[%-)] Regarding the Ohio maps that Trains ran several months ago (maybe last year), the ‘today’ map showed that the Cincinnati - Portsmouth NS line was still in service. However. a few years ago (around '03) the Railpace folks ran an article that mentioned it was no longer being used as a through route. There were no trains operating on the eastern section between Peebles and Portsmouth.
Was that just a temporary situation, and through service was later returned to that line?
Thx
MP
To the best of my knowledge, and from limited info. that I’ve gotten, that line is still out of service. Something to do about the bridge over the Scioto River outside of Portsmouth. (embargoed (?) NS doesn’t want to spend money to fix (?)
Last I heard, they were sending trains towards Columbus and back down towards that area.
There are several NS employees on this forum that might have better answers. One works out of the Portsmouth Yard. (mackb4 comes to mind)
Interesting question. The NS system map still shows the route. I think I read some where (maybe one of Ed King’s stories) that the route was originally intended to be an “interurban line” and consequently laid out to follow the land contours. Thus the Peavine nickname. I would guess that in the best of circumstances, the alignment isn’t that great for moving longer higher speed trains common in this day.
However, I am wondering if that might change sometime down the road. Looking at the NS map it appears the Peavine could be part of a route for traffic coming out of Norfolk going Portmouth-Cincinnati-FortWayne and on to Chicago and connections. Correct me if I am wrong but I am under the impression that the tunnel project is on the former N&W segment out of Roanoke that goes through Williamson and accross the Ohio River near Huntington. That project to allow double stacks is not just a pure efficiency move. The NS is actually looking at the impact of the Panama Canal project and the fact that Norfolk and the other Hampton Roads ports have the depth and breadth to take on any size ship now in operation or on the drawing boards.
Perhaps when all that comes about, NS goes to work on the Peavine.
Just speculating. I don’t have a seat on the NS Board.
Eastern portion of the line is railbanked. Line was not an interurban, believe it was originally built as the Cincinnati, Portsmouth, and Eastern or Cincinnati and Eastern, built in 1876.
Rumors come around once in awhile that the Peavine will rise again but, thus far, no signs of life.
Found this at cincyrails.com
"The Norfolk Southern line to Portsmouth, Ohio was built by the Cincinnati & Eastern narrow gauge starting in 1876. They got as far as Winchester in 1881. Note that the Cargill granary is on the old wye (west leg gone now) in Winchester. In 1883 they built up from what was Batavia Junction (renamed Clare by the PRR in 1903) to Idlewild Junction with the CL&N in Evanston. They also made it into Portsmouth then. The C&E also went to New Richmond, Ohio and Sciotoville, Ohio. In 1887 the railroad is sold and reformed into the Ohio & Northwestern. The C&E went back and forth with standard gauging because they could never afford to do the whole at once. The O&NW was standard gauge. In 1891, the O&NW was refinanced and renamed the Cincinnati Portsmouth & Virginia. The same people operated the railroad; the financial backers changed. In the 1898-1899 period the CP&V built the Cincinnati Connecting Belt which ran from Idlewild to Bond Hill and into Ivorydale Yard in 1901. ( The tracks through HYDE PARK are NOT officially part of the CCB.) The Ross Estate was tracked into in 1911 by the N&W although much preliminary work was done by the CP&V. (history by Gary Rolih)
“Nicknamed the “Peavine” due to its torturous hills and curvature. Called the Cincinnati District of the Lake Division today, the line is currently closed to through traffic and “railbanked” east of Seaman, Ohio.”
Obviously I was wrong about interurban. As I said, I was just speculating at the prospect of the NS improving the alignment. I have absolutly no idea as to whether it will ever be possible, practical or economicly feasible to put any money into the line.