A couple cold/wintery days in Va. & W.Va.

Overview:

 Before the New Year arrived, I set out on a three day adventure in Southwest Virginia and Southern West Virginia, with a couple good friends, to roam the Pocahontas Region of the former Norfolk & Western. Traffic was a bit slow at times in result of the holidays, but the trip indeed yielded some good photos .

 The weather was cold, dark, and dreary the whole time; which I absolutely love. As you know, I have an affinity for shooting under such conditions and have spoken about this concept extensively in a couple previous blogs; follow these links to view if you have not reviewed them before(#1 & #2).

 I will include a couple of my favorites from each day spent trackside and a little historical information will be provided along the way. Lets get started!

December 27th, 2012:

 After receiving information from a good friend stating the Illinois Terminal heritage unit was en-route to Bluefield leading a hopper train, we quickly head for the quaint town to try and catch it. We arrive at the snowy yard just in time to catch No. 765 grinding into Bluefield, W.Va., for a quick crew change before heading toward Williamson via the Pocahontas District. The signals dubbed RD, can be seen looming off in the distance situated at the east end of the yard. The train has been battling a 1.5% ascent since Glen Lyn, Va., and now only has about two miles left before ending the twenty mile assault located at the yard office.

 Now seen a little further to the west, No. 765 works uphill past the N362.8 signal denoting we are 362 miles from Norfolk via the former Norfolk & Western mainline; the signal also marks the beginning of the Christiansburg District. The signal is sometimes referred to as "Bills Grocery", named after a former store that was directly to the right of the signal along the highway. The Bluefield Car Shops can be seen behind No. 1072 and a plethora of coal cars sit on Yard Tracks 1,2,3,5, and 6.

 Now on the Pocahontas District, No. 765 roars across the quaint community of Coopers, W.Va., on an impressive viaduct spanning the little town. Underneath the trestle lies the former Norfolk & Western Bluestone Branch, which comes off the mainline on the other side of Coopers Tunnel and goes to Weyanoke, W.Va., along side the former Virginian mainline. The branch however, is not operation and has been abandoned since the mid 1980s. However, the very eastern portion of the branch still gets used sporadically for freight car storage.

 About a mile behind the photographer, lies 7150' Elkorn Tunnel situated at the top of grueling Elkhorn Grade. The West Portal of the tunnel marks a slight decrease in the grade, 1.4% to roughly 1%,  and that 1% ascent continues through the entire length of the tunnel and halfway to this location. The tracks will then descend most of the way to Falls Mills to turn uphill again for the final assault into Bluefield Yard.

 For years,  Elkhorn Grade influenced the Norfolk & Western to acquire and built some of the worlds biggest and most powerful steam locomotives to assault the steep grade. Some of the most impressive and notable, are the Y and J class locomotives built in their famed Roanoke Shops in the mid-late 1940s. In my opinion, the N&W had the most beautiful steam locomotives in operation compared to any other railroad and their fleet.  I can only imagine how awesome it would be to return to the Pokey in the 1950s, to see N&W's impressive fleet of steam locomotives traversing these rails!

 It is worth noting, the original Elkhorn Grade tunneled through the mountain behind the photographer at Coaldale, W. Va.. Heavy trains that traversed the Pokey couldn't handle the original grade well, so the railroad abandoned it. Thus, the alternative was the construction of Elkhorn Tunnel in 1950 ,along with relocating the tracks,  decreasing the grade by 0.6% and remedying the situation. Even with today's advancement in horse power, Elkhorn Grade still poses a challenge for heavy eastbound trains.

December 28th, 2012:

 On December 28th, we find ourselves again starting off the day along the Clinch Valley District. After being dead all morning, we finally hear the dispatch state he would soon have No. 80T departing Carbo Yard to head east for Bluefield. With that, we head west to intercept it.

 After waiting and waiting, we finally hear the train come into scanner range near Honaker, Va., but the move shortly stalls out on the steep 1.7% Finney Hill. After consulting the dispatcher, the train crew receives orders to reverse the train west back down the hill and onto the main at Finney. Once completed, the helpers are ordered to stay with the train for breaking, while the head end cuts off the first 20 cars of their train. The head-end power will then take the twenty loads fifteen miles east to Alfredon Yard, near Raven, Va., to set them off in a yard track. The engines will then return light to their train and start east again with roughly 2,300 tons less.

 The picture above depicts the move just after the stall-out, while it backs downhill into the quaint hamlet of Finney, Va.. One of the original ten SD70M's NS acquired from EMD in the late 1990s, is on the point of this heavy coal drag.

 Before No. 80T can depart Finney, the dispatcher informs the crew that No. 80A will first have to run through the siding. Shortly thereafter, No. 80A rumbles through the tiny community with a long train of empty coal cars bound for the Tom's Creek loud-out in Coeburn, Va., notice the Conrail heritage unit is second in this three-unit consist.

 After getting the green light to proceed east, No. 80T flies uphill just outside Finney, Va., with its short train in tow, while passing a rock outcropping on the way out of the community. This area is remote and not often visited by railfans, curvy and back-woods roads are the only way in and out of the small hamlet. Not many people reside here due to the poor economy of the area, making the roads seldom traveled.

 Now just east of the small hamlet of Honaker, Va., No. 80T rumbles uphill past a mine load-out situated by the mainline. This small mine is located just off the shoulder of Rt. 67 near Swords Creek, Va., and seems to be busy judging by the amount of coal trucks arriving/leaving this location.

 Old Norfolk & Western code line runs adjacent to the tracks in the small community of Swords Creek, as No. 80T briefly disrupts the afternoon stillness with its passing. Another mine load-out stands behind the photographer, but seems to be inactive for the time being. In recent times, there isn't much left here in Swords Creek other than a couple old buildings adjacent to the highway. Although, I'm sure it was a bustling little place back in the day.

December 29th, 2012

 On the 29th, we set out for the Christiansburg District; our first train arrived under rainy and foggy conditions in the quaint hamlet of Ada, W.Va., with a SD70M-2 leading the way. The train is only three miles away from the yard at Bluefield and a crew change before proceeding onto the Pocahontas District.

 As snow files through the air, loaded grain train No. 58V descends the 1.5% grade from Bluefield, as it passes through the hamlet of Oakvale, W.Va., with old Norfolk & Western CPL's looming off in the distance guarding the cross-overs. One can only imagine how it sounded to hear a Y class N&W steam locomotive thundering uphill through these West Virginia hills!

 Norfolk Southern coal train No. 774 glides downhill through Blake, W.Va., with a pair of General Electric wide-cab GE's holding back the lengthy train of Hyco bound coal. The CPL's  stand tall and proud as they witness yet another train passing by. If these signal could talk, the stories they would tell of N&W glory days when class J's and Y's ruled the rails.

 Back on the former Norfolk & Western Radford-Bristol mainline, finds No. 38Q rushing east at dusk with a heavy manifest train. The train is pictured streaking into the color position light signals at Stones Mill situated at the east end of the Wytheville, Va. passing siding. The train has been delayed immensely due to numerous meets, and now the engineer has the hammer down to complete the remaining seventy miles to Roanoke.

That's all for now and I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Please leave your feedback in the comment section below and check back next week for another post!

Following Norfolk Southern No. 745 across the Clinch Valley & Dry Fork mainlines

Overview:

This week, my blog post will consist of chasing Williamson, West Virginia bound hopper train No. 745 across, rarely photographed and seldom visited, former Norfolk & Western trackage. The first portion of the chase took place between Cleveland and Richlands, Virginia along the Clinch Valley District; and the second portion took place between Amonate, Virginia and Berwind, West Virginia along the Dry Fork Branch.

 The weather was balmy and the chase resulted with acquiring some great images, making the time and effort well worth it. The crew was friendly, giving us sporadic horn shows and waving; making the chase even more pleasurable.

 Before we get started, I feel compelled to provide a little further information concerning the tracks we will be following.

Clinch Valley District:

 Built in the late 1890s by the Norfolk and Western, the Clinch Valley District twists and turns through remote country lying between Norton, Virginia and Bluefield, West Virginia; a distance standing at roughly 100 miles. It was built to move coal out of southwest Virginia and take it to the cost under the care of Norfolk & Western. In result: multiple spurs, mines, and little towns was built along the route. As any other coal line back in the day, it was a busy district with prosperous towns.

 In recent times, traffic has sadly dropped off and the Clinch Valley does not see much action. The results of plentiful, and cheaper natural gas has made an immense impact on this region. The trackage east of Cedar Bluff, gets even less daily movements due to the Dry Fork Branch splitting off and heading north toward Iaeger.

 Although traffic has somewhat, slumped in the last few years, the Clinch Valley still witnesses 5-10 movements daily depending on one's location; which is still pretty good. The tracks along this route can be hard to access at times, but the line is still fun to railfan and a good amount of easier accessed locations lie within. 

Dry Fork Branch:

 Also built around the same time as the Clinch Valley, the scenic Dry Fork Branch spans from Cedar Bluff, Virginia to the small yard at Auville, situated along the Pocahontas mainline in Iaeger, West Virginia. The branch twists and turns through little hollows, crammed with a road and few houses, along with sporadic mine load outs. 

 The Branch is definitely intriguing and hosts beautiful photo locations within its 45 miles of track. Also, the 1.7% grade from Jacob's Fork to Bandy, poses a huge challenge for southbound loads coming from Iaeger. Trains will often get down to a fast walk as they assault the stiff grade and stall-out's are fairly common.


The chase: Cleveland-Richlands; December 26th, 2012

  It's a frigid morning, with temperatures down in the mid 20s, when the crew on board No. 745 readies their train and prepares to depart Carbo Yard, near Cleveland, Va.. Operations has just resumed normal, since Christmas was the day before, and No. 745 will be the first train to traverse the Clinch Valley in nearly 48 hours. Soon,  the crew calls the Clinch Valley dispatch and acquires permission to depart the Yard and head east. The picture above depicts the move rolling underneath the signal mast at Cleveland; the train is being pulled by a duo of older GE wide-cab's and they puff out a little smoke, as they throttle up for the trip east.

 The quaint community of Honaker, Va., lies still and quiet, until the sound of Norfolk Southern train No. 745 rumbling through town, shatters the stillness for a brief minute or two. This small community lies between the bigger towns of Saint Paul and Richlands, but not much can be found here other than a elementary school and a few older stores and buildings. The railroad is pretty much the only thing that awakes the small town; and that only happens a hand-full of times daily.

 Now seen traveling a relatively slow portion of the Clinch Valley, No. 745 passes through a small community called Swords Creek, Va., situated roughly five miles to the east of Honaker. The early morning sun decided to peak through the clouds and bask this scene in golden lighting just as the train came.. A little mine load out is located behind the photographer, but it seems to be out-of-service for the time being.

 After traversing, perhaps, the most remote section of the Clinch Valley District, No. 745 now rolls into the town of Richlands, Va. with a bitter cold winter wind howling. Old Norfolk & Western code line runs adjacent to the Clinch Valley main in most places, and that is definitely played out in this scene.

Amonate, Virginia to Berwind, West Virginia, Dry Fork Branch:

 Situated roughly 10 miles to the north of Cedar Bluff, lies the quaint community of Amonate, Va.(Milepost I-37). Known by railfans for its impressive viaduct spanning Trace Fork Creek, Amonate is also located near the summit of the 1.7% grade from Jacob's Fork to Bandy.

 The sun is barely peaking through the clouds, as No. 745 slowly whines across the Trace Fork Viaduct  beginning its journey up the scenic Dry Fork. Norfolk Southern poses a restricted speed for movements crossing this viaduct; 10 MPH is the limit due to the trestle being aged and not up for fast speeds. Although northbounds usually have to apply breaking to reach 10 MPH; southbounds usually do not because they do not even reach 10 MPH when assaulting the hill to Bandy.

 The hoppers within train No. 745, blur across the Beech Fork Branch, near Amonate, situated just across the W.V./Va. border. The old Norfolk & Western CPL. in the distance, stands as the approach signal for the junction ahead with the Dry Fork mainline. One can only imagine how old it actually is and if it could talk, the stories it would tell of the N&W glory days. The Beech Fork Branch is currently dormant;  sadly, the only mine along its track is not operating for the time being.

 All is quiet in the quaint town of Berwind, W.Va., until the sound of approaching hopper train No. 745 permeates the air. The sound of flanges squealing and a horn echoing throughout the hills, dominate the audibles within the quiet valley. A beautiful old Church is situated trackside, and one can only imagine how old it actually is. The train is now approaching Jacob's Fork Junction ahead, but will continue north, toward Iaeger, on the Dry Fork main.

 With that, we will conclude our journey across rare trackage following No. 745. Thanks for viewing and be sure to leave your feedback in the comment section below.

Samuel Phillips
January 11th, 2013