WV Midland Train Remains

Video includes a view of the last two remaining rail cars of the old West Virginia Midland Railroad that operated in Webster County, West Virginia from about 1902 to 1931. The private and baggage cars are located on in Webster County and are in a greatly deteriorated condition. The second part of the video shows metal detecting and digging for old railroad spikes buried along the railroad grade in Guardian. The spikes are over 100 years old and have been buried for about 70 years when the rails were taken up for scrap for the war effort in the early 1940's.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• west
• virginia
• midland
• railroad
• holly
• river
• addison
• pardee
• curtin
• company
• webster
• springs
• county
• baggage
• private
• passenger
• car
• train
• tracks
• rails
• spike
• ties
• metal
• detecting
• guardian

[vair63guy]

My Grandparents and Great Grandparents probably rode in those cars. I remember my grandmother telling me stories of her trips from Cowen to Richwood to go shopping. I don't know if the Midland ran to Richwood or not.

[HallForJudge]

@vair63guy The Midland ran from Webster Springs across the mountain into Diana and then on down Holly River to just below the forks of the two Holly rivers, and the tracks connected there on down to Sutton--it did not travel from Webster Springs to Cowen/Richwood area.

[HallForJudge]

@vair63guy Those two cars in the video were bought out by Pardee & Curtin Lumber Company after the Midland went out of business in the late 1920's/early 1930's. After Pardee & Curtin finished their use with the train, the two cars were hauled over the state road to the camp on Gauley.

[vair63guy]

Jeff: Where is that? Is that up past Jerryville? I grew up near Cowen.

[HallForJudge]

@vair63guy

i'll send you a private message with the location

[CIAfreak]

@vair63guy No, the WVM never went to Richwood. That's the Cherry River Boom & Lumber Co. There was also a WVM branch line, early on, that ran to Marpleton.

[CIAfreak]

IF you can still get a copy of Jim's book, he has some great pics in it. Is anyone MODELING the RR? I'm fiddling with an HOn3 'what-if' but not historical modeling, that's just too difficult.

[CIAfreak]

There are also some nice photos of the Webster Springs Flyer at the Webster Springs visitor center by Mark Romano of Cowen, who also has done many of the photos in Jim Marsh's book. The WVM connected with the Western MD at WS (aka Addison, hence the Holly River and Addison original name) and also ran up the Back Fork of the Elk River to Breece and Skelt. I bet you can even still find three gauge track buried in Dorrtown somewhere. There was a dual-gauge wye at Dorrtown and industries too.

[CIAfreak]

Jim Marsh has a book out about the RR and the town itself. He lives in Buckhannon, WV