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The New River Gorge

Part One

Far below the Hawk’s Nest overlook, a stack train moves east through the New River Gorge.

In 1872 Collis P. Huntington took an overnight float trip down the New River from Hinton to Hawk’s Nest to see where his railroad was going. By 1873 the line was finished. By 1874 the first branch line (Laurel Creek, Quinnemont) was open as was the first mine (Laurel Creek, Joseph Beury).  Cutting ever deeper through the mountains, the New River exposed four coal seams world famous for high quality, high BTU coal.
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