Back in the October 2008 issue of Trains, Scott Lothes wrote the article “A place worth waiting” on Thurmond, West Virginia. Last year, I’d rediscovered the article and made the 5 1/2 hour drive down there. Between the scenery, the history of the town, and (of course) the trains, it was an awesome trip.
This past Wednesday, I decided to head down there again to see the fall colors on the trees. Unfortunately, the leaves hadn’t changed as much as they have here in central Ohio due to the warmer temperatures down that way. But it was still a beautiful trip and a fun drive in my new 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.
The first two videos are of the drive down from just north of the Ohio River to Hurricane, WV, where I stopped for gas, and then from there to the rest area on I-77.
From I-77, I then headed east into Thurmond and explored the very narrow road around town. Note the stopped CSX intermodal train when I arrived.
After parking at the station, I waited to see if the intermodal was going to continue north. A coal train came off the RJ Corman branch and stopped at the station as well. After a southbound tanker train passed (3-train meet!), the intermodal continued north, and the coal train headed into the siding north of Thurmond. Later in the day, the power from the coal train was run around to the south end of the train and parked for CSX to take south. Not long before the Cardinal was due, another northbound intermodal rolled through. Running about 34 minutes late, Amtrak’s Cardinal then came through with two private cars on the rear.
While Thurmond may not have the train volume like Fostoria or Marion here in Ohio, it’s a definite favorite spot of mine to visit since between the trains
