Mann's Creek Railroad
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Clifftop, West Virginia[1] |
| Locale | Fayette County, West Virginia |
| Dates of operation | 1886–1955 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) (narrow gauge) |
| Length | 9 miles (14 km) |
The Mann's Creek Railroad was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad that operated during the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States.[1]
History[edit]
The Mann's Creek Railroad was constructed in 1886 to haul coal and lumber for the Babcock Coal and Coke Company, which owned and operated the line.[2] The line followed Mann's Creek, a tributary of the New River,[3] from the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's mainline at Sewell for approximately 9 miles (14 km) to the community of Clifftop.[1]
Due to the area's rugged terrain, construction of the line required numerous retaining walls and demolition of numerous cliffs. A 35-foot (11 m) high, 224-foot (68 m) long timber trestle was constructed over Glade Creek on a sharp horseshoe curve where the line deviated from the Mann's Creek in order to gain elevation.[1][2] At Clifftop were the Babcock Coal and Coke Company's coal mines,[2] which the railroad served by hauling coal down to 193 beehive coke ovens along the C&O mainline at Sewell.[1][2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Byer, Alan D. (2010), Looking for Ghosts in West Virginia: Mann's Creek Railway (PDF), Trains Magazine, Kalmbach Publishing Co., retrieved April 5, 2014
- ^ a b c d Unrau, Harlan D. (1996), New River Gorge (PDF), National Park Service, p. 66, retrieved April 5, 2014
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1904). A Gazetteer of West Virginia, Volume 8, Issue 233. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 97.