The Buffalo Creek & Gauley (BC&G) Railroad began service in 1904 to trade coal and supplies between the Rich Run Mine in Widen, West Virginia and the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad in Dundon. In 1918, a log train was added to service the booming sawmill in Swandale, halfway between Dundon and Widen. Log trains hauled the region's timber to Swandale, and then distributed the milled lumber all over the country via its connection to the B&O. At its peak, Swandale had over 400 residents and was a thriving industrial operation.