The B & O Railroad, between 1890 and 1901, purchased the corridor that is now the rail trail property. It became a railroad to service the coal industry in the early 1900's. Sometime in the 1980's, CSX Railroad bought out the B & O Railroad and became operators of the train track. Due to a washout, there was a terrible coal train accident that killed one engineer in 1988. At that time, the CSX Railroad decided to abandon the rail line and use the other tracks available in the area to transport coal. Shortly thereafter, the Marion County Parks And Recreation Commission purchased the right-of-way from Fairmont to Shinnston and over 1996 and 1997 developed the current rails to trails.

These former railroad lines, converted to trails, offer tremendous opportunities for recreation. They are generally flat in nature and vary from paved surfaces to crushed limestone. Below you will find links to the two trails that are part of the Rail Trails of North Central West Virginia. (See Map)