The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad (BC&G) was a railroad chartered on April 1, 1904 and ran along Buffalo Creek in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flor ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. The original Buffalo Creek and Gauley ended service in 1965. The BC&G was one of the last all-

steam railroad Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleratio ...

s, never operating a

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

to the day it shut down on February 27, 1965. Its primary purpose was to bring coal out of the mountains above

Widen Widen is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History At the end of the 12th century a manor called "Wyda" is mentioned the first time, there's no exact year. "Widen", in the way like it's writ ...

to an interchange with the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

at Dundon.

Route

Beginning at Dundon, the line ran east along Buffalo Creek to a terminus away at

. Along the way, it passed marked locations at Avoca, Sand Fork, the

company towns A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

of Cressmont and Swandale, and Eakle. Swandale contained the sawmill for lumber operations of the Elk River Coal and Lumber Company (ERC&L) and there was a small dairy at Cressmont. The railroad terminates at the Rich Run Coal mine yard in

. At Avoca, the ERC&L logging line ran about out in the woods where the logging was done during the final years of operations. After the BC&G ended operations in 1965, it was reactivated in 1971 by the Majestic Mining Company to serve a mine at Widen. The company used an Alco S-2 for power on the formerly all-steam route; the operation concluded in 1985. The line was again reactivated in the mid-1990s when the Elk River Railroad, Inc. (TERRI) reopened the route to Avoca to serve a mine there. The operation lasted until 1999, when American Electric Power (AEP) determined the coal to be too poor in quality.

Equipment

Some of the BC&G's equipment, as well as that of its sister railroad the Elk River Coal & Lumber Co. have been preserved, some in operating condition. BC&G Consolidation # 4 was owned by the

North Carolina Transportation Museum The North Carolina Transportation Museum is a museum in Spencer, North Carolina. It is a collection of automobiles, aircraft, and railway vehicles. The museum is located at the former Southern Railway's 1896-era Spencer Shops and devotes much ...

in Spencer,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. It operated in tourist service until 2001. It was subsequently purchased by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, which intends to restore it for operation between Durbin and

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...

, West Virginia. BC&G Consolidation # 13 is owned by Jerry Joe Jacobson and is stored at the

Age of Steam Roundhouse The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum, Sugarcreek, Ohio, United States, is a museum roundhouse housing steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars and other railroad equipment. History The roundhouse was built by Jerry Joe Jacobson, former CEO of ...

in Sugarcreek, Ohio, where it, along with all other equipment in the roundhouse, can be viewed by the public on tours the museum offers. Consolidation #14 is on static display outside

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, ...

commuter rail station Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

. ERC&L Shay #19 is on display in Ohio. Climax #3 is owned by the

Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad The Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad is a narrow-gauge tourist railroad in California that starts from the Roaring Camp depot in Felton, California and runs up steep grades through redwood forests to the top of nearby Bear Mountain ...

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, but is not serviceable. The ERC&L's American log loader and bobber logging caboose are both restored and on display at the

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is a state park and heritage railway, heritage railroad located in Cass, West Virginia, Cass, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. It consists of the Cass Scenic Railroad, an long heritage railway owned by the West ...

in Cass, West Virginia. At one time the Elk River Railroad ran modern diesels from Gassaway, through Dundon and a branch to a coal loading facility at Avoca then from Dundon to Hartland.

Restoration

Currently the Buffalo Creek & Gauley Co-op has been in the process of opening up much of the old main line and have run some speeder excursions from Dundon. The Clay County Economic Development Authority has established a pedal-train excursion on the line and is working toward a restoration of the rails to Widen. Much of the line was destroyed by flooding in 2016.

References

External links

photos

Many photos and historical information

State Railroad & Logging Historical Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo Creek Gauley Railroad Defunct West Virginia railroads Railway companies established in 1904 Transportation in Clay County, West Virginia 1904 establishments in West Virginia