Big Sandy & Cumberland

Company History: The 42” gauge BS&C was established in 1900 by the W.M. Ritter Lumber Company to run from a connection with the Norfolk & Western in Devon, West Virginia south through a corner of Kentucky to Grundy, Virginia, a length of 33 miles. The line was completed in 1916. Sections of the line had a third rail for handling standard gauge rolling stock. Norfolk & Western bought the railroad in 1923 to reach new coal mines in the area. In 1927 they began standard gauging the line and building a new right of way with tunnels to bypass the 6% grades between Blakely and Matney as well as other tight spots. The new lines opened in 1931. At that point, the BS&C flag was furled.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.