Re: Elk River Coal and Lumber Company Shays

Ethan Wrote:
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> Hey so I found this interesting logging railroad
> in West Virginia that goes by the "Elk River Coal
> and Lumber." Was reading about it and this photo
> came up of a shay crossing maybe a flooded track.

Flooded track is kinda a misnomer. More of a "lay the track in the stream and don't worry about building a bridge". The engine didn't care as long as the water stayed below the firebox. Most of these logging lines were constructed fairly cheaply, and no reason to spend more than the bare necessity on trackwork.


> I'm a bit confused on whether the shay in the
> photo is #12 or #19, I read that #19 is still
> around today preserved in Ohio. What was the story
> of the ERC&L?

ERC&L was kinda the logging arm of the Buffalo Creek & Gauley. They did share trackage for some miles, as the main mill was in Swandale on the BC&G mainline. 19 bounced around a bit including a tourist line in southwest Virginia, and eventually ended up in Ohio on display.