Part Two

(Click here to read The New River Gorge – Part One)

Looking track east from the overlook at Hawk’s Nest. Here, main #2 continues along the south side of the river while main #1 crosses the bridge and continues along the north side. The two mains rejoin on the north side at the bridge crossing at Cunard, West Virginia.

In Part One we left off at Cotton Hill, West Virginia. As we move track east we soon come to Hawk’s Nest, only a couple of miles upriver from Cotton Hill. At Hawk’s Nest you step into the rich coal mining history of the Gorge. The 30 track miles from Hawk’s Nest to Quinnimont contain almost the entire history of New River coal. In the peak years early in the last century the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) serviced 75 mines along this stretch of river including the various branch lines that crawled up the several side canyons.

The dam at Hawk’s Nest as seen from the tracks along the south side of the river.

The Hawk’s Nest branch followed Mill Creek up the mountain to Ansted (about 2 miles) and then continued on for a mile or so to reach the mines which extracted coal from Gauley Mountain. Today the former rail bed is a walking trail. On the other side of the stream is a dirt road which will take you down to the river.

The Hawk’s Nest branch started out as narrow gauge but was soon upgraded to standard. It serviced a couple of mines beyond Ansted and one along Mill Creek. At the base on the mountain by the mainline it also serviced a small, two-track yard. The grade and some track and ties remain of the yard.

The Hawk’s Nest branch leaves Mill Creek at this spot and continues on up to Ansted along Westlake Creek. The rail bed is now a popular trail.
The view from MacDougal. On this spot once stood a freight house. Although posted as no trespassing the bridge has an unusual feature – a wide pedestrian walkway is attached to the east side. It is commonly used by sightseers, fishermen and swimmers. I’ve never found an answer to why the bridge has that walkway, but a good guess would be that it was for passengers on the many trains through here at one time. Trains ran west on main #1 and east on main #2 and the walkway would give you access to either direction. Although now mostly woods, at one time there were many homes along this stretch of river and trains were how you got around – including children attending school.

If you enjoy scenic beauty with rail-fanning, then Hawk’s Nest and Mill Creek in particular are great destinations, especially for those who like waterfalls.

One of the many nice waterfalls along Mill Creek.

Across the river from Hawk’s Nest is MacDougal (still a place name for CSX). MacDougal once had a freight station but that is now long gone. This general area started out as Miller’s Ferry. Goods moved down the mountain from Ansted, crossed on the ferry to MacDougal then up the other side to Bachman along a road now long gone.

The old bricks and mortar MA Cabin is long gone from MacDougal. Only bits of its foundation remain. The new version is now gone as well.

 

Time, weather and vandals have conspired to all but erase what were once 50 towns in the heart of the Gorge.”

At Hawk’s Nest, the double-track main of the New River Sub splits. Main #2 continues on the south side of the river while main #1 crosses the river and continues on the north side. This arrangement continues for the next 11 track miles until you get to Cunard (Sewell) where main #2 crosses over to the north side to join #1. From Sewell, however, it’s single track to Thurmond. Many years ago there were tracks which continued upriver on the south side from Cunard to Thurmond, servicing the many mines along that stretch of track. That old rail bed is now the Southside Junction trail.

The east-bound Cardinal crosses the New River at Hawk’s Nest as it continues its journey along the New River Sub.
Another east-bound Cardinal at Hawk’s Nest. This curve, said to be the sharpest of any along the old C&O, requires a 10MPH restriction for all freights, 15 for the Cardinal.

As you continue on track east you can spot many ruins if you watch carefully. Time, weather and vandals have conspired to all but erase what were once 50 towns in the heart of the Gorge. Thurmond, Thayer and Prince are about all that are left. Many place names are still in use by CSX, but many more are just historical designations. As you move from Hawk’s Nest to Fayette Station you pass by Sunnyside, Elmo, Alaska, Michigan and others, all of which are now just faint footprints in the woods.

Trackside coke ovens at Sunnyside, about two miles track east of Hawk’s Nest.
One of several trackside waterfalls in the Gorge. This one, at Marr Branch, is about 4 miles track east of Hawk’s Nest on the south side. Distorted by the wide angle lens, the New River Gorge Bridge looms large at the upper left.
An east-bound coal train approaches Fayette Station on main #2 (south side).

Among the best activities in the Gorge (aside from rail fanning) is to visit some of the wonderful overlooks from the high cliffs. But even from many of the overlooks, great rail fanning is possible. From 1,200 feet above the river heavy, slow moving freights moving east (upriver) can be heard long before they arrive and often for long after they have passed.

High above the river from the Long Point overlook the view is great of an east-bound coal train grinding its way east. From here the tracks on both sides of the river can be seen.
One of a number of mine openings still visible. This is the old Kaymoor mine located just upriver from Fayette Station and about half way up the mountain. Operations ceased 50 years ago.

Looking forward to seeing you again in the next installment of the New River Gorge.

Don't miss The New River Gorge - Part Three,
  coming June 8th, 2017

Fred Wolfe – Photographs and text Copyright 2017

See more of Fred’s work at http://fredwolfe.Zenfolio.com or find him on Facebook at Wolfelight-Images and at http://www.facebook.com/fred.wolfe.98