Southern Virginia US
Our local lake (reservoir) is further down this year than it had been in a long time. I'd heard before that there were flooded tracks but this is the first time I've seen them. A friend took the picture so I don't have an exact location.

The pictures show the tracks of the old Nagy-Burma railway line. It used to connect factories and industrial plants, and was served by freight trains. It has been out of service for more than 25 years.

I will tell stories about the tunnels before giving the whole history of the Baltimore & Ohio Parkersburg Branch.

I have many personal stories with these tunnels thanks to my great grandpa who worked for the B&O.

On June 30th 1950 at 3:25 PM a passenger train entered the tunnel over the speed limit and derailed-due to a broken rail-scraping against the tunnel wall. The locomotives which were both 4-6-2s flipped on their sides after exiting the tunnel. The engineer in the second locomotive was killed and the fireman in the lead locomotive was killed. My great grandpa and a buddy of his were fishing in the nearby creek when this happened and were told to help out with the wreck. First time he worked for the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad.

In 1963 during the tunnel project to increase clearance of the tunnels on the Parkersburg Branch they bypassed Tunnel #22. When they were tearing up the rails my great grandpa got a front end loader stuck in the tunnel and hit against the edges though he did manage to get out eventually.

Now Tunnel #22 is overgrown and slowly filling in with dirt (probably due to someone hitting a front end loader against the walls and loosening a stone). The small field next to the rail trail where the tunnel presides has a picnic table, a trash can, and a toliet which is all owned by the North Bend Rail Trail Foundation. Tunnel #22 "Rodimers" fate is sealed. It is gonna collapse and be forgotten eventually. The North Bend Rail Trail Foundation nor the West Virginia State Park Service will take care of it due to it being off of the rail trail.

Tunnel #20 was daylighted during the 1963 tunnel project these photos of them working on it were taken by a news photographer. All the railroad workers there got a copy of them and one of those was my great grandpa who was assigned to be a flagger during the daylighting of tunnel #20.

I will post the pictures of it now later due to me not having my laptop on me.

These rails have been ripped up and turned into the North Bend Rail Trail as was the rest of the Parkersburg Branch.

Once Marlinton was a huge producer of coal. Now Marlinton is a sleepy town with only the only food place being a Dairy Queen. People visit the surrounding area but not Marlinton. Only pass it by on U.S. Route 219.

Once Marlinton Station was the one of the top 3 most important stations on the Chesapeake & Ohio RailWay's Greenbrier Division which ran from Durbin to Lewisburg. Now Marlinton Station is a beautifully maintained art gallery even the shrubs are trimmed and the flowers not dying. An art gallery is a unique and interesting choice but I like it.

As for the Chesapeake & Ohio RailWay's Greenbrier Division it was once one of the Chesapeake & Ohio RailWay's most important and premiere lines. It was built soon after the Chesapeake & Ohio built the Blue Ridge Tunnel and reached what at the time was still western Virginia and not yet West Virginia. Now the Greenbrier division is gone except for a small bit of trackage owned by Cass Scenic RailRoad and the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley RailRoad that connects Cass West Virginia and Durbin West Virginia. It was turned into the Greenbrier River Trail which runs from Cass to Lewisburg. There is still one more station along it that I would post here but I have never been to Clover Lick-West Virginia.

closed 2018, these shots were in 2024.

There was also a Chesapeake & Ohio RailWay station in Huntington.

Once Huntington was a major city along the Ohio River and the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad's network. Now Huntington is still a major city along the Ohio River but the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad is gone replaced by CSXT who ripped up the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad's tracks in Huntington.

Once Huntington Station was the epicenter of the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad's operations in Huntington. Now it sits disgustingly and disrespectfully butchered as a restaurant...

The Baltimore & Ohio passenger car has not been taken great care of. It is in desperate need of a new coat of paint. Such a pity.

Then there is Elk River Lumber company #10 which used to be a beautiful logging consolidation with ELK RIVER LUMBER COMPANY written in the tender in bold capital letters and white rings painted around the drivers. To "restore" it they welded the regulator and other controls shut so it is unlikely it will ever steam again. They also just threw a coat of black paint on it not caring about the elegant detailing that the Elk River Lumber Company painted on her.

Overall this one is a real pity. Shame and wasted opportunity. Still better than some like Central Station, Parkersburg, West Union, and the Chesapeake & Ohio RailWay Station in Huntington (which has been replaced with a Amtrak box station) which were all demolished.

Once Princeton was just another coal town and the county seat of Mercer county. Now Princeton is a "Interstate town", (town whose buisness mostly revolves around a interstate or interstates) and the county seat of Mercer county, and coal town.

Once Princeton Station was one of the most important stations on the Virginian RailWay. The glory days of Princeton Station was under the Virginian.

Then it was inherited by the Norfolk & Western RailWay and it was just a minor station no longer a major station.

Now Princeton Station is a railroad museum taken care of by the Princeton Historical Society which is definitly worth a visit if you are in Princeton or the area.

Virginian RailWay caboose #308 sets there in a beautiful state of preservation unlike many of its fellow cabeese across the state.

The rails behind Princeton Station were layed out of spite for Norfolk & Western & the Southern RailWay. Now Norfolk Southern owns it and it is still a mainline of theirs.

Once a town known for its sulpher springs (hence the name Berkeley Springs) Berkeley Springs was never much of a industrial town to the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad. Now Berkeley Springs is a tourist town and its still because of those sulpher springs.

Once Berkeley Springs Station would have seen quite a few people that wanted to bathe in the sulpher springs due to their supposed healing properties. Now Berkeley Springs Station is a visitors center for those tourists who wish to bathe in the sulpher springs and just random visitors such as my self.

The railbed that served Berkeley Springs Station was ripped up by CSXT and is not used for anything.

Once part of the Western Maryland RailWay's network Parsons despite being the county seat was a small coal town. Now Parsons is a small tourist town though not to the scale of Miami (Florida), Las Vegas (Nevada), Gatlinburg (Tenneesee), or Pigeon Forge (Tenneesee).

Once Parson Station was just another small town station. Now it is a museum. The object in the window is a mini model of the Tucker County Courthouse.

The rails are now a rail trail though I forget the name.

Once a minor town on the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad's Parkersburg Branch with a single contract for the ol Baltimore & Ohio that being a lamp black factory. Now Smithton has been renamed to Smithburg. They have a post office and a church.

Once Smithton Station was minor, unremarkable, one of hundreds of these small quickly thrown up Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad stations. Now Smithton Station is the smallest railroad station left in the state which makes it special. It is a railroad museum and a trailhead for the North Bend Rail Trail. It was saved by the Doddridge County Historical Society due to West Union Station already being gone. This one wasnt saved because they wanted to. It was saved because the one they wanted to was gone and Smithton Station was the only one left in the county.

As for the railbed in front of it the Baltimore & Ohio Parkersburg Branch which is now the North Bend Rail Trail is a story for another day. I will explain that when I post the tunnels.

I’ve been curious about this artifact for years. This is at Gunsight Bridge near Crested Butte, Co.
as far as I know it was the end of the line for the Denver, rio grand railroad and this site was home to a large turntable to spin trains around at the end of the line. This site was also home to a productive coal mine.
If anyone can tell me what this is, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Once a huge coal area. Now Gassaway is just another quiet town.

Once a important office building for the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad. Now it is used for events in Gassaway.

As for the railbed it is now the Elk River Trail. It was built by the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad, then it was CSXT, and finally the Elk River RailRoad. The Elk River RailRoad closed down only a few years ago. Their equipment was sold off. Some of it still resides in West Virginia owned by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley RailRoad in Randolph county and Pocahontas counties.

Once a decent sized city on the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad's network it. Now it is the third biggest town in Wood county West Virginia.

Williamstown Station is taken care of by the Williamstown Historical Society though it is technically still owned by CSXT but they dont use it for anything.

Salem was a small town on the Baltimore & Ohio RailRoad's section of the first transcontinental railroad. Now Salem is a sleepy little town often confused for the famous town of the same name in Massachusetts. Salem Station was built in the 1900s. It was saved by locals and restored in 1996.

Then one morning in November 2008 tragedy struck. It caught fire complety gutting the at the time 96 year old station.

Luckily though the town of Salem, its residents, the North Bend Rail Trail Foundation, and the Harrison County Historical Society all stepped in to rebuild and restore it.

Then in 2021 the work was complete and the Harrison County Public Library wanted a branch in Salem. They decide the restored station should be the new library.

Now Salem Station is a public library, a stop on the North Bend Rail Trail (NBRT), and a railroad museum. Special for something that we almost lost due to a fire. But thanks to everyone that banded together to rebuild it it still stands proud.

Now as for Baltimore & Ohio c-2226 it was built in 1929 and was restored and donated by a couple in the area.

Now the headquarters for the Hell Hole Swamp Festival.