Riding West on Amtrak's "Cardinal" (Part II)




The most scenic leg of the Cardinal begins at White Sulfur Springs and continues to Charleston.  Riding first along the Greenbrier River to its confluence with the New River at Hinton, this eons-old valley was given national park status in 1978, and the rugged region is replete with gorgeous scenery, dotted with the remnants of industry that has largely faded into the past.  (On east bound trains, a volunteer historian details the historical sights between Charleston and White Sulfur Springs.  Regrettably uneven speaker systems in the trains mean you may, or may not, understand what is being said.)


The New River flows north, within a few miles of the Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve.  On my trip, a young man in a Scouting uniform heading to the reservation was seated nearby.  Since I haven't been involved in the organization in a couple of decades I tend to say, "I was an Eagle Scout."  The young man reminds me "once an Eagle, always an Eagle."  I miss that sort of idealism.  Bechtel's construction has enhanced the economy of the area, not only during the quadrennial Jubilees, but as a high adventure base for use year-round.


The well-worn station at Prince gives the impression of a town that has seen better days.  Ecotourism and white-water rafting have brought some business back, but it hasn't replaced the mines that many men like my grandfather worked in for decades.  The Prince station was used regularly by one of my cousins in the 1980's, going between parent's homes in West Virginia in Maryland.  The Thurmond station further up river was used by my Dad in his pre-college years working in D.C.  Thurmond (population 5) is the one of the least used stops in the Amtrak system, averaging a passenger a day.  It has a visitor's center attached to the national park, and was the filming location for the 1987 film Matewan, a historical drama about the West Virginia coal wars.


Just past Fayetteville, 800 feet above the tracks, is the New River Gorge Bridge, which at 3,030 feet was once the longest steel arch bridge in the world.  Built on U.S. Route 19 from 1974-77, some of my earliest memories are of watching the ending stages of construction of this engineering marvel.  Home to a yearly walk and base-jumping event that closes the span entirely on the third Saturday in October, tourists during the rest of the year can take a guided catwalk tour under the bridge.  The completion of the bridge made travel through southern West Virginia considerably easier, taking nearly 40 minutes off of a trip that previously required a long set of switchbacks on either side on either side of the river.
New River Gorge National River ends at Hawk's Nest, a state park with a scenic overlook that has been a favorite for years.  Just a few miles further up river, the New River meets the Gauley at Kanawha Falls.  The Kanawha River flows 97 miles, first through Charleston, and then cutting to Point Pleasant, on its way to its confluence with the Ohio River.   These two rivers remain the base of industry in the region.


The chemical industry not only supported my family growing up, but the families of most of my friends.  Companies like DuPont, FMC, and Union Carbide, just to name a few, employed thousands of people in the Kanawha Valley, producing hundreds of industrial and agricultural chemicals.  As that industry has gradually moved elsewhere, employment opportunities have become more limited, and this year, even the campus of West Virginia Tech was moved to Beckley.  Montgomery, once a prosperous corner of the upper Kanawha Valley, is now eerily quiet, and even the community pool stands empty in the middle of June.

As you pass by gradually larger towns on the way to Charleston, the Alloy metals plant and the massive DuPont plant come into view on the north side of the River.  Entering Kanawha City, the southeastern most part of Charleston, you can crane your neck to see the state capitol.  Although taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington, it is largely obscured by the University of Charleston campus.  Downtown is much easier to see a mile later.  Nine hours from your starting point- three more than it would have taken by car, and six or seven by plane counting time at the airport, you pull into the turn of the 20th century C & O depot that, six times a week, is still a train station. On a warm summer evening, you may even be greeted by a concert at Haddad Riverfront Park.  This is not the fastest way to Charleston, but it's worth the view, and the completely relaxed feeling you have leaving the train.



Amtrak's Cardinal departs runs from New York's Penn Station to Chicago's Union Station on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and from Chicago to New York on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

www.amtrak.com

© 2017 Randall Stewart

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