Amidst the verdant hills and winding waterways of northeastern Kentucky, the Eastern Kentucky Railway (EK) once stood as a vital artery, its iron rails spanning 36 miles and connecting the communities of Riverton and Webbville.
Amidst the verdant hills and winding waterways of northeastern Kentucky, the Eastern Kentucky Railway (EK) once stood as a vital artery, its iron rails spanning 36 miles and connecting the communities of Riverton and Webbville. Serving as a lifeline for the region’s mines and nascent pig-iron blast furnaces, this stalwart transportation link ultimately succumbed to the unrelenting grip of the Great Depression, its final journey etched into history in 1933.
From its origins in Riverton (now known as Greenup), the EK’s rails followed the meandering course of Town Branch before entering the picturesque Little Sandy River Valley. Along its winding path, the line traversed two tunnels, both of which have since collapsed under the inexorable weight of time, before approaching the hamlet of Argillite and its third subterranean passage. While the tunnel itself has endured, its northern portal now stands sealed by the encroaching forces of nature, a small landslide standing sentinel over this remnant of a bygone era.
Southward from Argillite, the EK’s tracks hugged the banks of Cane Creek, their rhythmic cadence echoing through the valley until the line’s abandonment ushered in a new era – the construction of State Route 207 upon the railroad’s former right-of-way. At Hunnewell, a railroad shop stood proudly across the tracks from the Hunnewell Furnace, a testament to the industry that once thrived in these hills. From this bustling hub, the EK turned westward, tunneling beneath a ridge to reach Hopewell, before turning southward once more to follow the winding course of the Little Sandy River.
The rails wound their way through Grayson, turning southeast towards Hitchins via the present-day State Route 773. From Hitchins, the EK proceeded southward along the Little Fork of the Little Sandy River, its path marked by a bridge near Johns Run – a structure later repurposed for State Route 1, only to be abandoned in time.
The final stretch of the EK’s journey, from Johns Run south to Willard and Webbville, was but a fleeting sojourn, the grading of the long-gone tracks the sole remaining evidence of its once-vital existence.
Today, the Eastern Kentucky Railway stands as a fading memory, its echoes growing fainter with each passing year. Yet, in the whispers of the wind and the rush of the waters that once flanked its rails, one can still discern the faint rhythms of an era gone by, a reminder of the indomitable spirit that carved this iron path through the rugged hills of the Bluegrass State.
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Add Yours →Are there any maps with ‘current’ locations of the remaining tunnels?