The Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad (reporting mark M&K) was a railroad in

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 B ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It extended from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) junction in Morgantown in Monongalia County via Masontown, Kingwood and Rowlesburg to the M&K junction with the B&O in

Preston County Preston County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 34,216. Its county seat is Kingwood, West Virginia, Kingwood. The county was form ...

, a distance of . The M&K also operated approximately of

branch lines A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

along the route. The M&K was completed in three stages: Morgantown to Bretz was completed in September 1903, Bretz to Kingwood in March 1906, and Kingwood to Rowlesburg in July 1907. The route followed the course of

Deckers Creek Deckers Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River that runs through north-central West Virginia. It begins west of A ...

to Kingwood. The M&K had shops and a yard at Sabraton. The line primarily carried coal, building stone, glass sand and lumber. By 1906 the line provided a twice-daily passenger service to Kingwood. It was a key stimulus in the economic development of the region at the turn of the 20th century.

History

George Cookman Sturgiss George Cookman Sturgiss (August 16, 1842 – February 26, 1925) was a lawyer and Republican politician who served as United States Representative for West Virginia's 2nd congressional district. He was a member of the 60th and 61st United States ...

created the Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad Company which took out a charter for the M&K Railroad on 10 January 1899. Sturgiss had previously been involved in several failed attempts to build the line and was in possession of much of the proposed

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

. of the route were graded by September 1899. Tracklaying began on 19 September 1899, and was laid by November with graded. were complete by December 1901. Stephen Elkins purchased the M&K Railroad Company in 1902. The stretch to Masontown along Deckers Creek was completed by September 1902. of track was laid between Bretz and Reedsville in 1904, and the railroad reached Reedsville during 1905. The Railroad Gazette page 23 July, 1905 indicates the line from Bretz to Reedsville is complete and the Morgantown and Kingwood is now constructing the 12 and a half miles from Reedsville to Kingwood. The company is also asking for bids from Kingwood to Rowlesburg. The section between Reedsville and Rowlesburg was under construction by 1906. of track was laid in 1905. The B&O gained control of the M&K in 1920 and operated it as a subsidiary.

References

{{reflist, 2 Defunct West Virginia railroads Morgantown, West Virginia Railway companies disestablished in 1920 Railway companies established in 1899 1899 establishments in West Virginia