Along the King Coal Highway

Along the King Coal Highway

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Coal miners are transported into one of the few remaining mines operating along Route 52, or the King Coal Highway as it’s locally known, in West Virginia.

After over a century of coal mining, production in the state is slowing, and the industry has been hit hard. Job losses and business closures are creating virtual ghost towns along the route.

. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

In a mine locker room Rodney Blankenship, left, and his colleagues arrive early to get ready for the start of their afternoon swing shift.

Blankenship has been a coal miner for more than 30 years and plans to keep going as long as he can.

"I wonder, if this stops, what's next for me?" he said. "I'm scared. This is all I've ever done."

He said the attitude among miners has changed in recent months, with many becoming concerned about their future - holding off on making purchases and planning vacations.

. Iaeger, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

In the town of Iaeger a coal train sits idle by the side of a house. Less than a handful of businesses remain in the once thriving town, which relied heavily on the coal industry for income and employment.

Strict environmental policies, the rising production of natural gas and the higher cost of deep mining. have all contributed to the industry’s decline.

. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Plants grow on an abandoned building near the town of Gilbert.

Coal miners have lived here for over a century, enjoying the best of the boom times and riding out the bad. The constant refrain being that coal would always be there, the mines would be back. But residents fear that this time their community will not survive the downturn.

. WHARNCLIFFE, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Stewart Johnson, 59, has been a miner since leaving the military in 1975, but lost his job when the mine he worked at shut down.

Suffering from a variety of mining related injuries, and with the nearest mine an hour and a half drive away, Johnson said that his doctor recommended that he stop working.

"Coal has always been cyclical," Johnson said. "I've been laid off as long as a year. At the peak of coal just four years ago, if you had a card, you could work wherever you wanted - they had to fill shoes."

Johnson is among a growing chorus of miners who don't think the slide in coal production can be reversed.

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Slideshow

A coal miner wears a T-shirt prior to the start of his afternoon shift.
. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

A coal miner wears a T-shirt prior to the start of his afternoon shift.

Miners joke around in the locker room.
. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Miners joke around in the locker room.

Dusty boots sit on top of lockers.
. Gilbert, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Dusty boots sit on top of lockers.

Coal miner Mike Hawks, 53, walks in an underground tunnel at a coal processing facility.
. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Coal miner Mike Hawks, 53, walks in an underground tunnel at a coal processing facility.

Coal is stacked at the base of loaders along the Ohio River in Ceredo.
. CEREDO, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Coal is stacked at the base of loaders along the Ohio River in Ceredo.

The Tug River runs through downtown Iaeger.
. IAEGER, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

The Tug River runs through downtown Iaeger.

A cat walks past a pickup truck covered in vegetation in Gilbert.
. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

A cat walks past a pickup truck covered in vegetation in Gilbert.

Wayne Cline, 70, a former coal miner, said he gets by on a $742 per month social security cheque.
. IAEGER, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Wayne Cline, 70, a former coal miner, said he gets by on a $742 per month social security cheque.

All terrain vehicle (ATV) riders head to off to ride on trails around Gilbert. The arrival of out of town tourists has helped an economy suffering from a loss of coal mining related jobs.
. SANTA CRUZ, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

All terrain vehicle (ATV) riders head to off to ride on trails around Gilbert. The arrival of out of town tourists has helped an economy suffering from a loss of coal mining related jobs.

The John Amos coal-fired power plant looms behind a home in Poca.
. POCA, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

The John Amos coal-fired power plant looms behind a home in Poca.

A replica of the Statue of Liberty is shown in downtown Matewan.
. UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

A replica of the Statue of Liberty is shown in downtown Matewan.

A car is parked outside of the "Hard Times Tavern" in Fort Gay,
. FORT GAY, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

A car is parked outside of the "Hard Times Tavern" in Fort Gay,

Unemployed coal miners Todd Hatfield, left, and Dave Houck drink a beer at Hatfield's bar and restaurant.  Hauck lost his job in early February, then suffered a devastating setback three weeks later when the family home burned to the ground.
. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Unemployed coal miners Todd Hatfield, left, and Dave Houck drink a beer at Hatfield's bar and restaurant. Hauck lost his job in early February, then suffered a devastating setback three weeks later when the family home burned to the ground.

A statue of Marilyn Monroe stands outside the now closed Happy Days Diner in Gilbert.
. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

A statue of Marilyn Monroe stands outside the now closed Happy Days Diner in Gilbert.

Unemployed coal miner Earl Harless stands in his father's back yard. Unemployed for the last 18 months, Harless said he survived a deep mine collapse, in which two coal miners died. "We started writing our lunch box notes because we didn't think we would get out," he said.
. GILBERT, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Unemployed coal miner Earl Harless stands in his father's back yard. Unemployed for the last 18 months, Harless said he survived a deep mine collapse, in which two coal miners died. "We started writing our lunch box notes because we didn't think we would get out," he said.

A motorcycle rides past a roadside hotdog stand.
. LESAGE, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

A motorcycle rides past a roadside hotdog stand.