Huntington, WV - Still a Railroad Town

Huntington, WV was founded  by Collis P. Huntington to serve as the western terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. CSX, the railroad that descended from the B & O, still has a very large presence in Huntington. The above photo shows several locomotives lined up in the locomotive repair facility awaiting service. As you drive east on 8th Avenue in Huntington, it is not unusual to see as many as a dozen locomotives lined up end to end as they are routed to their final destinations.

The city of Huntington is divided by the railroad tracks shown above that run east and west through the city. Huntington is divided into downtown and the south side by the tracks, requiring viaducts under the tracks to allow vehicle traffic unimpeded access back and forth. A large amount of freight still passes through Huntington on its way to the rest of the country. The hopper car pictured below was once manufactured at the former ACF factory in Huntington.

Since Huntington is located in the coal fields of Appalachia, it is no surprise that coal represents a large part of the freight that passes through the city daily. Hundreds of carloads similar to the rail cars shown below arrive from the coalfields for routing to power plants, barge terminals, steel mills, and other bulk users of coal. 

Along with the relatively safe freight cars of coal, grain and lumber, come other types of freight that are more hazardous. An example of this is the tanker car of chlorine gas shown above. Chlorine gas was used a gas weapon against front line troops in the trenches during World War One. This heavier than air gas would collect in trenches and low spots and remain a threat to troops until the wind dispersed it. Leaks in rail cars of this type have caused evacuations of people living near the railroad.