Northern Railroad Water Tower

Kingwood, Preston County

2017 Update: No updates have been made available to PAWV in 2017.

As of the last update provided to PAWV, in April 2015, Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission (PCPaRC) purchased ten miles of the former West Virginia Northern railroad corridor between Kingwood and Tunnelton for conversion into a rail-trail. The water tower, which sat on this purchased property, is now owned and managed by PCPaRC.  The tower had been leaning and had become a safety hazard.  In April 2016, an engineering report and restoration estimates were obtained to repair and stabilize the tower.  However, the water tower has since been taken down and placed into storage, pending future plans.   In a 2015 proposed plan, the water tower, the nearby former railcar maintenance facility, and the 2.5 acres adjacent to the water tower were envisioned to be the Kingwood–Tunnelton Rail-Trail entrance.  

• http://www.cheat.org/our-work/watershed-restoration/brownfields-revitalization/​

2012: The Northern Railroad Water Tower (Preston County) was constructed in the early twentieth century during the development of the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad.  It was historically used for storage to assist with the fluid operation of the trains hauling building stone, lumber, glass sand, and the enormous coal resources found between Rowlesburg and Morgantown.  Situated on a brownfield site and former rail yard, the tower poses a safety threat because of its leaning frame.  Friends of the Cheat (FOC) in conjunction with the Preston Rail Trail Committee and the Preston Economic Development Authority have been working to secure the rail yard for use as a rail-trail system with the preserved water tower acting as a trail head for a Rail-to-Trail corridor.  FOC has applied for a FOCUS grant through Northern WV Brownfields Assistance Center to determine the community’s interest and needs in an effort to develop reuse plans for the rail yard and tower.

Download 2012 Report