Railroad Switching On Coal Branch, Shoving Train Up To Coal Loadout Big Eagle Railroad West Virginia

How coal cars are loaded on a 6 mile long railroad branch line. Railroad switching at a railroad yard at the end of a coal spur to a load out. This is the Big Eagle Railroad in West Virginia near Charleston and Chesapeake. The train is almost in the street as it hugs the roads to the coal mine tipple. After the train climbs the steep grade to the coal loader we see it do some shunting in the small rail yard. The locomotives are cut off and run around the train. Then we see them shove the cars to the coal loader. After the train is loaded it returns down the holler to the CSX interchange. I have made 2 other videos of this operation. See those videos for more information. Here is the info that I learned:
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 going up the branch right next to the roadway pavement. After that we see the locomotives cut off and run around the train to shove it up to the coal loadout at the end of the line. Then we see the train being loaded with coal. I also show the historic engine house for the locomotives on this line. Then we see a loaded coal train coming down to the CSX interchange. I will have another video showing more of the loaded coal trains. This is filmed in 4K so I am keeping the videos short. Coal keeps the lights on son! Don't miss the dog and 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 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 a video of a coal train on this railroad slowing for a dog in the tracks.    • Coal Train Slows For Dog On Track Whi...   Here is another video that I made of this railroad.    • Coal Train In Middle Of Street!  Big ...   Don't miss my other videos of this line! Filmed July 26, 2021.
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