Buffalo Creek & Gauley Could Return As Tourist RR

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:37 pm

https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2 ... ek--gauley

Quote:

The West Virginia Rail Authority will purchase all 18 miles of the storied Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad, ending a 20-year saga to preserve the route that began in 1999 when the Elk River Railroad — which included the BC&G right-of-way — ended operations.

The authority’s purchase will be effective on or after Dec. 16, according to a Dec. 2 announcement by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. It dovetails with a state initiative creating the Elk River Trail State Park, which will run for 54 miles from Duck, W.Va., near Dundon south to Clendenin, just outside Charleston, the state capital. Mostly a rail trail, the park will include an 18-mile spur along the former BC&G. The authority has not indicated plans for rail operations or who will administer its new acquisition. . . .

Clay County residents soon formed another nonprofit, the Clay County Business Development Authority, and began to work with the State of West Virginia to buy the BC&G. The organization procured rail bikes from RailRiders of Leadville, Colo., as well as a small fleet of track speeders and open-air passenger trailers to be pulled by those speeders. After restoring and re-laying 6 miles of flood-damaged track, the group began offering motorized and pedal-powered rail excursions along Buffalo Creek from a base next to the Bradley Campground and Lodge. The authority has also received a grant to rehabilitate 15 miles of BC&G track, and has plans to eventually acquire a rail bus.

Emphasis mine. Much more at the link.

tomgears · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:35 am

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

jrevans · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2020 12:46 pm

When I read some of the associated articles, it just sounded to me like it was for trails usage, with pedal powered rail bikes, and the mini-train currently on the line. But you never know!

This article
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/dailymail ... e276f.html
says:

Quote:

The third segment is the 18-mile Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad that runs from Clay/Dundon to Widen. It is currently leased by the Clay County Business Development Authority, which is operating self-pedaled rail carts and a motorized jitney on 7 miles of the rails. The additional miles of rail track were damaged in the June 2016 flood and will be repaired as a FEMA project starting in 2020. During the FEMA repair work, the self-pedaled rail carts and motorized jitney will still be in operation.

“The Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad line was never removed, which allows for continued rail use,” said Jorgensen. He said this railroad was the last to operate steam engines in the United States.

This article:
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/outdoors/ ... bfc2b.html
shows some of the equipment, including the rail bikes and speeder powered train.

ebtrr · **Posted:** Wed Dec 16, 2020 10:06 pm

Other than the track and bridges, is there anything else original at the BC&G? Industries? Shops buildings? Stations?

Also, found this articles about the railbikes:
https://extension.wvu.edu/news/2019/03/06/buffalo-creek-rail

scwillis51 · **Joined:** Sat Sep 19, 2015 9:01 pm **Posts:** 32

ebtrr wrote:

Other than the track and bridges, is there anything else original at the BC&G? Industries? Shops buildings? Stations?

Also, found this articles about the railbikes:
https://extension.wvu.edu/news/2019/03/06/buffalo-creek-rail

I worked for the ELKR 96-99 while they hauled coal from Avoca to Gilmer Station. Dundon shops were long gone by that time. The only thing original was the residue from the wreck crane on a dead track.

I visited Dundon in the 1970's and two of the 2-8-0's now scattered around the country were still there as was all the shop buildings with much of the equipment and machine tools.