Between 1922 and 1923, the Virginian Railway laid down what would become the Glen Rogers Branch, a 15-mile track carved into the rugged landscapes of West Virginia.
Between 1922 and 1923, the Virginian Railway laid down what would become the Glen Rogers Branch, a 15-mile track carved into the rugged landscapes of West Virginia. This track was no mere feat of engineering; it was a lifeline to the colossal coal mines at Glen Rogers, operated by the Raleigh-Wyoming Mining Company. Today, what remains of this once-bustling artery is a ghostly stretch of rail, boasting four towering trestles and two shadowy tunnels, the crown jewel being a 2,463-foot tunnel through Polk Gap, a testament to the ambitions of an era long passed.
Our journey to the north portal, guided by the generosity and knowledge of a neighboring landowner, followed the remnants of a bygone logging railroad laid by the Ritter Lumber Company and an ancient roadway, weaving through the wilderness like a thread through the fabric of history.
Following the closure of the Glen Rogers mines in 1960, the branch fell into a deep slumber, its tracks untouched, its tunnels silent. Yet, as if resisting the quietude of oblivion, the branch stirred once more in the early ’70s. The Ranger Fuel Corporation, in a bid to tap the lingering riches beneath the earth, opened its Beckley No. 1 mine at Bolt in November 1973, followed by the Beckley No. 2 mine at Sabine in October 1975. These ventures breathed a fleeting life into the old rails, promising 25 to 30 years of activity. But as the last coal seam was exhausted by the mid-1990s, the Glen Rogers Branch was left to the elements, its fate hanging between the hopes of revitalization and the finality of dismantlement.
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210520-DJI_0055-Edit-1024x682.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210520-DJI_0059-Edit-1024x682.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210520-DJI_0052-Edit-1024x682.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210520-DJI_0047-Edit-1024x682.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i2.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210520-DJI_0046-Edit-1024x682.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i2.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210520-DJI_0050-Edit-1024x682.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3093-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3094-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i2.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3096-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3188-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3193-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3091-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i2.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3097-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3185.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3126-HDR.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3128-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3103-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i2.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3102.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3129.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3114-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3113.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3138.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i2.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3140-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3132-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3155-HDR.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3173-HDR-1024x684.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i0.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3164-HDR.jpg?ssl=1)
![Virginian Railway Glen Rogers Branch](https://i1.wp.com/abandonedonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20210521-_DSC3135.jpg?ssl=1)