The passenger station in Prince, West Virginia is unmistakable in its design. The station seems to standout from its surroundings while at the same time fitting in. The view is surprising when you first come around the curve into Prince and see the station for the first time. The Art Deco styled passenger train station was built-in Prince, West Virgina in 1946. The station was commissioned by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and designed by architectural firm Garfield, Harris, Robinson, & Schafer. There has been a station at this location since 1880. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway is now part of the CSX Railroad system while the station is serviced by Amtrak. The Prince passenger station serves the Beckley area as Prince is a small unincorporated town. Prince is located along the New River in the New River Gorge on highway 41. The New River Gorge area was in the heart of the coal boom in the early 1900′s and a lot of coal still passes through this region today.The community’s founder, William Prince, became involved in the coal business in the 1890s and the land of the town was owned by the Prince family, which is why the town never grew or expanded during the period of the coal boom. The Amtrak Cardinal is the train that serves the station twice a day on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, one in each direction as train #50 and #51, between Chicago and New York.
