I repeat my OP.

Is there a map reference for the Elkins-Durbin connection?

Thank you!

Wesley

Dear Ye Olde,

Thank you for the link.

I found the West Fork rail trail online showing 22 miles from Durbin to Glady. That would be quite an undertaking to restore rail service from Durbin via Glady to Elk River Jct.

Wesley

As cool as the "loop" idea would be, there is a literal 0 chance of them restoring 22 miles of track that is a rail trail. As others have said on here, there has NEVER been a substantial railtrail converted back to rail. Ever.

Meet the Purple Line and Georgetown Branch Trail (former B&O branch) in Montgomery County, MD.

Wesley

After looking back at previous postings here is what I think is the situation of the turntable proposed for installation at Cass: 2022 - The 60’ long turntable from the Knox & Kane operation in Marienville, PA, that was moved to Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad at Belington, WV, in 2008 after the line closed down is now expected to be installed near the depot at Cass as part of the restoration of the line from Cass to Durbin. No date for this has been proposed.

Please let us know if there is anything which should be changed in this.

With reference to the comment a few days ago about the track between Durbin and Cass being suitable for a 2-8-0: C&O ran rod engines there all the time, and Cass ran the BL-2 there as well. There should be no problems with curvature and grade. The turntable at Cass makes sense; a quick map search shows a wye in Durbin. So tender first' operation would not be necessary.

Yes, but I’m looking at current photos of the ROW and track condition, not photos from back then.

Track can be repaired. I'm sure, since they are putting some substantial money into that new bridge, that the track work will get done.

The C&O line from Ronceverte to Cass and Durbin saw excursion trains from Ronceverte to Durbin and return with Reading T-1 2102, lettered for the Allegheny RR. There was a wye at Durbin that could take 2102 and train.

The track from Spruce to Durbin was the GC&E from Spruce to Cheat Jct and the Coal & Iron RR from Elkins to Cheat Jct to to Durbin. The GC&E line was Shay-operated using their three 4-truck Shays (2 150-ton 4-truck from C&O, and GC&E 12, a 150 ton 3-truck rebuilt to a 202 ton 4-truck at Cass, the largest Shay ever. WVP&P sold the GC&E to WM who assigned a fleet of low-driver 2-8-0's that could take the curves.

During the Mountain State Forest Festival in Elkins, WM operated steam excusion trains out of Elkins with a Cass geared engine (usually Heisler 6 as I understand it's Cass' fastest engine) and a mix of WM cabooses and gondolas. At the end of the Festival they added 2 camp cars to serve food at Spruce and ran the train to Spruce and up to the the Big Cut with WM diesels. The Cass steam engine piloted the train as far as Elk River Jct (part of the Cheat Jct wye) and went up and over the mountain on the WM to Durbin and on the C&O to Cass.

Phil Mulligan

This is correct, additional equipment will be brought in once the bridge is complete to finish tamping and regulating. It would have been a challenge and added expense to truck all the equipment from end to end before the connection was made. Though not perfect, the line is looking better and better by the week! Incredible to see considering how much of it was laying in the river just a few years ago.

The rail from Big Cut to Bergoo is generally 90 pound stick rail from the 1920's. There has never been a welded rail train past the 28 and 33 degree curves on the line south of Bemis and I doubt even to Elkins.

The comment about "goes nowhere", it goes to Webster County which had an interest in preserving access to the coal remaining on the upper Elk. D&GV talked a good game of having some type rail bus or pedal bike excursion along that line, but 20 years down the road it's been effectively abandoned by the company. Their charter stated they were to maintain the contracted rail line in good order. I'd say by the size of the brush/trees growing on the ROW, that isn't being attended to.

The state of West Virginia could have had the West Fork rail line for $20,000 when it was being abandoned. The deal was solidified and the legislature turned it down. So much for that dream.