In June of 1988 Conrail began shifting its interchange with Norfolk Southern in the Northeast from Potomac Yard in Washington, D. C. to Hagerstown, Maryland. South of Hagerstown, NS trains then traversed the northern end of the former Norfolk and Western Hagerstown District or Valley Line to Front Royal, where they could head east on the former Southern Railway Harrisonburg branch or “B” Line to the ex-Southern Washington to Atlanta main line at Manassas. In 1999 NS acquired rights on the former Conrail Lurgan branch north of Hagerstown that connected NS to their new Conrail trackage at Harrisburg. All of this has transformed the north end of the Valley Line from a secondary main line to the NS main line between the Northeast and the Southeast that can host up to twenty trains in twenty-four hours. “NS Valley Line north of Front Royal, VA” shows a day and a half of continuous action between the junction of the “B” Line and Valley Line at Riverton Junction in Front Royal and the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in April of 2011. “NS Valley Line north of Front Royal, VA” is 67 minutes in length.  This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

In June of 1988 Conrail began shifting its interchange with Norfolk Southern in the Northeast from Potomac Yard in Washington, D. C. to Hagerstown, Maryland. South of Hagerstown, NS trains then traversed the northern end of the former Norfolk and Western Hagerstown District or Valley Line to Front Royal, where they could head east on the former Southern Railway Harrisonburg branch or “B” Line to the ex-Southern Washington to Atlanta main line at Manassas. In 1999 NS acquired rights on the former Conrail Lurgan branch north of Hagerstown that connected NS to their new Conrail trackage at Harrisburg. All of this has transformed the north end of the Valley Line from a secondary main line to the NS main line between the Northeast and the Southeast that can host up to twenty trains in twenty-four hours. “NS Valley Line north of Front Royal, VA” shows a day and a half of continuous action between the junction of the “B” Line and Valley Line at Riverton Junction in Front Royal and the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in April of 2011. “NS Valley Line north of Front Royal, VA” is 67 minutes in length.  This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

Ashland, where the former RF&P, now CSX main line goes right down the middle of the street, is one of the best-known railfan hot spots and most railfan friendly places in Virginia. Ashland is fifteen miles north of Richmond on the CSX and Amtrak main line between the Northeast and the Southeast. This program shows all the trains for 24 hours in March 2011 on the former RF&P two main track line that bisects Ashland with the tracks running right down the middle of Center Street and Railroad Avenue for nearly a mile and half through the center of the town. The track also runs right next to Randolph-Macon College and pedestrians and bicyclists crossing the tracks are a common sight. Traffic on the CSX main line is beginning to recover from the Great Recession and on peak days of the week forty CSX and Amtrak trains pass through Ashland. “CSX and Amtrak at Ashland, VA” is 67 minutes in length.  This DVD has the option of being watched with or without narration.

Ashland, where the former RF&P, now CSX main line goes right down the middle of the street, is one of the best-known railfan hot spots and most railfan friendly places in Virginia. Ashland is fifteen miles north of Richmond on the CSX and Amtrak main line between the Northeast and the Southeast. This program shows all the trains for 24 hours in March 2011 on the former RF&P two main track line that bisects Ashland with the tracks running right down the middle of Center Street and Railroad Avenue for nearly a mile and half through the center of the town. The track also runs right next to Randolph-Macon College and pedestrians and bicyclists crossing the tracks are a common sight. Traffic on the CSX main line is beginning to recover from the Great Recession and on peak days of the week forty CSX and Amtrak trains pass through Ashland. “CSX and Amtrak at Ashland, VA” is 67 minutes in length.  This DVD has the option of being watched with or without narration.

Spring 2011 Trip Plan
 
Weather permitting, below are the plans for my 2001 spring trip.
 
Monday, 3/28/11.
            Leave home late morning and drive to Ashland, Virginia.
 
Tuesday, 3.29/11
            Videotape CSX and Amtrak at Ashland from late morning until ~5 p.m. on Wednesday. Videotape at night at the Gwathmey Baptist Church parking lot. Drive a couple of hours towards Front Royal, VA when done.
 
Thursday, 3/31/11.
            Explore NS Hagerstown District between Front Royal - Riverton Junction and Shenandoah Junction looking for a place to shoot at night.
 
Friday, 4/1/11
            Videotape NS between Front Royal and Shenandoah Junction from ~8 a.m. until ~11 a.m. on Saturday. Then drive towards Erwin, TE on the former Clinchfield.
 
Sunday, 4/3/11
            Explore CSX Blue Ridge Sub between Erwin and Marion, NC. Looking for places to move around without missing trains and a place to shoot at night. One possibility to shoot at night is a parking lot along the tracks at North Poplar, MP 148.2 May hike into Nolichucky Gorge and shoot a train or two. 
 
Monday, 4/4/11. 
Videotape Blue Ridge Sub for 24 hours, probably south of Spruce Pine and then catch several trains around Erwin or Marion or both, not worrying about missing trains. Tuesday afternoon, drive to Williamson, WV.
 
Wednesday, 4/6/11
            Get up early. Check out Webb, WV Baptist Church parking lot for shooting at night if not done the previous day. If not okay do some more exploring heading north towards Pritchard. If okay, begin videotaping at Williamson. Videotape NS Kenova District for ~28 hours. Then drive home over Thursday night, sleeping as needed.

Between Abilene and Burkeville, just west of the crew change point of Crewe in south-central Virginia, all Norfolk Southern trains bound for Norfolk run on the same single-track line.   Crewe is midway between Roanoke and Norfolk and this section of track is part of the original Norfolk and Western main line. West of Abilene, loaded coal trains take the former Virginian line between Roanoke and Abilene while other trains take the former N&W main to Roanoke.   This line between Crewe and Abilene hosts some of the heaviest trains on this continent – export coal trains bound for Norfolk Southern’s Pier 6 at Lamberts Point in Norfolk. Besides coal, this line sees an increasing amount of intermodal traffic headed to Norfolk. This program shows over 24 hours of action between Crewe and Abilene in August of 2008. “NS Roanoke to Norfolk Main” is 68 minutes in length.  The DVD of this program has the option of being watched with or without narration.

Between Abilene and Burkeville, just west of the crew change point of Crewe in south-central Virginia, all Norfolk Southern trains bound for Norfolk run on the same single-track line.   Crewe is midway between Roanoke and Norfolk and this section of track is part of the original Norfolk and Western main line. West of Abilene, loaded coal trains take the former Virginian line between Roanoke and Abilene while other trains take the former N&W main to Roanoke.   This line between Crewe and Abilene hosts some of the heaviest trains on this continent – export coal trains bound for Norfolk Southern’s Pier 6 at Lamberts Point in Norfolk. Besides coal, this line sees an increasing amount of intermodal traffic headed to Norfolk. This program shows over 24 hours of action between Crewe and Abilene in August of 2008. “NS Roanoke to Norfolk Main” is 68 minutes in length.  The DVD of this program has the option of being watched with or without narration.

This video shows three full days and a night of awesome action on CSX's Alleghany subdivision between Clifton Forge, Virginia and Hinton, West Virginia in April of 2003.  The scenic Alleghany Subdivision crosses the Eastern Continental Divide in the Allegheny Mountains on the Virginia - West Virginia border.  This spectacularly engineered line with many double track tunnels and huge fills was the heart of the former Chesapeake and Ohio and it carried a huge volume of coal, merchandise traffic, and passengers to Washington, D.C., Richmond, and the port of Newport News.  Today, this 130 year old line with its 0.57% ruling grade against loaded coal and grain trains still carries many high tonnage trains across the Eastern Continental Divide to Newport News and other points in the Southeast.  93 minutes. 

Ever wonder which railroad has the fastest trains.  This video shows the fastest freight trains in the U.S. and Canada during the 1990's.  Many of the changes in freight train scheduling will be shown, and the schedules will be compared to the timings for previous decades.  137 minutes.  2 DVD-R, 1 tape set

Ever wonder which railroad has the fastest trains.  This video shows the fastest freight trains in the U.S. and Canada during the 1990's.  Many of the changes in freight train scheduling will be shown, and the schedules will be compared to the timings for previous decades.  137 minutes.  2 DVD-R, 1 tape set