The Virginian Coal Hopper

Virginian hoppers loaded with bituminous coal from southern West Virginia mines were pulled eastward by mighty engines over the Virginian’s 596.6 miles line from Deepwater to its two coal piers at Sewells Point, near Norfolk, Virginia. Primarily a coal-carrier railroad, the Virginian established its major shop facility at Princeton for building and maintaining railroad cars, especially the coal hoppers needed to serve the fifty-five mines located on the Virginian lines west of Princeton. In the early days, railroad coal hoppers were allotted to the mines in proportion to the number of coke ovens at each mine.

After the construction of the Shops, the Virginian Railway became the major employer in the Princeton area. Milton Brookman was the general foreman at the Shops, where men built big coal hoppers and painted and stenciled them. The crew averaged making eight 55-ton hoppers a day. The largest hopper made by the Princeton crew was the 70-ton hopper. The men averaged making five complete hoppers a day. Upon the retirement of Brookman, Fred Whittaker became the general foreman at the Shops.

According to the November 1959 issue of Modern Railroads, the Virginian had 15,530 coal hoppers in service on January 1, 1959. After the Virginian merged with the Norfolk and Western on December 1, 1959, the Shops at Princeton continued making hoppers until the facility was closed on January 15, 1991.

The era of trains in Princeton had passed. No longer does one see a locomotive pulling 200 loaded hoppers eastward. No longer does one hear the rumble of a locomotive and its empty hoppers heading westward for more coal.

Margaret Ann Scott and Jack Scott
Mercer County Historical Society