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Winchester & Western Railroad"The Ol' Weak and Weary" |
In the summer of 1916, it was decided by the Baltimore & Ohio RR as well as the Winchester Lumber Company that the forests of Hardy, Hampshire, and Frederick Counties of West Virginia could potentially be tapped for their resources. In the years following, the country was participating in the First World War and more railroad ties were needed due to the resulting increase in rail traffic. The Intermountain Construction Company began working on the Winchester & Western Railroad, and the first train set track in January 1918 to carry lumber from Gore to Winchester, VA. Construction was a long process due to a shortage of heavy machinery during wartime, and the track itself was completed to Wardensville, WV by May 25, 1921. West Virginia Governor John J. Cornwell spoke during a celebration held at the end of construction, saying that the railroad line will help to grow the region’s economy. His brother, William B. Cornwell was named president of Winchester and Western Railroad at the time.
The Winchester & Western Railroad operates two shortline divisions, one in northern Virginia and another in southern New Jersey. The Virginia division includes the shortline's original trackage, opened in 1917, which ran west from namesake Winchester through the village of Gore and beyond. Currently the line ends in Gore, where shops are maintained and where sand and other raw materials are excavated, processed, and loaded for rail shipment. In 1986 the company acquired from Conrail the former Pennsylvania Railroad (later Penn Central) "Winchester Secondary" trackage from Winchester north to Hagerstown, Maryland, through Martinsburg, West Virginia. At the same time the railroad also acquired ex Pennsylvania and Central Railroad of New Jersey lines in southern New Jersey. Both divisions serve sand quarries owned by parent company Unimin Corporation and both divisions interchange with CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern. A fleet of short-length covered hoppers is utilized for outbound sand and raw materials.
WW Virginia Division map / web
RWH
1982 Official Guide ad / collection
1994 Official Guide ad / collection
Dec 2018 / RWH
Motive Power
Winchester & Western #403
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester & Western #403
to Southern Pacific #3403
to Precision National Corp #3403
to Tidewater Grain
to Winchester & Western #403
Jul 2016 / RWH
Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester & Western #572
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Winchester & Western #572
to Penn Central, later Conrail #7572
to Wilmington & Western #572
Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Winchester & Western #575
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Winchester & Western #575
to Penn Central #7265
to Conrail #7575
to Wilmington & Western #575
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Winchester & Western #709
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester & Western #709
to Penn Central #7090, later Conrail
to Winchester & Western #709
Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester & Western #752
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Winchester & Western #752
to Penn Central #7527
to Conrail #7527
to Winchester & Western #752
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Winchester & Western #2197
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester & Western #2197
to Illinois Central Gulf
to Nebraska Public Power District #1
to Winchester & Western #2197
Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Road Slugs
Winchester & Western #210
road slug / Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Jul 2016 / RWH
Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Dead Line
Eastern Shore #8066
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Eastern Shore #8066
to Illinois Central Gulf GP10 #8066
to Eastern Shore #8066
to Winchester & Western for parts
See more GP10 #8066 pictures in our Eastern Shore Railroad scrapbook in Shortlines
Jul 2016 / RWH
Jul 2016 / RWH
Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Cape Charles, Va / Jul 2004 / RWH
Rolling Stock
Dec 2018 / RWH
As sand is the principle outbound commodity on the southern end of the Winchester & Western, Virginia Division, excavated at a large facility just west of Gore, 2-bay covered sand hoppers can be seen everywhere on the property and in their trains. The railroad has a large fleet of shorty hopper cars marked for Winchester & Western as well as for parent company Unimin Corporation.
Winchester & Western #4379
2 bay sand hopper / Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Unimin Corporation #4771
2 bay sand hopper / Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Unimin Corporation #1401
2 bay sand hopper / Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Unimin Corporation #6697
2 bay sand hopper / Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
General American Marks #9328
2 bay sand hopper / Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester & Western #4022
3 bay covered hopper / Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Unimin Corporation #4329
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Unimin Corporation #4460
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Unimin Corporation #7246
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Unimin Corporation #7287
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
New Castle, Pennsylvania
Unimin Corporation #9517
New Castle, Pa / Sep 2017 / RWH
Sep 2017 / RWH
RWH
Scouting out familiar locations in New Castle, Pennsylvania, along my fave shortline New Castle Industrial Railroad, I was pleased to uncover a Winchester & Western shorty hopper tucked into a string of sand cars awaiting unloading. The Industrial handles hoppers of sand for the oil and gas 'fracking' industry in the region. The sand is transloaded to trucks and distributed to a variety of sites in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Having come to know the Winchester & Western and seen the source of the sand at the pit near Gore, I was delighted to find a WWUCX car far from home and making money for two shortline railroads. No doubt #9396 made it to New Castle via a CSX Transportation routing. The NCIR interchanges with CSX in their New Castle yard, which a Division point on the line from Cumberland, MD, to Willard, OH. The WW interchanges with CSX at Martinsburg, WV, along its Cumberland to Baltimore line. In the era of big unit trains and double-high containers, it is nice to see an example of loose-car railroading still hard at work ... and shared between two shortlines I love to follow.
See also our New Castle Industrial Railroad scrapbook in Shortlines
Unimin Corporation #9517
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Locations
CED Process Minerals
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester & Western shops
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Click to see Winchester & Western shop area plotted on a Google Maps page
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Baltimore & Ohio depot
built 1893 / Winchester, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Click to see the Winchester depot area plotted on a Google Maps page
Winchester, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Winchester, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Helena Chemical Company
Winchester, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
railroad overpass / Martinsburg, WV / Jul 2016 / RWH
RWH
Action
Lagniappe
Sabbath Rest
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Report Your Problems
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Shortline Solutions
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Blue Skies
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Parts Supply
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Saturday Sentinel
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Mid Afternoon Aperture
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Late Afternoon Geep
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Lightheaded
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Frederick County Crossing
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Sunbather
Gore, Va / Dec 2018 / RWH
Snapshots
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Gore, Va / Jul 2016 / RWH
Links / Sources
- Winchester & Western Railroad website
- Virginia Railroad Association Winchester & Western page
- Wikipedia article for Winchester & Western
- Diesel Shop roster for Winchester & Western
- Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide - Fifth Edition (Kalmbach, 1996) 337-8