Coal Train Slows For Dog On Track While Climbing Steep Holler, West Virginia Coal Trains, Big Eagle

Dog standing on railroad crossing with a coal train coming. The train was pulling hard up a steep grade heading to the coal loadout. First the train was doing railroad switching near the CSX mainline at the railroad interchange area known as Winifrede Junction. This is a West Virginia short line railroad called Big Eagle Railroad operated by the Kanawha River Railroad since 2019. CSX has an interchange with the 6+ mile line near Chesapeake, WV along the Kanawha River. Tracks have sectional stick rail and the maximum train length is 28 cars. The line literally sits right next to the highway in a few spots, goes under the CSX main line and is curvy and steep. The line ends at a coal loadout with a 4 track yard. This was the Winifrede Railroad until the line closed in 1989. After a decade it was reopened and called the Big Eagle Railroad. Coal business has waxed and waned over the years and today it is used as needed. When the line was originally built in 1854 the coal was shipped from the loadout to the Kanawha River where it was shipped by boat. Today the railroad leases 2 locomotives, both of which are GP38-3s. They were built by EMD. #2109 was built in August of 1972 and #2115 was built in October of 1976. Communications are on 160.605 and there is no EOT. This video shows the train being assembled and then we see it crossing the road with the dog barking at railfans from North Carolina. Then we see the train crossing a bridge next to a railroad crossing. At 11:28 we pace the train as it is running literally right next to the highway! After that we see the historic engine house that is also used as a maintenance of way facility. Then we see the train being loaded with coal at the end of the line. After a quick look at my dogs we see the train going under the CSX mainline while returning for its 2nd load of black diamonds. Coal keeps the lights on son! Don't miss the slide show at the end also! This is one of the most interesting railroads that I have ever seen. Luckily this line is still in operation with the current war on coal. Coal power plants keep getting shut down due to strict EPA regulations and with cheap natural gas available. Also, wind and solar power is hurting the coal industry. Until about 2009 it seemed like coal was safe for decades. Today I'm having a difficult time finding coal trains to film. I spent 2 and a half days trying to film a coal train going through Natural Tunnel, Virginia and there were only 2 that went through and both were at night. I use to visit there about 20 years ago and I saw coal trains every couple hours or so. I sure hope the Big Eagle Railroad will be here for years to come. I was really lucky that the day I was here they had about 112 car loads to ship out. It took 2 days to get the coal to the CSX interchange. Amtrak Cardinal operates 3 round trips a week on the CSX line here. I have ridden Amtrak on this line a few times. Big Eagle Railroad does not run everyday. Here is another video that I made of this railroad.    • Coal Train In Middle Of Street!  Big ...   Don't miss my future videos of this line! Filmed July 26, 2021.
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