Large Scale Central

West Virginia Coal Mining

Prototypes
#1

This past weekend was our wedding anniversary and we visited Fayetteville, West Virginia. This place is the home of the New River Gorge - an enormous national park. Also the home of one of the largest single span bridges in the world.

But, it’s a short ride over to Thurmond, WV. The town occupies a narrow stretch of flat land along the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad track, with no road between the tracks and the town. Instead, a single-lane road crosses the New River on a single-track railroad bridge, crosses the main line, and climbs the hill behind the town so that it parallels the town 150 feet higher on the hill before dropping down next to the tracks.During the heyday of coal mining in the New River Gorge, Thurmond was a prosperous town with a number of businesses and facilities for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Once hosting 95,000 passengers a year, the population in the 2000 census was 7. The depot was restored by the National Park Service in 1995 and looks very nice.

They offer a walking tour; Jean and I were the only visitors that day, so we got a nice personal tour. By the time the tour started, the clouds and rain had come in just for us.

From the upstairs you get a good view of the town.

You can see that there’s just not much room between the track and the remaining town buildings.

That’s the coal loading facility in the left background. A lot of structures have been lost to fire, including an engine repair facility. From Thurmond, we headed up 19 to Whipple, WV. Whipple Company Store was designed by the Coal Baron,Justus Collins. This store is one of 4 he had built, all in this unique architectural fashion, and today the only one left standing. The old store is a sight to see, and has a lot of history contained within its walls. We had another WV historian join us on the tour and it was great listening to all the stories that were told.

The inside is still a work in progress, as the building has been used for other purposes since the coal company closed it down.

But, there’s lots of stuff left over from the original store, including this old cash register and some old script.

The tour was VERY worthwhile.

#2

Nice ! Thanks for posting.

#3

Nice shots Bruce. Hope you both enjoyed your weekend

#4

Why drive - Take the Train ( or Canoe or Kayak). Although most of my visits to the New River Gorge involve getting very wet, some of the best trips have been by train. Several of the excursions included short stops at Thurmond. I am not sure they are still making the stop, but the ride through the gorge is great anyway.

Check out:

http://www.wvbridgeday.com/new-river-train/

and

http://www.newrivertrain.com/

#5

Killer pictures Bruce!!!
I love architecture

#6

Kewl!!! Looks like ya’ll had a good time…:wink:

Is that Bart’s pick-em-up truck I see next to your van?..:wink:

#7

I like the station, but I think the Company Store would look good on your RR :wink:
Ralph

#8

Greatest think about N.E. railroading is seeing “how it was back in the day” structures still standing and preserved. 10 minutes after that shot was taken I bet an Mued consist of diesels blew by!

#9

Nice pics of a very interesting place.

#10

Tonight I watched episode # 3 of the Simon Schama program “The American Future: A history”.
About halfway through there is a 5 minute segment on Thurmond. It features archival footage of steam hauled coal trains as well as modern equipment.

I don’t know if the series is being shown in the USA or not but details of the programs can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Future

#11

I want to build the Thurmond Depot as a 2" deep flat and have it against a wall somewhere.

http://www.wva-usa.com/newsite/www.wvrailroads.com/drawings/thurmond-depot/

#12

This thread is most interesting, thanks for sharing it Bruce.

I saw a black and white 'photo of the town buildings at Thurmond in a recent Classic Trains magazine; these in color are great.

WVa, VA and the Appalachian coalfields are of great interest to me presently. Unfortunately, due to space restrictions in my back yard, modeling the buildings at Thurmond is not possible but for some folks, with space and modeling skills there could be some fine models made. I love the station: a very fine restoration seems to have been achieved and what about that the bridge - magnificent.

#13

Nice shots Bruce! I love that depot. A very interesting design and I’m glad it’s getting such good care.

#14

Nice shots Bruce. Nothing beats the southern Appalachains.

#15
Bob McCown said:
I want to build the Thurmond Depot as a 2" deep flat and have it against a wall somewhere.

http://www.wva-usa.com/newsite/www.wvrailroads.com/drawings/thurmond-depot/


That’s where I saw that station before. You posted a picture some time back and mentioned you wanted to model it.
Ralph

#16
Bob McCown said:
I want to build the Thurmond Depot as a 2" deep flat and have it against a wall somewhere.
That station would make an excellent flat!
#17

Wow, great pics! What an amazing bridge, and the depot, store and old town buildings are fantastic! Thanks for posting!

#18
David Russell said:
That station would make an excellent flat!
Considering it almost is, anyway. Its just about 12" deep in 1:20.
#19
Ken Brunt said:
Kewl!!!!!!!! Looks like ya'll had a good time..............;)

Is that Bart’s pick-em-up truck I see next to your van?..:wink:


Nope…“Off Duty” is down for the count…anyone know where to find a V8 for a 2001 Dakota?

#20

Bart,

What’s busticated on your engine?

Try http://car-part.com/

I’m not sure if the site is smart enough to know if different, but close, model years will work.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

Edit: added hot link