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Monongahela West Penn Public Service Company

Published: January 25, 2025

By: Adam Burns

The Monongahela West Penn Public Service Company was the largest operator of interurbans within the state of West Virginia, owning nearly 100 miles along two disconnected divisions; the main Clarksburg-Fairmont lines and also the Parkersburg-Marietta, Ohio segment acquired later.

For such a small state, West Virginia boasted roughly 260 miles of interurbans scattered throughout its borders, all of which were located west of the Eastern Panhandle.

Most lines could be found either around Northern West Virginia at Clarksburg or along the Ohio River, largely as a result of funding from Pennsylvania and Ohio syndicates; two states with substantial interurban mileage.

Monongahela West Penn maintained a respectable carload freight business - coal around Clarksburg and general merchandise in the Parkersburg area - but could not survive to 1950.  

The remaining system was sold to the City Lines of West Virginia in 1944 and abandoned three years later when the operation was converted to buses.

Monongahela West Penn streetcars near Clarksburg, West Virginia, circa 1942.

History

The most significant interurban in West Virginia was undoubtedly this major operation based in the rugged Clarksburg-Fairmont region. The Fairmont and Clarksburg-Fairmont Electric Railroad Company initiated plans in 1901 to link the two cities, which are 25 miles apart, and completed the project in 1907.

The company evolved into the Monongahela Valley Traction Company, which further extended the main line by 24 miles from Clarksburg southwards to Weston in 1913.

Branches from Fairmont to Mannington and Fairview were completed in 1910 and 1911, respectively, and numerous short branches or spurs were constructed to serve mines and mining communities along the main line.

They also provided street running in both Fairmont and Clarksburg. The main line outside the cities was well-graded and capable of handling standard line freight cars, enabling the system to interchange its coal business with the Baltimore & Ohio - the only large Class 1 serving the region.

In 1921, the Monongahela Valley Traction Company renamed as the Monongahela Power & Railway Company and later changed again as the Monongahela West Penn Public Service Company in 1923, highlighting the rising importance of their power business.

Monongahela West Penn became part of a broad network of public utility properties owned by the American Water Works and Electric System, alongside West Penn Railways.

Parkersburg & Marietta Interurban Railway

Monongahela West Penn also acquired the interurban line stretching from Parkersburg to Marietta, Ohio, completed by the Parkersburg & Marietta Interurban Railway in 1903. This 14-mile route hugged the east bank of the Ohio River.

Around 1908, the Muskingum Traction Company added a 23-mile extension reaching Beverly, Ohio, in an attempt to link the Parkersburg area with Zanesville and potentially tap into the larger Ohio-Indiana interurban network.

In addition, the Parkersburg-Marietta line served several industries throughout Parkersburg - especially South Parkersburg - and also maintained significant street-running through both cities. 

Monongahela West Penn made no significant attempts to connect its two disconnected West Virginia operations although doing so would have been largely fruitless - completing such a route through the rugged Appalachian foothills would have been incredibly expensive and no towns of significant size were located within Ritchie and Doddridge Counties.

The system's rolling stock was quite varied, featuring substantial wooden interurbans, steel center-entrance cars reminiscent of West Penn’s own models, and Cincinnati lightweight cars.

Decline

In 1944, following the breakup of American Water Works holdings under the Public Utility Holding Company Act, the two interurbans were acquired by the City Lines of West Virginia. 

The new management planned to transition the operations to bus service in the post-World War II era, achieving this in 1947 by converting the Fairmont–Clarksburg–Weston and Parkersburg–Marietta lines. The Marietta–Beverly extension had already been closed in 1929, and the Mannington and Fairview branches followed suit in 1933.

Legacy

Today, segments of the system in Clarksburg and Parkersburg can still be found if one knows where to look.  In Parkersburg the right-of-way can still be traced along Route 14 to Marietta.

In addition and incredibly, rails still remain in place along Camden Avenue between Kanawha Street and North Hickory Street where sidings were located to serve local customers in South Parkersburg.

The famous Williamstown Toll Bridge, the interurban's connection over the Ohio River to Marietta, remained in use for vehicular traffic until the late 1980s when it was finally razed and replaced by a modern span which opened in 1992. Finally, Marietta contains a great deal of trackage still in place within the original brick streets.

Between Clarksburg-Weston-Fairmont a substantial amount of right-of-way remains, largely because it was built so heavily and along a dedicated route; deep cuts, fills, and bridge abutments can be found all along the former West Penn lines here.

If you would like to trace the lines bring up the USGS topographic website and Google Maps/satellite view and it is still easily seen, especially the Weston extension.

Lastly, check out YouTube for some great footage of the final days of the MWP operations between Marietta and Parkersburg.