Remembered with Love

The Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad (BC&G) was an 18.6 mile long coal-hauling short-line that operated in central West Virginia in its original form from 1904 through 1965.

The locomotive on the front of this post card is a 2-8-0, “Consolidation”. Number 13 was owned by the BC&G. The photo was taken in April of 1963. BC&G Consolidation #13 was built by the Alco's Brooks works in 1920 as c/n 61579. She was acquired by the BC&G in 1950 from the Kelly's Creek and Northwestern. BC&G Consolidation drew the assignment to be on the point of the final scheduled train from Widen before the Rich Run Mine closed. The date was December 30, 1963. Engine #13 had a life after the BC&G. She was sold in 1964 to the South Penn Museum, then went to the Lakeshore Central System before going to the Logansport & Eel River. She is currently owned by the Ohio Central Railroad. She served there in tourist service for a number of years. The engine is now at the AGE OF STEAM museum in Ohio, but is currently not in service. The history of the Buffalo Creek & Gauley can be broken into four fairly distinct periods. The first runs from the formation of the Elk River Coal and Lumber Co. and the chartering of the BC&G in 1904 until the final closing of the BC&G in 1965. The BC&G bought only one engine new, Baldwin Consolidation #4, in 1926, but it continued to acquire steam engines long after other railroads had dieselized. Consolidations #13 and #14 were purchased from the Kelly's Creek and Northwestern in 1950. The logging line had three Climax acquired new over the years, and acquired their last steam engine, Shay #19, from the Cherry River Boom & Lumber Company as late as 1957. This engine, and other geared engines, traveled into the woods along the Lilly Fork. The Lilly Fork varied in length over the years but reached about 9 miles into the woods. The second period is the 1970's and early 1980's when the Majestic Mining Company reopened the line for a while. The third period was in the early 1990's when The Elk River Railroad, Inc. used a portion of the former BC&G track. The final period is, fortunately, the present. This includes the work being done by the BC&G Co-Operative to establish a tourist line on the former BC&G track. The above information was gleaned from this website. The website reflects some people's love and concern for keeping the memory of the Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad alive. Take a look at what they have to say. www.buffalocreekandgauley.com

The post card was published by Railcards.com. I know nothing about the publisher even though I have 204 of their post cards in my collection.