Thurmond, West Virginia

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Thurmond, West Virginia: Key Appalachian Mountain Railroad Town

Thurmond, a historic town in Fayette County, West Virginia, at coordinates 37.957°N 81.079°W and an elevation of 1,073 feet (327 m), was founded in 1900 by Captain William D. Thurmond, a Confederate veteran who acquired 73 acres along the New River.

Early History

Initially a remote settlement in the coal-rich New River Gorge, it incorporated in 1903 and peaked at around 500 residents by the 1920s, fueled by mining and rail activity. The town featured hotels, banks, and saloons, but declined post-1950s due to mechanized mining and railroad shifts, with population dropping to 5 by 2020.

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway

Railroads defined Thurmond’s rise, with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) extending its mainline through the gorge in 1873. Thurmond became a key town after its depot opened in 1888 (rebuilt 1904), serving as a vital coal assembly point where short trains from local mines were consolidated for longer hauls. By 1910, it was the C&O’s top revenue generator, handling millions of tons of smokeless coal annually from southern West Virginia fields. C&O operations in the region centered on the New River Subdivision, with Thurmond as a division point featuring yards, an engine house, coaling towers, and repair shops for steam locomotives navigating steep terrain. It supported branch lines like Loup Creek and Southside Junction, assembling trains for eastern markets and hosting up to 15 daily passenger trains at peak.

Nearby C&O towns and hubs complemented Thurmond. Hinton, 20 miles downstream, was the primary division point and assembly hub, where coal trains from Thurmond arrived for classification, crew changes, and maintenance before heading east or west. Prince, with its 1905 depot, served as a passenger stop and feeder point for gorge traffic, relating to Thurmond via shared mainline operations. Quinnimont and Sewell were upstream mining outposts, funneling coal to Thurmond for initial processing. These towns formed a network along the New River, with Thurmond as a central collection site sending loads to Hinton for broader dispatch.

Thurmond Today

Today, Thurmond is a preserved ghost town in New River Gorge National Park (1978, expanded 2020), with restored structures like the depot attracting tourists. CSX Transportation (C&O successor since 1986) owns the active mainline, running occasional freight through the gorge amid reduced coal traffic. Amtrak’s Cardinal stops thrice weekly, linking Chicago to New York and highlighting Thurmond’s rail heritage.

For More Information – Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the history and operation of the Appalachian Railroads. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Appalachian-Railroads.org. Much of the collective railroad history data points on this website are verified across multiple sources.

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Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the railroads or model railroading.

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