Wednesday, December 29, 2021

 Nothing Gold (Or Coal) Can Stay

In his poem "Stay Gold" Robert Frost says.."Nothing Gold can stay". Its a nice way of saying that beautiful things are not forever, they fade. However, I tend to see that while yes, things do fade, you can see that they were gold by slowing down and knowing that what you see, must have been incredible once. THAT is the exact reason I take photographs. Its obvious to see a thing and know an object has passed its prime, BUT it can still TEACH. In many places in West Virginia, we do see these places. Why cant we slow down and look? Imagine what we could learn.  Click on any image to see its larger size and please do feel free to comment.


The Bank of Matoaka, located on Matoaka WV in Mercer County. I remember watching 2 men walking about trying to locate the old bank building....They stood at its base for 20 minutes and just needed to look up.


The Miners memorial in Madison WV, located in Boone County. I am glad I stopped at the courthouse and just looked.


Coalwood High, the ORIGINAL located in Coalwood WV, Mcdowell County. It hides near the main road behind trees and yes, its roof is gone. BUT just look at the archway..I had to look.


Coke oven at Nuttallburg WV, located in Fayette County. A perfect brick dome coke oven that fired all the impurities out of the coal and made coke.  



The next 2 pictures are from Elkhorn, WV, located in McDowell county. While the church does have services, the turret top and the service station show wear. BUT can you imagine the stories they have heard?







I conclude this entry with the shot below of tracks at Nuttallburg. NOTE how the trees have literally grown through and over the tracks. Now rails pass through the bottoms.



The log church at Artie WV. I hope it stays, but in this moment and photo, it will








Saturday, December 25, 2021

 On the way to: TWILIGHT, West Virginia

Every once in a while, a place is named perfectly. In southern West Virginia, there is Twilight. Located in Boone County, Twilight is at best, alone. Currently, lots of folks feature Twilight in a number of the lost and abandoned blogs, which is to me, a total waste of time.. I LOVE the name and I LOVE the fact that Twilight has its own character. MOST people drive by, then leave after they snap pictures of collapsing houses in an isolated setting. NOT ME.I saw the processing facility in Bandytown as I drove toward Twilight. When I entered,  I thought, this is power.

Eagle Nest Incorporated. This is in front of what used to be the original facility, YES the portal across the road is sealed, but can be found. , This is the newer facility and I was in awe to get so close to see what so many never see.


Shot from the road.



Taking a walk in the processing facility. I LOVED it. 


Processing silos. I was totally engaged and loved taking the shots I could with my camera


The point of photographing Twilight is simple. IF you stop and look, you will see why you come to photograph coal towns, it is their power. Power is not in what is abandoned, or falling, power is wondering, what was there???








Friday, December 17, 2021

 TRAINS........Where do they go?

When you start photographing coal towns, you will encounter trains, or train tracks. Its a fact. Below are a few train places in West Virginia that pretty much is a starter set, we will have more. As a tender reminder. If you find an old train engine and want to see it inside and photograph, thats swell. BUT dont be an idiot and play with any brake or hydraulic lines. Unless you want to be buried in a 12 ounce jelly jar...leave the equipment alone. 

Below is Bluefield. Nowhere near the giant it was, Bluefield starts dead south and lets the trains crawl and twist all over the tracks West Virginia. Note the large coaling tower in the center. Thats when trains needed coal and water to cool and be fueled.



Detail of caboose brake wheel on my favorite part of any train, The Caboose. I have been fascinated by them since I was a child. Their function? Primarily with braking and today they are almost an ornament.


Caboose interior. This shot made my day. Who would NOT want to go inside of a caboose??




Believe it or not, this was at the Wilco yard in Gary WV. Wilco was its own town until about 1971 when it became part of Gary


SO, I had to explore and get closer because, I have been fascinated by the caboose my whole life. On modern trains, they are almost a decoration. Below was also at the Wilco Yard.


At Elkhorn, I ran into luck. Since vandalism is everywhere, I was able to take some inside pics as the door had been smashed open. I very much felt like a child and I had a ball taking these shots. The nest 2 are cupola shots and on this caboose model, it allowed for some fun.



Oddly, when I took this shot, I did not see until later, that it resembled a face....Yes, this is what folks call a cupola, it allows a higher vantage point of sight on a caboose.


Detail shots below. I really felt fun, and joy. Even after the long drive kind of shattered me.









At Quinnimont, this sad guy is done. NOT ready for service anymore.


When the coal has been exhausted, the trains go away as do the tracks and eventually, the entire town. Sometimes, you get to see rail signs and honestly, I enjoy them They are a charming reminder. What I do not like, are the morons and cretins who seek to vandalize them. Below was one of my favorite signs at Anawalt.

Iaeger WV, still has its tracks and signals. I enjoyed the shot below





















Sunday, December 12, 2021

 POCAHONTAS FUEL

ANY person who starts photography of coal towns needs to know the name, Pocahontas Fuel. The man behind this name was Jenkin Jones. Jones was Wales and become very much a titan in the coal fields. AND Yes, the town of Jenkinjones, in West Virginia is his name sake. 


Jones as a coal titan started in Virginia and then southern West Virginia. In the town of Boissevain VA, there is a wonderful Pocahontas Fuel building which time and apathy have started to eat it alive. Its resemblance to the Pocahontas Fuel buildings in Jenkinjones is remarkable. I finally was able to see the building in Boissevain and I am of the opinion that this building would give a very good view of just how incredible Jenkinjones was in its day. It is obvious that this building is in a sad state, however it is in far better condition than those in Jenkinjones.




From the front and the back, the building in Boissevain shows the neo classical architecture that Alex Mahood dotted Southern WV with. Mahood was a sought after architect, and his abilities showed off what a coal titan wanted: POWER and WEALTH

Rear view, Boissevain Pocahantas Fuel Building


While this building at Boissevain is longer, its zero doubt, that the main entrance had to be a clone of those at Jenkinjones.


INSIDE

It will NOT be a surprise that the following pics will show decay and vandalism. IF you want to know the history, LOOK BEYOND that.


Plaster cornices, wood lined hallways and offices.....This was not an after thought. 


Excellent views again, IMAGINE what this said in its day. This was a place of wealth and power.