Editing Ansted, West Virginia (section)

===Railroad to tunnel disaster to tourism===
Ansted had railroad service from 1874 until 1972. In 1874, mine owners had a narrow-gauge railroad built from Hawks Nest Station up the ravine of Mill Creek. A [[Saddle tank (locomotive)|saddleback locomotive]] was used. In 1889, the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] (C&O) purchased the [[narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge railroad]] and contracted with William Page to do the work to upgrade the line to [[standard gauge]], which was completed on August 20, 1890.

The (C&O) operated the new branch line, which was known as the Hawks Nest Subdivision, from 1890 until 1972. It connected with the New River Subdivision main line at Hawks Nest Station and consisted of {{convert|3.44|mi|km}} of line to and beyond the town of Ansted. The line had one of the steepest grades of any C&O branch, a 4.17% grade. C & O did not want to transport passengers on the line, but the State of West Virginia ordered it to do so as a condition of licensing. The company appealed to the [[United States Supreme Court]], which in ''Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company v. Public Service Commission of State of West Virginia'', 242 U.S. 603 (1917), upheld the state's authority. Passenger service then began and continued until some time in the 1930s. The branch line's freight rail service ended in 1972 and the tracks were removed.

Also in the 1930s, developers of hydroelectric power for the Union Carbide plant at [[Alloy, West Virginia]], the Kanawha and New River Power Company, decided to divert the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]] through a three-mile tunnel under Hawks Nest. Many of the 3000 workers building the tunnel were asked to mine the silica they encountered for use in steel production. Never given protective equipment (although managers wore protective breathing apparatus during visits), hundreds developed [[silicosis]], some so severe that they died within a year. After congressional hearings, the [[Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster]] led to recognition of occupational lung disease as well as compensation legislation, as acknowledged by a historical marker on the site.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=34417|title = Hawk's Nest Tunnel Disaster Historical Marker}}</ref> It also became the subject of several books as well as historical fiction.

Today, the Ansted–Hawks Nest Rail Trail follows the route from the Town of Ansted down the steep mountainside to near Hawks Nest Station in the New River Valley. The trail is {{convert|2.2|mi|km}} in length and the [[aerial tram]] from Hawks Nest Lodge links to the terminus.