By 1879 the Bellaire and Southwestern (pre OR&W) was established between Bellaire and Woodsfield, Ohio. Dr. T. H. Armstrong of Armstrongs Mills established a 60-foot vertical shaft mine adjacent to the narrow gauge in 1880 to mine the six-foot thick Pittsburgh #8 coal seam covering the whole of the Captina Creek area - the first of the hidden treasures along the railroad. Captina Mine was named after the creek and the little village that grew around the mine became known as Captina. Besides the mine, miner’s cabins dotted the hillside, a general store was established, and the B&SW built a 10,000-gallon water tank and Captina Station east of the mine site to service passengers, telegraph, and freight. Captina Mine immediately became the main source of engine coal for the narrow gauge and the primary source for coal fuel for most towns and villages along the line - Woodsfield most notably.

For at least ten years, it was common practice for the Woodsfield switch engine to back all the way down the line 23 miles passing through Coats, Ozark, Jerusalem, Beallsville, Alledonia, and Armstrongs Mills to arrive at Captina Mine for four car loads of coal. To eliminate the hazard of backing, sometime after 1890 a wye was built just west of the mine on the low flat plain bounded by the creek, steep hillside, curve of the rail line, and the coal tailings pile. (See photo #1) There was just enough room to turn an engine and maybe one car. The open end of the wye faced south and stopped at the creek’s edge.

Captina Mine ceased operation in 1927 during the coal miner’s strike. That year the mine filled with ground water and was abandoned. However, the wye remained in place after the mine closed.  R.T. Belding Construction Company of Pittsburgh  removed it during the railroad scrapping operation during the summer and fall of 1932.

In 1952 the Pennsylvania Railroad built a standard gauge line up Captina Creek (now operated by Norfolk Southern) to service the Ohio Valley Coal Mine six miles further west up the creek on Colonel Mooney’s planned but never executed “Cutoff Line”. In so doing they obliterated this portion of the former narrow gauge. Today no trace of the mine, the coal tailings pile, the village or the narrow gauge can be found in this area. Only the name remains on maps to mark the location with the standard gauge marking the former narrow gauge roadbed. 

There are two modern ranch homes between the standard gauge and the creek, but they now maintain a Jacobsburg mailing address. One of these homes belongs to the Bert Simonson family. On a recent OR&W research day I happened to stop by and introduce myself to Bert. Turns out he is a history buff himself and maintains a collection of old sawmills and oil well pumping equipment from the turn of the 19th century. (More on this equipment in another installment). The notable element of discovery was Bert’s collection of narrow gauge rail from his yard. Turns out that while plowing his front yard a number of years ago he came across five intact 15 foot long sections of 40 pound steel rail with ends drilled for fishplates. No evidence of ties, but plenty of narrow gauge spikes. A check of the map revealed that Bert’s house sits on the land formally occupied by the OR&W Captina wye. Could these rails be part of the old wye left from the scrapping operation? Could be  - They are definitely narrow gauge in cross section and weight. (See photo #2). Why would the scrappers leave rail behind? Maybe the wye from disuse was covered over by dirt from the lane and flooding from the creek leaving the wye tail rails too much trouble to salvage.  Remember when the mine closed in 1927 the need to turn engines disappeared. The answer remains for continued speculation.