4/28-30/2022
Destination, Ohiopyle, PA. Driving out of Greenbrier Valley West Virginia, follow US 60 west to begin. Our visit to West Virginia confirms this is the “mountain state”. All of our driving here has been up, down, all around, hill and dale, and steep sloped mountains. These mountains do not have the elevation of many others, but the terrain is rough, steep and scenic, and the valleys have active streams bright with spring growth. Twice we have seen what appears to be horizontal mine shafts. Western PA and WV are known to have many coal deposits in the hills and mountains. While staying along the Greenbrier River, a RR track was directly on the other side. Several times a day, a long cargo train would travel outbound with empty cars, and inbound loaded with coal. I estimated the number of cars on the trains (with 2 or 3 engines) to be approximately 200 cars in length, based on 1 car per second passing rate for a duration of 200 seconds. It’s funny, this is our 5’th major RV camping trip, and most of the campgrounds are within hearing distance of RR track, and often very close. It gets a bit tiring sometimes, to hear the familiar powerful whistle during the night, and expect the rumble of the cars, the percussion of the heavy loads crossing track junctions, and the clank and squeal of the wheels for the next several minutes as the long train passes. Along the Greenbrier, it was different. Not sure why, but it was interesting and almost comforting when the long cargo passed by, perhaps, because there was no obnoxious whistle announcing the train, just the slow build up, steady passing and gradual fading to the distance.
We are camping near the Ohiopyle State Park in the Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania. The hilly region has the same geology as West Virginia. Layers of sandstone, shale and coal deposited 300 million years ago, and later were uplifted by tectonic plate movement. Today’s landscape is characterized by steep walled mountains, with exposed ledge, cliffs, and boulders. Fast streams cut deep valleys through the soft stone. Three coal veins are visible in this cut along the former rail bed.
Retired and Loving It 