West Virginia may soon be seeing a different railroad company handling coal on 117 miles of trackage currently operated by Watco Companies, Inc. Appalachian & Ohio Railroad (A&O).

Watco issued an internal memo in late April to its employees, advising that control of the 117-mile line and branches between Grafton and Cowen, WV, would be turned over to the Four Rivers Transportation Inc. Four Rivers is a venture created by Kentucky-based Paducah & Louisville and CSX Transportation.

The reasons cited for the Watco pullout mainly point towards hopper supply from CSXT. CSXT apparently was unable to supply enough hoppers to meet the demands of the various mines on the A&O trackage. A&O was negotiating to lease some 1,500 hoppers, however the current national demand for coal has caused a strain on hopper supply and there aren't nearly enough for A&O to make a continued go of it.

"CSX is aware that Four Rivers and Watco are in discussions regarding a potential change of control," CSX spokesman Gary Sease said.

Four Rivers also operates the 124-mile Evansville Western Railway, which was launched on January 6 and was formerly CSX Transportation and earlier the eastern segment of predecessor Louisville & Nashville's line to St. Louis, Missouri.