A pair of AC helpers assist a heavy export coal drag upgrade through the mining community of Keystone, situated west of Bluefield along the former N&W mainline. Keystone and its neighboring communities serve as a great examples of towns that are dependent on the production of coal. Towns such as Keystone, Northfork, Welch, and even Williamson are suffering from not only tough EPA regulations, but competitive prices in the oil and gas industries. Domestically, coal production has decreased substantially in recent years, though the export market remains consistently steady. The large mining operation in the background is officially idled, and with much of Keystone absent of any businesses, the future of the local economy is certainly hard to predict.
