Winchester and Western Railroad
 |
|
| Reporting mark | WW |
|---|---|
| Locale | Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey |
| Dates of operation | 1941–present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Winchester, Virginia; Bridgeton, New Jersey |
| Website | WW Home |
The Winchester and Western Railroad (reporting mark WW) is a shortline railroad operating from Gore through Winchester, Virginia and West Virginia to Hagerstown, Maryland. It also operates several lines in southern New Jersey, connecting to Conrail Shared Assets Operations at Millville and Vineland.
The company's original line opened in 1917, extending west from Winchester to Rock Enon Springs, and the while the 'Winchester and Western Railroad' operating company went through several reorganizations, it remained independent of larger carriers.
In 1986, it grew suddenly adding newly acquired trackage when Conrail sold off parts of the former Pennsylvania Railroad, allowing the W&W to acquire the line from Winchester to Hagerstown, as well as the greater part of the W&W's New Jersey trackage—formerly parts of the Pennsylvania RR and Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ).
A short ex-CNJ branch from Bridgeton to Seabrook was acquired later from the New Jersey Southern Railway in 1987.
The W&W is exclusively a freight line with the majority of its freight supplied by the quarry of its parent company, Unimin, in Gore. In New Jersey, the W&W also serves Unimin sand interests and some grain traffic.
The Winchester & Western was initially incorporated on August 16, 1916 for the purpose of tapping the forests of southeastern Hampshire County, West Virginia and southwestern Frederick County, Virginia in order to supply railroad ties to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The idea of building such a conduit to tap these resources had been conceived during World War I when the traffic on the railways of the United States had been greatly increased. More railroad ties were needed to both construct new railways and maintain the lines already in use. A way to transport the hardwood timbers to the tie mills in Winchester was needed, and so the Winchester and Western was conceived.
...
Wikipedia