Pennsboro in Ritchie County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)
Pennsboro B&O Depot
Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 17, 2011
1. Pennsboro B&O Depot Marker
Constructed in two phases: east end construction circa 1883; east end remodeled and west end constructed circal 1900. The depot closed in 1974. The last passenger train passed through in the Spring of 1981.
Restoration began in the early 1990s by Save the Depot Organization spearheaded by Sondra Hayhurst. The Ritchie County Historical Society, Inc., assumed responsibility in 1992, leasing the property from the State of West Virginia, Bureau of Commerce, Division of Natural Resources, with the West Virginia Railroad Maintenance Authority as owner.
Restoration has been funded by grants from the Federal Highway Administration’s transportation enhancement programs and administered by the West Virginia Department of Highways; the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, administered by the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office; the Ritchie County Historical Society, Inc., and other local businesses and individual efforts. The Depot was placed on the National Register in 2007.
Topics and series. This historical marker is
this page online
Location. 39° 17.1′ N, 80° 58.133′ W. Marker is in Pennsboro, West Virginia, in Ritchie County. Marker is on Main Street (West Virginia Route 74) just south of Collins Avenue, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pennsboro WV 26415, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Harrisville (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pennsboro (about 500 feet away); The Stone House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Doddridge County / Ritchie County (approx. 3.2 miles away); Romeo H. Freer (approx. 6.2 miles away); Harrisville / Thomas Maley Harris (approx. 6.2 miles away); Ritchie County Veterans Memorial (approx. 6.8 miles away); a different marker also named Harrisville (approx. 6.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pennsboro.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 17, 2011
2. Pennsboro B&O Depot and Marker
Marker is on the far left. This view is trackside, now the North Bend Rail-Trail. Collins Avenue is at the top of the stairway.
Also see . . . Metropolitan Special. This daily train stopped at Pennsboro. “The Metropolitan Special was the workhorse passenger train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) during the 1920s–1960s between New York City and St. Louis, Missouri, with major station stops in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio. The New York station was actually in Jersey City, New Jersey, with bus service to and from Manhattan. The Metropolitan Special carried vast amounts of mail and express packages in many (often 10+) baggage cars and express cars, and the train served various smaller towns and villages that were bypassed by the more prestigious trains along the route, the National Limited and the Diplomat. Added revenue for the train came from Railway Post Office cars, which sorted and canceled mail en route, between terminals.” (Submitted on May 8, 2011.)
Additional commentary.
1. B&O Passenger Service
This was one of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s main lines west, between
Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 17, 2011
3. Pennsboro B&O Depot
This view is from Main Street. Collins Avenue intersects Main street at the right.
Westbound train No. 11, the Metropolitan Special between New York City and St. Louis Missouri via Washington stopped at Pennsboro at 5:31 PM. The eastbound Metropolitan Special, No. 12, stopped at 3:07 PM. The westbound Metropolitan Special left Jersey City NJ (across the Hudson River from New York City) at 11:45 PM the night before with sleeping cars that spent the night in Baltimore before continuing to Pennsboro the next morning. The train arrived in St. Louis at 7:40 AM the next day. The eastbound train left St. Louis at 11:15 PM, arrived Washington at 12:40 AM the next day and Jersey City at 6:30 AM. The dining cars on this train ran between Washington and Cincinnati to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Trains 23 and 24, The West Virginian, between Washington and Parkersburg were scheduled for Pennsboro at 10:40 AM westbound and 7:58 PM eastbound. Train 23 left Washington
From the collection of J.G. Howes via Wikipedia Commons, 1960
4. B&O Metropolitan Special Route Map
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) system map in 1960, with the route of the Metropolitan Special highlighted in orange. The dotted line segment between Baltimore and New York City operated only until 26 April, 1958.
Unnamed train 29 to St. Louis passed Pennsboro without stopping a little after 2 PM. The return train No. 30 originating from Parkersburg to Washington and New York stopped at Pennsboro at 7:58 PM.
B&O’s crack trains No. 1 and 2, The National Limited passed through after midnight and did not stop on their way between Jersey City and St. Louis and Louisville (the westbound train split at Cincinnati; the eastbound trains from Louisville and from St. Louis were joined into one at Cincinnati). Trains 3 and 4, The Diplomat, between Jersey City and St. Louis passed through a couple of hours later without stopping.
A 1957 timetable shows four passenger trains westbound and five eastbound. Trains 1, 2, 3, and 4 do not stop. Westbound trains 11 and 23 stop at 4:46
Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 17, 2011
5. Collins Avenue
After Amtrak took over passenger service in 1971 from the nation’s private railroads it ran one train (in each direction) on this track with changing names: the West Virginian, until 1976 the Potomac Turbo, the Potomac Special, the Blue Ridge, and the Shennandoah. But Amtrak trains did not stop in Pennsboro. The last Amtrak Shennandoah passed through Pennsboro in 1981. In the present-day, the tracks have been removed.
— Submitted May 8, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
Additional keywords. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; Metropolitan Special
Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 17, 2011
6. View from the Track
Westbound passengers saw this advertisement from their left-side windows as their train slowed for the station.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 12, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 8, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,424 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on May 8, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
