard at Tunnelton numerous times before, but never the Northern itself, we opted to forego what was then the commonplace Trailer Jets and manifest freights on the B&O mainline and go find "them Northern boys". Descending the hill into Tunnelton we first spotted the blue and white locomotives, all three belching huge clouds of diesel smoke as they drug a cut of loaded coal hoppers up the steep grade into Tunnelton. Entranced from that first moment, the rest of our day was spent following the train north from Tunnelton towards Kingwood. Those years were well before the invention of detailed Delorme maps, GPS systems or railfan guides, so every road we encountered that led in the track's general direction was a potential access route - looking back today it's still quite amazing we made it all the way to Kingwood without losing them, let alone driving over the side of a gully never to be found. While finally watching the locomotives arrive lite at the Kingwood Shops that evening, the crew offered to give us a ride around the terminal as they laid up for the weekend, an event that many other railfans also had the pleasure to experience. For a five year old, the time spent aboard #52 was my first ever ride on a locomotive and would leave an impression that would ultimately last a life time.
Returning nearly fifteen years to 1999, I finally arrived at Tunnelton in search of the Northern. To provide some brief background, although the Northern's regular excursion season had ended some weeks earlier, a weekend excursion event originally labeled the "First Annual Railfan Special" had ironically turned into the railroad's last official run.
Some of you may recall the article that fully covered the weekend which appeared in the February of 2002 Railfan and Railroad issue. While not part of the official group, I had been invited to photograph the event by the West Virginia Northern's Vice President of Operations, John Garner, whom I had met some months earlier. Although informed of the overall plan for Sunday, I was concerned that I would miss the excursion at somepoint along the way, especially considering the fact I was running almost an hour late thanks to overloaded coal trucks. Fortunately however, in a last minute decision I ran across the staged meet at Birds Creek Junction. From that point on the clouds disappeared leaving a beautiful blue sky for the Northern's final run, providing a last opportunity for several photo locations. The story of that chase is told below in the photos and their captions and for me it was quite an unforgettable experience, everything a "Final Run" should be and more thanks to the Garners, who took the time to make sure it was right.
[Click to enlarge]
|
|
Photo by Matt Reese. The crew of the West Virginia Northern's last revenue run.
|
At Tunnelton John eloquently put into words what the day meant and introduced those volunteers and crew members that were the West Virginia Northern in it's final form. For me the day ended in an unexpected way as the last light quickly faded into growing darkness. #50 departed Tunnelton first with its train, followed by #52 running lite to pick up two passenger cars at Howesville siding. I was aboard #52 as it departed, not by any previous plan or expectation, but by the generosity of John and Leslie who asked if I'd like to ride one final time. So on the Sunday evening of November 21st, the railroad had come full circle for myself, from that summer of 1985 when it had firmly planted a life long love of trains to the winter of 1999 when the Northern's flag finally fell. And even though the old rusted rails have since begun to disappear and the right of way will soon fade over time, for those who experienced the railroad, the Northern will forever run through the hills of Preston County.
|
The North End - Photos of the mainline between Kingwood and Borgman, including the double switchbacks at Irona and the terminal at Kingwood.
|
The South End - Photos of the mainline south from Borgman to Tunnelton, including Howesville and Marion sidings along with the Tunnelton Interchange.
|
|
A brief history of the Northern.
Note: If your browser does not support imagemaps or javascript, Click Here.
Copyright 1998-2003 © Northern WV's Railroads
|
|
|
