Railroads from Appalachian Book Company

At the end of the 19th century, railroads entered the mountains of eastern and central West Virginia for the first time. This opened up vast areas of virgin forest to the lumberman. Later, valuable coalfields were discovered beneath the forests. The development of the region was in full swing by the first decades of the 20th century. G. H. Broadwater,… Read more about this item

Tumult on the Mountains starts with the birth of West Virginia's lumbering industry and follows it through its rapid decline around 1909. The industry grew slowly as settlers headed west and needed sawn timber. Once the original timber was destroyed, however, the state's lumbering business disappeared. Much of the information and many of the photographs in this book were collected… Read more about this item

Roy Clarkson has written an exhaustive and fascinating history of the town of Cass, covering the years from 1900-1990. What once consisted of three houses at the mouth of Leatherbark Run became the location of one of the largest lumber mills in the eastern United States. As the available timber waned, the town survived only because its historic railroad became… Read more about this item

If you are looking for a complete history of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway's famous Greenbrier Division between Ronceverte and Durbin, West Virginia than you need to pick up a copy of The Durbin Route by William McNeel. Interestingly, the book was first printed in 1985 just five years after the line was formally abandoned by then Chessie System. It has… Read more about this item

Beginning as a narrow gauge line in 1880 and changing its name and gauge in 1881, this line opened the rich mining and timber regions of northern West Virginia at the turn of the 20th Century, creating such towns as Elkins, Thomas, and Davis and igniting and explosion in mining and lumbering industries. It connected the C&O at Durbin after… Read more about this item

A wonderfully researched, well-written history of Henry Gassaway Davis' central West Virginia coal line completed in 1905 and merged into the B&O in 1917. This tremendously detailed account provides a great history of interest to railfans, those interested in coal mining, West Virginia mountain railroading and regional history. Information on the Coal and Coke was scarce and photos virtually unknown. This edition… Read more about this item

Meadow River Lumber was a giant among Central Appalachian hardwood manufacturers. The railroad served a vital role – keeping the big mill stocked with logs. Once the land of log trains, West Virginia's array of railroads included many significant timber-related operations. This was the last and most long lived of them all – and one of the most colorful Meadow… Read more about this item

William Warden began photographing logging railroads in West Virginia in 1957. This book explains–and illustrates with both color and black & white photographs–the operations of logging railroads in the state from about 1940-1960. It includes a fascinating look at the rapid and haphazard laying of track, the challenge of getting up the mountains, and the hazards of derailing locomotives. Warden's book… Read more about this item

This book details the cycle of coal transportation, originating at the market and tells how the railroads of the Appalachian region developed and served this important trade. It concentrates on the Norfolk and Western, Virginian, and Chesapeake & Ohio Railways, but also deals with some of the other lines that hauled coal, including the Baltimore & Ohio, and the Louisville… Read more about this item

With eighty-six vintage photographs, Shay Logging Locomotives takes a historic look back into the wild heart of West Virginia, when a magnificent fleet of geared steam locomotives served the region's paper and lumber industry. Today the scenic railroad at Cass is a gem of our national heritage. Hailed as one of Appalachia's largest and longest operating lines, this book examines the… Read more about this item

The southern end of Cheat Mountain was a wilderness known only to hunters and fishermen until 1900. This book covers the next 60 years in a detailed study of the timber industry. Wonderful photos are on every page. Lumbering and the steam era of railroads including locomotives, loaders, and tower skidders and their operation are documented. The construction of the second largest… Read more about this item

This fifth volume in the WV Railroads series is a general history of the geared Shay, Climax, and Heisler type locomotives that were so prevalent during the West Virginia logging operations in the era from 1890s until the 1950s. Included are overview histories of each type of engine followed by chapters showing photos of the engines as they were being… Read more about this item

This fourth volume in the West Virginia Railroads series tells the story of the Virginian Railway within the state. Built late in the railway era, it was intended for the almost exclusive haulage of coal from West Virginia mines to Norfolk, Virginia. The Virginian operated a 136 mile electrified mainline, much of it through its West Virginia territory, which improved… Read more about this item

Noted railroad author and B&O historian Bob Withers does a great job telling this important part of the West Virginia Railroads story. This third volume of the series features the B&O that entered the state in the 1830's and grew with the development of the coal and lumber industries.

This is second in a series of books on railroads in West Virginia. The first volume, published in 2009, gives an overview of all railroads in the state, while this volume deals exclusively with the C & O. The era is Mid-20th Century (1935-1965), and the story is told not only with words and photos but with many maps and… Read more about this item

This book outlines the history of railroading in West Virginia from the earliest entry of Baltimore & Ohio into what was then western Virginia up to the 1860s. In addition to B&O, Chesapeake & Ohio, Western Maryland, Norfolk & Western, and Virginian have major chapters. Smaller sections cover the New York Central, short lines, logging railroads, and others that had only… Read more about this item

This book documents the construction of railroads in West Virginia, largely to access the untouched stands of timber in such counties as Upshur, Webster, Nicholas, and Randolph. Johnson Newlon Camden and Henry Gassaway Davis were the two men that were the driving forces behind these railroads. They were industrialists and politicians as well as friends and rivals. Camden built the… Read more about this item

On January 29, 1873, Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railway officials drove a ceremonial spike at Hawks Nest, West Virginia, completing their new rail line from Richmond, Virginia, to Huntington, West Virginia. The railroad achieved George Washington's century-old dream to connect the Atlantic Ocean and Ohio River through efficient transportation. The construction lasted more than 35 years, and the arduous work—completed… Read more about this item