West Va. Governor Jim Justice announced the planned purchase and development of the former Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad and a connecting B&O branch line as a new West Virginia State Park--the first new park in WV in 30 years. Most of the corridor will become a rail trail, but at least a portion of it will be a Rail And Trail. A section of the trackage re-entered service last year as a railbiking attraction--the only such attraction in West Virginia and the surrounding region.

https://mailchi.mp/wv/gov-justice-annou ... falo-creek



More at link.

Good/bad news. I was VP Engineering for the ELKR for three years from '94-'97 and have hi-railed it many times. The segment from Duck to just below Clay will have the rail removed, I guess, along with the BC&G rail. Too bad, but we never had more than one customer, A&P's Mitchell plant. It was a gallant attempt, but finally futile.

Where did this come from? It's the first I've heard of it.

I just had this confirmed by a reliable source. Apparently the BC&G will not be removed, but the ELKR will be from Duck south. Bummer. Dreams of extending it to Charleston are now dead. Not that they were ever very much alive, but one can dream.
Ned

Bright should have gone ahead with the rebuild in the 90's. It could have become a bridge route.
SC Willis

There's really quite a bit to the story.

The local economic development group considered a tourist railroad on the BC&G several years ago, along with the development of a new campground right where the yard was at Dundon. That was not long after the WVC started, and the state was sympathetic but nobody was writing any big checks, either.

It was a stretch for a new tourist railroad in WV but the new campground made it an interesting concept for a low-overhead speeder operation, as there's only one grade crossing at Cressmont. That idea started to take, they also picked up a 25-tonner and a caboose, the campground got started. Then some key stakeholders dropped out, the campground development stalled, the 25-tonner and caboose were resold. The local watershed group picked up the lease and decided to put in a parallel trail beside the BC&G track - with all local money and sweat, and pulled it off and got it successfully opened. The total cost was a pittance compared to any trail project you've ever heard of. They put removable flush decking over top of the rail bridges and just went with it.

Then the major 2016 flood hit, and just demolished the Buffalo Creek valley. They lost two girder bridges and several more were damaged. However, they were successful in getting a FEMA award, but remember the rules - it has to go back the way it was under FEMA, so the track and railroad bridges 'had to stay'. Meanwhile, the railbike concept was lighting off, we did another study for the state, and that was one of the identified corridors.

Again, local efforts have moved this forward. As soon as any track was usable, they started railbiking on the BC&G that hadn't been damaged, and it really lit off as soon as they started and has been very beneficial to a little town like Clay - they are getting visitors from everywhere. The FEMA relief is contingent on the rails remaining, so it will most certainly stay on the BC&G. The Elk River portion is not, that will be a trail conversion.

It's like the land that time forgot down there, it's as close to pure wilderness now as you can imagine, with the only crossing still at Cressmont. Buffalo Creek watershed is full of fish, there are otters down there. Swandale has some camps and if it weren't for the fire hydrants still in the woods, you'd never believe anything was ever there at all. If you're looking to find the original BC&G, it's gone, but if you are looking for an unforgettable experience in the wilds, its still very much there. You really have to admire the locals for playing the very best card they have in a pretty poor hand down there. For a while there was some hope that the rails could stick around long enough to reopen some coal reserves - as they are there - but even up here in PA if it weren't for the overseas spot market and some met quality coal, anything but low-sulphur coal in the Mon valley is endangered.

Steve- The least expensive alternative for rebuilding I calculated to be $19 million. Plus or minus, of course. If that could have been done before the "20 mile" was rebuilt from the NF&G into the mine adjacent to Pittston, and maybe we could have gotten their traffic too, then it might have been economically feasible. It would have needed either a lease or purchase of the existing line to High Top, and a rehab of that too, something I didn't calculate. I think NS owns that line, and it's now leased to someone else, but not operational right now. There is a lot of coal left at High Top.
All of that would have necessitated a new load out somewhere just south of the end-of-the line below Clay. The Avoca site was completely unsatisfactory, especially because of the steep road down to it from the Pittston mine.
Maybe a conveyor could have been built to that, but it would have been accessible from the main road, so more convenient than Avoca was anyway. Key is keeping it cheap to move the coal.
Would have been neat if they'd let me buy those VIA F's from LTE. I see that #2,4 and 5 are being cannibalized for parts. As we know from the Army, that's a big no-no.
All dreams anyhow. Max didn't believe any of it. Still doesn't.
Ned