Watching CSX While Visiting My Dad in 2009

I often enjoyed watching CSX trains at St. Albans, West Virginia while visiting my dad in Charleston.  In 2009, I spent much of the year in Charleston studying East Coast railroads.
A few times we drove to nearby Huntington and beyond to Catlettsburg, Kentucky.  I enjoyed watching trains cross the Big Sandy River as they made their way to Cincinnati and beyond on the old Chesapeake & Ohio. 

Visiting The Historic Chesapeake and Ohio in St Albans, West Virginia

Through the years, I have visited Charleston, West Virginia to see my dad.  It is always great to see CSX and its operations on the former Chesapeake and Ohio when I visit.

One of my favorite places to see trains is St. Albans. I enjoy driving by a car dealership called C and O Motors and thinking about how long it has been rooted in this railroad community.  

CSX Along The Big Sandy

At Catlettsburg, Kentucky the CSX former Chesapeake and Ohio line hugs the Big Sandy River.  Trains make their way from Huntington to Ashland.  We give a wave to the Amtrak Cardinal.
Across the river at Kenova, West Virginia, the Norfolk Southern Heartland Corridor connects Roanoke, Virginia with Bellevue, Ohio.  We hear a train in the distance on this summer morning.


 

Bluefield, WV- Rich in Coal, Rich in History

Bluefield, WV stands rich in history.  Here I stand amongst this history.  As today’s Norfolk Southern trains carry coal from the Blue Ridge towards the shoals at Norfolk, I retrace the history of yesterday’s Norfolk & Western and this town that that railroading and coal mining helped to build.
You can see it in the faces of the locals and in the peeling signs upon the brick that Bluefield supported the mines, and, in its core still supports the coal heritage of this region.  Coal has been key to our past, is key to our present and will be key to our future.
I talk about the good old times and about the Bluefield of today.  How the mountains are beautiful and to be respected.  How the mountains built this city and so much of this region.  In a deeper look, these mountains helped build much of America.
This is a region rich in coal, but, because of that mineral, it is rich in history and culture, as well.  I talk amongst the locals and get a sense of the history, of what it was like when Y6B and Class A locomotives came to the yard to tie up and get much needed water and coal to take trains onward from this region.  Coal built this town at the junction of Virginia and West Virginia, a town which once had the highest population of millionaires in the country.
The wealth of coal barons and the rise of speculation in the area added to this rise of fortunes, but as well, Bluefield’s perch high in the Appalachians made the town naturally cooler than much of the surrounding valleys.  Bluefield was, as well, nestled in a prime location between the rich coal fields and the city of Roanoke, seventy miles to the east, which was developing into a key rail hub on the Norfolk & Western and Virginian railroads for moving coal to points north, south and east.  Coal could be effectively moved to the northwest and west on the Norfolk & Western, as well.
This key location helped the coal of the Blue Ridge develop America and its growing need for fuel.  In a sense, the availability of railroads in the region helped America continue to industrialize.  As the steel centers, factories and shipyards developed along the Seaboard, in the Northeast and Midwest, so grew the demand for coal.  Thanks to the mines, miners, railroads and railroad workers of this region, America was able to effectively industrialize.

Sunset on the Kanawah

Dunbar Bridge
Look West
A Kiss of Pink
On Muddy Water
A Glow
The Cool Summer Evening
West Virginia Magic