Virginia Waterways and the Underground Railroad

Acidity decay of above-drainage underground mines in West Virginia.

Acidity of water from abandoned underground mines decreases over time, and the rate of decrease can help formulate remediation approaches and treatment system designs. The objective of this study was to determine an overall acidity decay rate for above-drainage underground mines in northern West Virginia from a large data set of mines that were closed 50 to 70 yr ago. Water quality data were ob...

Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: The Geography of Resistance

Urban Investment versus Local Enterprise: Railroad Financing in Pennsylvania and Virginia, 1830-1860

Scholars have long recognized the important differences between the northern and southern rail networks. Business historians focusing on northern enterprises have documented an impressive list of accomplishments: railroads pioneered modern accounting methods; railroads introduced new management techniques and organizational structures; and railroads helped transform national and international c...

Trespassing on the Railroad

Greater than half of all the fatal injuries on United States railroads are sustained by trespassers. The paper provides a statistical analysis of the demographics of trespassers, the activities they were engaged in, and the causes of injury. It also analyzes trends over time. The paper finds that the risks of injury and death are particularly acute for males in their 20s and 30s. The annual cas...

Small mine size is associated with lung function abnormality and pneumoconiosis among underground coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.

OBJECTIVES To describe the prevalence of lung function abnormality and coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) by mine size among underground coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. METHODS During 2005-2012, 4491 miners completed spirometry and chest radiography as part of a health surveillance programme. Spirometry was interpreted according to American Thoracic Society and European R...