Coal miners form a human blockade to keep a loaded CSX train from leaving the bankrupt coal mine which still owes the miners thousands of dollars in unpaid wages. Photo courtesy WYMT-TV CUMBERLAND, Ky. — Out-of-work and unpaid Eastern Kentucky coal miners, reeling from the bankruptcy of their employer and the closure of their mine, […]
A CSX train prepares to flood load at Premier Elkhorn Coal’s prep plant at Myra, Kentucky, in summer 2012. The plant is now owned by Cambrian Holding Company, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Chris Anderson BELCHER, KY. — A coal operator in Eastern Kentucky with loading operations served by both CSX Transportation and Norfolk […]
A South Charleston police cruiser was destroyed Sunday after getting stuck on a CSX right-of-way near Charleston, W.Va. The car became stuck on a rail while in pursuit of a vehicle. Two photos, Harry Hamrick CHARLESTON, W.Va. – For the second time in two weeks, a police car has been involved in a collision with […]
HUNTINGTON, W.V. – U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. D-W.Va., says the legendary New River Train is coming back. On Wednesday, Manchin tweeted “I’ve been working nonstop with @Amtrak to preserve #WV’s proud railroading history by keeping the annual New River Train running, and that’s why I’m glad a deal is in place to continue this proud […]
Baltimore & Ohio 2-8-8-4 No. 7609 carries a coal train to the summit at Altamont, W.Va., in June 1945. The locomotive is one of 30 EM1-class engines built by Baldwin. H.W. Pontin photo […]
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia railroad club that sponsored the annual New River Train blames its financial woes on the cancellation of its annual October excursions on Amtrak, but an analysis of financial reporting shows the club may have been in trouble long before Amtrak began increasing its chartered private train rates in 2018. […]
Potomac Eagle F7 No. 722 in B&O colors leads a photo special. Chase Gunnoe ROMNEY, W.Va. — One of the East’s best-known tourist railroads has been sold to one of the nation’s top freelance steam locomotive rebuilders. But does that mean there will be steam for the first time at West Virginia’s diesel-powered Potomac Eagle? […]
On Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Railroad, a ramshackle old combine is pushed by 4-6-2 No. 110 on May 26, 1952. Outshopped by Baldwin in 1911 for another Tennessee short line, the Little River Railroad, No. 110 was the smallest standard gauge Pacific built for U.S. service. Edward Theisinger photo […]
Western Maryland 4-6-6-4s up front and at mid-train lift a freight upgrade around Helmstetter’s Curve in the late 1940s or early ’50s. Today, Western Maryland Scenic Railway tourist trains still traverse this landmark a few miles west of Cumberland, Md. George C. Corey photo […]
1 Split-point derail device. Considered more effective than a lifting-block derail when there is extra risk of cars rolling out onto the main line from a “house track” or “back track” (terms for station trackage other than a passing siding), or from an industry track, especially when there is a descending grade toward the switch, […]
The westbound New River Train with there Amtrak P42DCs and a 30-car passenger car consist rolls along its namesake river on its journey to Huntington, W.Va., from Hinton, W.Va., on Oct. 29 2017. Chase Gunnoe HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — After 52 years of operating mainline passenger excursions between the West Virginia cities of Huntington and Hinton, […]
Norfolk & Western class Z1b 2-6-6-2 1480 is at Norton, Va., in May 1952. A decent-sized engine by most standards, the Z1 was small in comparison to N&W’s class Y 2-8-8-2s and A 2-6-6-4s. Ed Theisinger photo […]
