Over a 7 week period I recently visted Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho & Washington and because of my interest in the MRL & BNSF I already had vidoes & magazines etc that I could use for research to successfully plan my trip. However I plan to go to Virginia in 2006 to visit relatives and have no idea where I should go to see the trains!
Can anyone direct me to an e-mail group or web site that could help?
I don’t have a web site address handy, but check out the “triple crossing” and Main Street Station in Richmond. They are both now somewhat obscured by highway bridge pillars, but still worth a look.
Virginia is a big place, johnmartin, where are you gonna be in Virginia?
Just off the top of my skull, I’d want to see Harper’s Ferry, WV, where WV, Maryland and Virginia all meet. (Plenty of CSX mainline action, too.)
Be sure to stop by Roanoke and the museum there.NS action and the J-611and the 1218.
stay safe
Joe
VA has interesting rail sites througout the state. Some include:
Alexandria: Through the Amtrak station, trackage is shared by CSX and NS. All north-south freight passing through the DC area funnels through here, as well as the Virginia Express commuter trains. Approx 1 - 1.5 miles west of the station, the CSX tracks veer to the right, then rise and loop the the left in a flyover the NS tracks. Access to this area is off side streets on the south side of Duke Street west of the station.
Lorton: Approximately 15 miles south of Alexandria on the CSX line to Richmond. Northern hub of Amtrak’s Auto Train. Daily departure is at 4:30 PM. If you arrive around 2:00 PM you can watch the vehicle loading, tollowed by the the train assembly, and finally departure. The train is often pulled by three P42 engines and ris outinely between 25 - 35 cars long. Take the Lorton exit off I-95 south.
Doswell: Approximately 25 miles north of Richmond there is the crossing of two CSX lines, the former C&O from Hampton to Charlottesville, and the north-south main of the former RF&P. It can be fairly busy at times with a mixture of freight on both routes and Amtrak on the old RF&P. Also, about 10 miles suth of here in Ashland, the CSX main bisects the main north-south street in town.
Roanoke: Lots of stuff to see here as it was one the hub of the N&W. Lots of yards east, south, and west of the downtown area. Schaeffers Crossing engine terminal is about 3 miles west of the old downtown passenger station. Lots of action west of town on the old N&W and Virginian mainlines wihich parallet each other through Salem. I used to enjoy the 15 or so miles from the very west of Salem to the tunnels at Montgomery. Along this route is Wabun where the N&W crosses the Roanoke River on a curve over a plate girder bridge, and the old Virginian crosses over the N&W on a truss bridge then sweeps over the Roanoke River and valley on one of their signature single track steel trestles to