W&W Railroad and Lost River Railroad

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Like many towns in America, Wardensville saw the boom of the railroad hit the area hard. Unfortunately, resources were used up and the railroad was gone by the early 1930s. This location is where the old train station would have been way back in 1921 when it first came to town. Check out more about the history of the railroad in Wardensville below.

Images

W&W Train

W&W Certification

W&W Schedule

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The first train track was built in January 1918, by The Intermountain Construction Company. Due to a shortage of heavy machinery during wartime, construction was slow with the track to Wardensville not being completed until May 25th, 1921. A celebration was held and West Virginia Governor John C. Cornwell delivered a speech on the positive effect that the railroad would have on the future growth of the region's economy. His brother, William B. Cornwell, was the president of the Winchester and Western Railroad at the time. Locals fondly referred to the W&W Railroad as “Weak and Weary” due to its sporadic and slow activity along its route.

In the late 1920s, the line was constructed further beyond Wardensville, known as the Lost River Railroad. The rail yard, which was located in the area of Wardensville’s current Visitor’s Center, was the terminus for three Lost River narrow-gauge railroad lines. Rough-sawn lumber was hauled to Wardensville for transfer to cars going on standard-gauge tracks to the Gore, Virginia flooring plant, or to the sawmill for processing into flooring, finished lumber, railroad ties or bridge supports. Other loads such as petroleum products were delivered to a Standard Oil tank facility, which was located near the present day Kac-Ka-Pon Restaurant. An estimated 2,000,000 or more broad feet of high-grade lumber was hauled to Wardensville. The railbuses carried passengers and commodities, such as poultry and farm produce. Cream from Reymann Memorial Farm was transported to Thompson’s Dairy in D.C.

The use of the mainline itself dwindled by the early 1930s with cars becoming the new way to travel. Freight traffic to and from Wardensville declined and the line was trimmed back to Capon Springs Station in 1934 due to the exhaustion of the region's timber reserves. Wardensville’s train station was torn down, eventually becoming the high school and grade school for a few years. First named the Winchester & Wardensville Railroad, it was later changed to the Winchester & Western in 1941.

Sources

Mason, Gary. Beyond the Great North Mountain: A History and Guide, December 15th 2016. Accessed August 1st 2020.

McKeever, Kenna. History of Wardensville, West Virginia, January 1st 1957. Accessed August 1st 2020.