The West Virginia Secondary is a rail line that connects Columbus, Ohio, to Charleston, West Virginia, and beyond to the Gauley River valley, ending in Enon, West Virginia.[3] The line is about 250 miles long.[4] It crosses the Ohio River over the Point Pleasant Rail Bridge.[5]
The line was built in the late 19th century in segments by several railroads, most notably the Toledo and Ohio Central Railway and Kanawha and Michigan Railroad. These were all acquired by the New York Central Railroad in 1910, and later passed to Penn Central and then Conrail.[6] In 1999 it became part of Norfolk Southern Railway.[5] The majority of the line was acquired by Watco to form the Kanawha River Railroad in 2016, with the exception of a 9-mile segment owned by CSX Transportation in southeastern Ohio known as the Pomeroy Subdivision.[4]
- ^ "Pocahontas Division Eastern Region Timetable Number 1" (PDF). Norfolk Southern Railway. 2008-08-04. pp. 163–164. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
- ^ "Lake Division Northern Region Timetable Number 1" (PDF). Norfolk Southern Railway. 2008-08-04. pp. 60, 74. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
- ^ "West Virginia State Rail Plan: Final Report" (PDF). West Virginia Department of Transportation. 2013-12-01. p. A1-9. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
- ^ a b Gunnoe, Chase (2016-05-20). "Watco to acquire NS West Virginia Secondary, portion of Virginian route". Trains Magazine. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
- ^ a b McFadden, William Eric. "Railfanning on Norfolk Southern's West Virginia Secondary". William McFadden's Railroad Pages. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
- ^ "History of the Secondary". Penn Central Hitop Secondary Model Railroad. 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2022-04-14.