CSX East Coast Route
Washington, DC - Richmond, VA
Introduction
This tour segment is a portion of what has become a major railfan effort to provide a detailed self-guided railfan tour of the entire east coast from northern New Jersey (the Shared Assets Area) to the south of Miami, Florida. A description of the overall tour is here. We begin this segment at the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, and extend it about 40.9 miles to south of the Marine Corps Base Quantico at Brooke. This is both a non-rural and rural tour, and a difficult one to navigate because of highway traffic, security concerns close to Ronald Reagan National Airport, and buildings, buildings, and trees, trees, trees everywhere.
We then pick up the tour again in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for another 54.25 mile segment, which continues past WAY interlocking south of Acca Yard in Richmond, and on to the James River. This is a very lovely part of the country with some interesting railfan locations.
Contents And Navigation
Historical Background:
For this entire segment, we are in Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac territory. The RF&P was built to link its namesake cities. Extremely important connections were made at Washington, DC (actually, the interchange yard was Potomac Yard in Arlington, Virginia), with the PRR, B&O, C&O and Southern. Likewise, in Richmond, vital connections were made with the Southern, C&O, ACL, and SAL. Given these connections, and the fact that the RF&P was the sole direct north-south connection between Washington and Richmond, you can imagine how important it was, even though it was a very short railroad. Today, CSX's ex-RF&P territory is every bit as important, and may be more so, as Potomac Yard is now gone, and the I-95 of railroading in the east is limited to CSX. It will be interesting to see how well CSX capitalizes on its potential. It is not difficult to imagine a train thru here every 10-15 minutes, but CSX will have to make some major cultural and operational changes to make this dream a reality.
Other Tours
For information concerning the other Frograil tours which have been put together, go to the Tour Guide. If you've never taken a Frograil tour before, you should visit this site and take advantage of the good advice and information contained within it.
Train Gifs. All train gifs used within this tour are from the Ed Bindler's train gifs site, which is here.
Peter Furnee: CSX logo
Glenn Anderson:Extensive background information and text between Lorton and Brooke. John Fuller and Dirck Harris provided additional details for this area.
Tony Hill: Frograil Webmaster and text provider for this tour. Unless otherwise specifically noted, any use of the first person pronoun refers to Tony Hill
Help
If you'd like to contribute to this, or any other tour, please contact me here, and let me know what you'd like to do. We'll work together: You supply the data/info, and I'll do the HTML stuff and upload it. You'll get a chance to review the fruits of your efforts before the general public sees the finished product, so you can let me have your corrections, additions and changes.
Supplemental And Back-Up Data.
The Railroad: Arlington to Richmond. You'll be forgiven if you expect the railroad to more-or-less follow US-1 or I-95, and be therefore pretty easy to railfan. It is not. In fact, from the Potomac south all the way to Ashland, I personally think this is one of the more difficult railroads to railfan in North America. It's just really tough to get trackside. The physical plant is excellent, and the engineering no less. Unfortunately, the railroad and highway engineers didn't agree on where to put their rights of way, so the roads and railroads don't remotely parallel each other. The railroad skirts bays and buildings, cuts thru forests, dances between Interstates and wilderness, slithers between hills, and in short does everything except parallel roads.The term "tree tunnel" accurately describes most of the line side access to the railroad.
The Railroad: Traffic Levels. Between the Potomac River and AF Interlocking in Alexandria, you get it all: Amtrak with 20 trains a day, CSX freight (figure 25 freights per 24 hours on average -- subject to hot and cold spells), NS local freight only (serving the Mirant power plant in Alexandria, over CSX rails), and both the Fredericksburg and Manassas VRE (Virginia Railway Express) commuter train routes adding 14 daily trains.. This is, by far, is the busiest portion of this segment, with a total of perhaps 40-50 trains per 24-hour-day during the week. From AF south to Fredericksburg, you get all the CSX traffic, most of the Amtrak, and the VRE-Fredericksburg trains. From Fredericksburg to Acca and the James River, you lose the VRE traffic. VRE runs during morning and evening rush hours on weekdays only.
As of September, 2009, VRE and Amtrak traffic levels have not changed, but CSX operations have been reduced in response to the economic downturn, so the traffic level is somewhat less than 25 per 24 hours. VRE seems to be doing very well, as the trains are longer, the coaches are larger, and new engines are now being used.
Mile Points: The former Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac from Arlington to just north of Acca Yard in Richmond uses the CFP prefix for all mile references. The mile points run south to north, so on this tour the mile points will be decreasing. They start at RO Interlocking (CFP 110.1) and run down to Greendale (entrance to Acca Yard) at CFP 4.8.
Mapwork: Much of the tour is not easy if you have no detailed map for back country roads. I definitely recommend you get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study it before your trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. For the northern Virginia area, you'll absolutely want to have the latest ADC atlas, because there have been, and continue to be, major road changes in the area (try to find Backlick Road!).
Photographic considerations: I use a shorthand rating system for photo accessibility. Using a clockwise rotation from northeast up to northwest, each quadrant of a crossing is rated from 1 (best) to 4 (not accessible). Note that these refer to accessibility, not the photogenic aspects of the location. Therefore, the following crossing: NE4, SE1, SW1, NW2 would be excellent shooting to the south, but not as good to the north. There is a building, fence, drop-off, or some other problem on the northeast corner. In places where there is no crossing, per se, I use a simple N, E, S and/or W compass location: N1, S4 would be excellent from the north, but there is no access from the south. Note that in locations contributed by folks other than me, the photo rating numbers will not be present.
Abbreviations. I try to limit the number of abbreviations to very common terms, such as CSX and NS. However, some terms get used repeatedly and are given here to help you understand them.
AG. "At-grade" -- It may or may not be a railfan location, but you can be assured that the tracks and street/road are on the same level.
NAG. "Not at grade" -- Usually, a NAG crossing is a poor place to take pix, but not always. However, you should be warned if a crossing isn't at grade, and that's why I try to always clue you in.
NARL. "Not a railfan location" -- In my humble opinion, this location is not worth the visit; indeed, it is probably to be avoided. NARL's result from no photo access, dangerous conditions, or personal security considerations.
NFOG."Not found on the ground" -- On at least one map and perhaps more than one, but not found on the ground. In this part of the country, these are mostly either old logging roads, or crossings that have been eliminated. Do your aerial work ahead of time.
RF&P. Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad -- the Richmond - Washington predecessor of what is now just another part of CSX.
WEBMASTER'S NOTE: I do not recommend or condone walking along the tracks, as this means trespassing and exposing yourself to danger. You will have to be creative, in some instances, to avoid trespassing while getting to the detailed locations included herein, but you will either have to be creative or not visit those sites. At no point in this tour guide, or any other tour which is part of Frograil, is it recommended that you trespass or expose yourself to danger. If you are a fool and have a leg cut off (or worse), don't come crying to me: You have been warned. Trains are big, powerful, and often surprisingly quiet. Don't end up being a statistic.
Washington, DC - Richmond VA -- Railfan Sites:
The Tour -- Potomac River to Lorton
We'll start the tour at the intersection of Boundary Channel Drive and Clark Street in the extreme northeast corner of Arlington. There are several ways to get there, depending on what way you're coming, and you'll have to use your map. We will primarily go from this point south on Clark to US-1, which we'll use all the way to the southern end of what used to be Potomac Yard.
Arlington -- RO Tower. This tour was researched in April of 2002. The events of 9-11-2001 have definitely impacted train watching in what used to be a fairly accessible area. If you'll remember, the Baltimore - Washington segment of this overall CSX East Coast Tour ended at the northernapproach to the Long Bridge, which carries CSX, Amtrak and VRE over the Potomac into northern Virginia. If you take a line and follow it straight south from the south end of the bridge, you'll just about draw that line right down the main body of Ronald Reagan National Airport. As you can imagine, this vital rail and air transportation nexus is a very strategic piece of our Capitol and national infrastructure. This has created an impossible challenge for the railfan to overcome. Today, tens of thousands of dollars of heavy chain link fencing prohibit anyone from getting anywhere near the tracks. Forget the foot of Boundary Channel Drive, Clark Street, etc, etc. You have no access. In fact, on the morning I was there, a military combat vehicle was patrolling, so all that fencing isn't just to keep the homeless out.
Don't waste your time and gas, folks. Northern Arlington is no longer a railfan location. RO tower (the point where a branch diverged to Roslyn) is buried deep within that fencing and is technically the beginning of the RF&P Subdivision. Go south on US-1 (Jefferson Davis Highway) into Arlington's Crystal City.
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Arlington -- Crystal City VRE. Buried within the cavern created by tall office buildings is a VRE station. If I were you, I'd want to take the Metro to "Crystal City", and then walk up to the VRE station. The location is to go south on US-1, take a left at 15th Street, and go until it ends at Crystal Drive. The station is east of Crystal Drive. Parking is virtually impossible on weekdays. I did not visit the VRE stations while doing research for this tour, so I cannot give you info on the viewing available. Perhaps a fan could e-mail me (button above) and give me some info.
Responding to the previous sentence, Jim Demartini has provided some excellent additional info:
"There is ample parking in the garage across Crystal Drive from the station -- during the week it is paid, but it is free on weekends. There are also metered spots on the street but they can be tough to find. The station itself is an excellent place to railfan -- the traffic averages 2-3 CSX freights per hour, and about 6-8 Amtrak trains a day come thru there as well. Across from the station (in the same building as the garage, 1750 Crystal Drive) there are bathrooms and restaurants which stay open on the weekent." (January 2006)
Arlington -- VA-233. Here's an accessibly placed location, and it's really the first one south of the river. There is a short connector between US-1 and Ronald Reagan National Airport -- VA-233. The connector goes over what were the northern yard leads for Potomac Yard. As you can imagine, there was a majorly nasty chain link fence erected on the sides of the bridge where the tracks were. However, with the complete re-alignment of all tracks after Pot Yard closed, that fencing no longer is over the tracks. The result is unobstructed viewing to both north and south. Everything CSX, Amtrak (all DC - points south and southeast) and VRE (Manassas and Fredericksburg trains) goes thru here. That's the good news.
The bad news is that this street is hyper busy, and you need to be extremely careful. There is a sidewalk on each side, but you've got to keep your wits about you. You will be virtually unable to cross the street most of the day. The sun and shadows will obviously be a problem much of the time, but this is still a good place to see plenty of trains. Another piece of bad news is that you're going to have to park well to the west of the overpass, and walk back. Parking is at a premium all thru this area, which is called Crystal City. The Hatfield's and McCoy's have nothing on the feuds over parking slots in Crystal City in particular, and Arlington in general. If you've got a couple of hours to kill between planes, this is the place to spend them.
Dave Olsen has helped with this location.
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Arlington -- Theater. Continue south on US-1. As you get to the southern edge of Arlington, there is a large strip shopping area, with very large stores. Take your first left into the parking lot and stay as far to the north as practical. Drive past the stores and around to the rear of the area. You'll see a free-standing theater. Go behind the theater, and you'll find parking spaces on the east side, facing the three main tracks. You're elevated a bit here, so the chain link fence will not be a problem. There's a manhole cover that's the most elevated spot here, and it will give you excellent access to the south.
Photo ratings are W2, E4. Definitely an afternoon location. Southbounds will enjoy good lighting.
Dave Olsen has helped with this location.
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Alexandria -- US-1 Overpass. Continue south on US-1 into Alexandria. As you're doing so, you'll cross a good-sized creek. This, I believe, is the boundary between the two cities. The large open expanses to the east of US-1 are all parts of what was Potomac Yard. Up ahead, you'll notice the road going up, turning sharply to the left, and going over the tracks and what was the southern end of the yard. Immediately before making the turn to the left, turn right instead onto Monroe Avenue. After just one block, turn right and park in the YMCA parking lot. Walk back up the hill and use the walkway on the south side of the bridge (there is none on the north side, unfortunately) out over what was Potomac Yard. Look to the north from the center of the bridge, and you'll begin to gain an appreciation of why Pot Yard was considered one of the most important rail facilities in the United States. B&O, C&O, RF&P, PRR and Southern all "ended" here. Everything from all railroads was interchanged and classified. At Pot Yard, two complete hump yards and towers were busy 24/7/365.
There are three main tracks on the far eastern edge of this vast area, and as a big CSX freight sails thru at 40mph, you get an idea of the scale of the place -- the modern freight train looks almost like an O scale train on an oversized table. Not a place for photos, but lots of trains and a whole boatload of nostalgia for those of us who were lucky enough to see Pot Yard "back when."
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Alexandria -- King Street Station. We'll now venture to the best train-watching site in the Arlington/Alexandria area, but it's not exactly ideal for photos. Ah well, we'll do the best we can.
From the YMCA on Monroe Avenue, go west to Mt. Vernon Avenue and go south (left), cross Braddock Road, and swing around as Monroe becomes East Linden Street. There are some very nice, upscale, rehabilitated homes in this very old part of the city. It's obviously very trendy. Go all the way to Russell Road, take a left to go south, and then cross King Street/VA-7, a very major thoroughfare, and Russell will become Callahan Drive. Take a left from Callahan into the station parking area. If you're just going to be a few minutes, you'll be OK; otherwise, park north of King Street and walk up to the station. [Incidentally, the view from King Street and the station up the hill to the George Washington National Masonic Monument is stunning.] Parking is a bear all over this area.
The platforms are accessible (take the tunnel to the east platform -- do NOT walk over the tracks), but they're obviously tight. However, standing on that east platform as a CSX time freight barrels by just a few feet away is a hoot. The third (east) track is for thru movements, and most CSX traffic will use it. However, you can see a freight on any track at any time. VRE and Amtrak usually use the first 2 tracks. There is a low fence between the 2 "passenger" mains and the third main. The best place to photograph trains is to the south of the station. In the afternoons,walk far down the platform on the west side, and sit on the grassy embankment. You'll get good pix of southbounds. Bring your lawn chairs and a cooler. Be unobtrusive, and you'll be fine, but do stay back from the tracks. Also, the Duke Street overpass immediately to your south is very noisy, so remember that a train from either direction can be upon you very fast. For northbounds, stay closer to the north end of the station, using that rather short platform up to the King Street underpass.
For life support, there are restrooms and vending machines in the station.
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Alexandria -- Duke Street Overpass. If the station isn't your cup of tea, walk up to the Duke Street overpass. The tracks are on a 90° bend here, as they come out of AF Interlocking to the west on an east-west bias, and go under Duke Street to bear north-south thru Pot Yard to the Long Bridge. There is a sidewalk on each side of the street, but the ubiquitous heavy chain link fencing (complete with thick, black plastic coating) is present. This is a good place to see lots of trains, but it's definitely not a photo location.
Duke Street is a major thoroughfare, so be very careful on the bridge itself.
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Alexandria -- AF Interlocking. Depending on where you parked, get back onto Callahan and head south to Duke Street. Take a right, pass the Telegraph Road exit, and look for Roth Street (you may not see it heading west). Pass Roth and Sweeney Street, and take a left on Quaker Lane. Drive south towards the tracks, and find a place to park. At the end of Quaker, you'll see Business Center Drive paralleling the tracks, and you'll also see signs proclaiming it to be a private road. Neither John nor I believe it to be so, but be somewhat circumspect, anyway. Business Center Drive looks south at the action thru AF Interlocking, where the 2-track NS/VRE (ex-Southern and C&O) from the southwest, and the 2-track CSX (ex-RF&P) bring all their freight, and where VRE and Amtrak from both lines come together to funnel down to 3 tracks heading into the Washington, DC, area and points north and northwest.
You have good viewing here of a lot of action (especially in the AM and PM rush hours), and it's a good place to watch trains, but photos are difficult because of the big chain link fence, and the sun is in your face most of the day. CFP 104.3
With thanks to John Boteler, who provided the data for this location. John is the author of the Baltimore - Washington part of the Frograil CSX East Coast Tour.
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Alexandria -- Telegraph Road. Head back the way you came on Duke Street. Before getting to the Telegraph Road exit, take a right on Witter Avenue, and try to find a place to park at the east end of the street (it's a dead end). Walk up the Telegraph Road ramp, and you'll go over Duke Street and the tracks. AF Interlocking is just to the west of the overpass.
To be honest, I'm really hesitant to include this location, because it's dangerous, so let me give you a proper warning: [Note well: The Telegraph Road overpass has no shoulders or sidewalks, and is a very busy street, especially during afternoon and evening rush hours. The view to the west towards AF Interlocking is quite good, but the railfan should ask himself if a view of the tracks is worth risking life and limb.This area was completely re-built during 2001, with CSX, Virginia and Amtrak all cooperating on funding and planning. The view from the overpass is the only place to see what the construction accomplished.
Because most folks coming to the area will want to at least see AF, I include it here, but to me personally, I do not use Telegraph Road as a railfan location, nor do I recommend it to be such. Take a quick look/photo and skeedaddle.
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Franconia. Continue south on Telegraph Road for a short distance, and take a right onto Eisenhower Avenue. Go west on Eisenhower, and you'll soon be between the NS, which has been detailed in the Crescent Route Frograil tour, and the CSX tracks just on your left as you pass the Eisenhower Connector. The CSX route is completely treed in where it's not blocked by buildings, so let's just continue on to Van Dorn Street, and take a left to go straight south. Beyond this point, the NS has continued west-southwest to Manassas, and the CSX will take a broad 90° turn to head from westerly to southerly. In the process of doing the latter, CSX passes under I-95/I-495, and is inaccessible.
Once on Van Dorn, continue south to the major intersection with Franconia Road, and take a right to head west back towards the tracks. Before getting there, look for a minor road to the right, Old Franconia Road. Take this right and weave thru the apartment buildings to a T, and take a left onto Fleet Drive. The tracks run very openly on the east side of a north-south run. Park about 150 yards south of the Old Franconia/Fleet intersection, and you'll have an E1/W4 area to work with. While obviously a morning location, this is the first really open area of track access we've seen since starting this tour segment. Relax and take it easy for awhile. Remember that the VRE-Manassas and NS traffic is gone, and we have AMT, CSX and VRE-Fredericksburg stuff only -- but that's still quite a bunch of goodies.
Bote Man and Glenn Anderson have pointed out that from Franconia south, VRE stations are served via track 2, the easternmost track only. Generally speaking, if you want to shoot from the platforms, you're probably looking at morning shots only. However, not all stations are on a north/south bias, so take this advice with a grain of salt.VRE does have security officers that patrol the stations, so exercise some discretion.
Springfield -- VRE Station. Like the Crystal City location, I must confess that I didn't visit this location during my research in April, 2002 for this tour. Here are the driving instructions, but I cannot give you photographic considerations, etc. That said, however, all VRE-Fredericksburg, CSX freight and southbound Amtrak trains go thru the station.
From Franconia, continue south on Fleet Drive, and it will eventually turn towards the east and deadend into Beulah Street. Take a right and drive down Beulah until the major intersection with the Franconia Springfield Parkway. At this intersection, there is no fancy ramp to traverse -- just take a right at the traffic light. As soon as you get on the Parkway, it will, indeed, become a Parkway, and you'll go up and over the tracks. Take the first exit, and go thru a 270° ramp to head southwest on Frontier Drive to the VRE station. Note that if you're staying in the Springfield area and want to railfan other points in the Balt-DC area, you can take VRE and Metro about anywhere you want to go from this station.
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Newington. Get back to Beulah, and follow it south until it ends at our old friend, Telegraph Road. There is a nice little shopping center here, and the folks running the coffee/espresso place are very nice. Take a right onto Telegraph, and go until the first light, and turn right again onto Newington Road. As soon as you've turned onto Telegraph, by the way, there is a nice county library on your right -- it would be a good place to stash fidgety kids and wives.
Newington Road will seemingly end at a T with Cinder Bed Road, but take a right, go less than one block, and take a left to resume on Newington Road. After twisting and turning, you'll see the railroad overpass ahead. Take a left to go into a commercial building area, find an OK place to park, and walk towards the tracks (walk thru the parking lots, not along the street). Just before the overpass, you'll see a narrow, paved road leaving the parking lot and going up to the tracks. Walk up to the tracks. None of this area is posted, but you obviously need to stay back from the area of the tracks.
The first track is a storage track that used to be for interchange with the line going into Ft Belvoir. You can see the latter being kind of swallowed up by the trees to the southeast. Obviously, it's been out of service for years. The next tracks are the 2 mains, followed by 3(?) yard tracks for the gravel/aggregates business on the southwest side of the area. About 200 feet north, and just past the Newington Road overpass, is a defect detector "Newington" at CFP 95.8. Photo-wise, this is an E2, W4 location. Be aware that trains on the main tracks are very fast, and this is a noisy location, so be super alert at all times.
Lorton -- VRE Station. So shoot me, already, but here's a third (and final) VRE station I did not visit while doing the on-the-ground research for this tour. Here are the driving directions, but I cannot give you the photographic conditions. Get back on the Franconia Springfield Parkway to Beulah Street, and head south on Beulah. Somewhere along the way, Beulah has become VA-611. It will T at US-1, and you should take a right to go south. After a short while, take a right on Pohick Road, which will take you over the tracks on a not-at-grade overpass. However, before you get to the tracks, take a left on Lorton Station Boulevard. The station is just a little south of Pohick Road.
Photos will be somewhat tight, but the angle of the tracks is almost exactly 45º northeast/southwest, and a fairly sharp curve is just south of the station. These factors will help you with lighting, especially since there is a platform only on the southeast side of the east track
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Lorton. Lorton is the home of the Auto Train terminal, and happens also to be an interesting and excellent railfan location. Continue south on Pohick Station Boulevard, and take a right onto Lorton Road. Continue on Lorton Road until just before the underpass, and park anywhere off to the right. Let's get right to the best railfan location on this entire segment, so far.
The following is a historical account by the Webmaster, interwoven with a late 2008 update from Glenn Anderson. In fact, Glenn has provided the lion's share of the text between this point and Brooke, which is south of Quantico.
During one of many infrastructure projects in the area, the road builders piled up a large hill of dirt on the southeast quadrant of the CSX/Lorton Road NAG crossing. That hill of dirt used to be an excellent place to relax and watch the show, but it's even better now. There is now a small pedestrial park on it with a tall clock tower reading "Lorton Station", signifying the current and ongoing retail and residential areas of development along the CSX corridor near the Lorton VRE station in general, and this area near the Auto Train in particular.
You can park in the small lot at the bottom or across the street at the shopping center and walk up the hill overlooking the tracks. The clock tower even provides a spot of shade under it for those hot summer visits; so it's a good place to set up your lawn chair. Best view is for morning southbounds with the AT terminal as a backdrop, but northbounds can be done also, just a bit tight due to trees close to the tracks. The shopping center has a variety of foods available at the Shoppers Food Warehouse's sit-down eatery with views of the RR. There's also a Quiznos and several other places to eat in the shopping center. I (Glenn) was there several months ago when the AT was delayed by several hours and passengers were walking over to the shopping center from the terminal to stock up on sandwiches and snacks.
As you look towards the new terminal, you see a broad, 3-track railroad bridge going over the 2-lane Lorton Road. Until recently, there were 2 major problems here. First, the underpass was a narrow, curved, one-lane thing, and was dangerous and a bother. Second, on the railroad, the Auto Train was far longer than the short siding at the terminal, and the west main was tied up for a good half hour or more when the train arrived or was getting ready to depart. The new construction has alleviated both of those problems. Sitting on your hillside, you've got a grandstand view of the activity, and you should watch them build the Auto Train. From about 1 or 1:30 until the train departs at 4PM, you'll see something that you can't see anywhere else in America. It's a real treat.
The southwest quadrant now has a commuter parking lot with a bus stop off of Gunston Cove Road that affords reasonable views of the action, but a tall fence surrounding the lot makes photography difficult without a short ladder, which probably wouldn‘t be worth the effort. There are a couple of spots along the shoulder of Gunston Cove Road between the commuter lot and the old overpass that offer better shooting, but again, fairly unremarkable views up and down the straight tracks.
Your location allows you to get good pix of all southbound trains, as well as decent shots of those heading north. There is a smaller hill on the northeast quadrant, and that will give you good photos, plus a somewhat different perspective of the Auto Train building process.
For a one shot close up of the terminal area and the Auto Train itself, go under the tracks, and take the first right as if you were going into the terminal. Park right after your turn, and climb up the short embankment to the track level. You're about 20 yards back from the tracks, and the area is not posted. However, I'd take my one good shot and leave.
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Lorton -- Gunston Cove Road Bridge.When you come under the railroad overpass from the east, you can turn right to go up to the terminal area, as discussed in the preceding location, go straight to get to I-95, or take a left onto Gunston Cove Road. Do the latter.There is an area whereby the CSX guys access the tracks after a very short distance, and there is parking possible on the gravel, but I don't recommend it, as I think you're trespassing, and you'll also stick out like a sore thumb. As you can understand, the Auto Train terminal area is a sensitive location.
So just continue about a mile south of Lorton Road, and you'll come to a remnant of the road-building past:A rickety looking, one lane bridge over the tracks. The bridge has been closed to vehicle traffic for several years, and access from the west via Gunston Cove Road is easier than that from the east. The tracks are steeply northeast - southwest here, ~75º, so morning shots will be best from the east side. Be warned that this is an area that resembles a tree tunnel, and shadows are a persistant problem.
Shots from both east and west are fairly tight, but they're also interesting. The new, long lead track for the Auto Train terminal joins the west main just north of the bridge.
With thanks to John Boteler, who provided data for this location. John is the author of the Baltimore - Washington part of the Frograil CSX East Coast Tour. Thanks also to Glenn Anderson, who updated the material in late 2008.
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Colchester -- Boat Launch Area.From the Lorton Road/CSX crossing, continue east on Lorton Road to a T at US-1/Richmond Highway and turn right to go south. Before you cross the Occoquan River, take a left onto Furnace Road.This will lead to an ugly NAG/NARL underpass (honk before you go thru), and then will come to an intersection with Old Colchester Road/VA-611. Take a right, and drive to the end at a boat launching ramp. At this point, the CSX bridge over the Occoquan River is overhead and to the northwest, and you can get good AM shots of northbounds. This is a thru truss trestle, so you won't get pristine side-on shots, just trains going about their daily work.Southbounds have their wheels cut off by the angle of the view.
Woodbridge -- Railroad Avenue.Backtrack to US-1, take a left to go south, cross the Occoquan River, and Railroad Avenue will be on your left. It's a very old street in a city of mostly modern suburban developments; there are only a few houses next to it. There are three fanning options here, and none of them are perfect. If you are going south on US-1 (which has notoriously high traffic levels and snafus), you would probably be wise not to try to turn left onto Railroad; instead, continue south until you get to a point where you can do a U-turn, head back north, and take a right onto Railroad.
All three options require you to park, and that can be difficult, as US-1 has virtually no shoulder and offers no safe parking, the houses along Railroad are very private dwellings, and it's hard to tell what is OK for parking, and what might make someone upset -- use discretion.
Once parked, start your railfanning at the overpass of the tracks. The bridge is ca. 1925 and is very narrow, so there's barely room for a car and a person. However, there are only about a half dozen houses on the road, and there is a 90º turn at the east end of the bridge, so cars have to be going very slowly. If you know a train is coming, get out on the bridge, take your picture, and get off the bridge. The second potential fan location is reached by walking across the bridge to US-1, taking a right and hiking about a football field length up to an area that was obviously an entrance to something. The Woodbridge RF&P passenger station was in this general area, and the concrete pad in the area is probably from that station. Walk into this area to the south southwest, and good aerials show the area near the tracks as being quite open, albeit somewhat derelict.[NOTE WELL:I have not been to this location, and it does not appear that there is any barricade next to US-1 prohibiting entrance. However, if the area is posted, simply scratch it off the list of potential sites, and go back down US-1 and cross the bridge to get back to your car. Also, please let me know so I can delete this part of the narrative.]
The final location along Railroad Avenue is to drive to any parking area at the northern end of the short road. You are near the south end of the Occoquan bridge, but there is no access to it without trespassing on railroad property. I've had two contributors tell me that they've fanned the area of the north end of Railroad Avenue, and while not at all ideal, you can get some shots without having to face an inpenetrable line of trees, trees, and more trees.
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Woodbridge -- VRE Station. Further south via US-1, at a major intersection with VA-253/Occoquan Road to the right and Dawson Beach Road on the left, take the left onto the latter. Cross over the tracks on an overpass, and immediately take a left onto Express Drive. The station and parking area are to the left. There is no parking in front of the station, so use the free parking garage.
As with most other VRE locations, this station offers very limited views north and south as it sits on the inside of a broad curve which is closely lined with trees. There are plans to construct a new platform on the west side of the tracks opposite the station (track 3) which will include a pedestrian overpass, but unless they cut down a lot of trees, I (Glenn) doubt it will improve the view by much.
The Dawson Beach Road overpass of the tracks immediately south of the station should give good photos of southbounds in the morning, but there will be a lot of sun in your face all day to the south. The overpass is wide and modern, but heavy street traffic dictates that you pick one side of it and stay there.
Featherstone.Two rail miles and about 3 road miles south of the Woodbridge VRE station is CSX Featherstone, site of double crossovers. Featherstone is a relatively open location, especially compared to other spots on the line. From the Woodbridge VRE drive south on US-1/Jefferson Davis Highway. to Featherstone Road, where you turn left. This stretch of US-1 is a very heavily traveled and congested area full of small mom and pop shops, eateries and gas stations. Traffic is always heavy and the street signs are small, so use caution. Follow Featherstone east one mile to the CSX crossing. There is room to park just off the side of the road next to the crossing to watch and wait for something to show up.
You've just been introduced to the most frustrating aspect of fanning the RF&P. You drove 3 miles thru some of the most densely populated areas of the country, and you can't get trackside the entire way -- not even via underpass or overpass.
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Featherstone -- Tyrell Pond. Just east of the grade crossing Featherstone Road makes a left turn to parallel the railroad north about a mile through a residential area and leads to a dead-end in Veteran’s Memorial Park. About a quarter-mile north of the crossing at Tyrell Lane there is a small lake, or large pond depending on your point of view, on the west side of the road. Park along the street in the morning and you can shoot nice broadside views of trains reflected in the lake.
There is also a relatively new pedestrian overpass over CSX from the park back west to another residential area, but I (Glenn) would not recommend it due to a poor view of the RR and personal safety issues of the neighborhood.
Rippon -- VRE Station. Return to the Featherstone Road grade crossing and follow that road west two streets to a left on Farm Creek Drive. Following Farm Creek south 1.1 mile all the way to the end takes you to the VRE Rippon station. This is one of the most unusual stations on VRE, as the parking lot is about 100’ above the station. With the parking lot on the west side of the tracks, passengers must walk across a pedestrian bridge high above the CSX double track main, then take an elevator or stairs down to platform level.
The bridge provides an overhead view unlike those available from, say, a normal highway overpass, but still provides a fairly tight view of trains below. Otherwise, photo angles from track level are rather hum-drum.
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Neabsco Creek.Less than a mile south of Rippon station is the Neabsco Creek bridge. By the time you get to it, you'll be convinced it's a whole lot more than one mile.First return west towards US-1 by departing the VRE Rippon station parking lot and head back up Farm Creek Drive but only to the first left, Rippon Boulevard. Follow Rippon about a mile and a half winding through a large residential development and turn left again onto Blackburn Road and follow it another mile to US-1. Turn left (south) on good old traffic-clogged US-1/Jefferson Davis Highway and go south about 1000’ to the next light, which is which is Neabsco Road. Turn left/east off of US-1 onto Neabsco Road at the Wawa station and drive about a mile and a half to the marina on Neabsco Creek, where you can shoot dramatic afternoon broadside views of trains rolling over the marina on the old steel trestle.
Leesylvania -- Ludwig Drive. There is more in this area than just a railfan location. Leesylvania State Park is just to the south via Daniel K. Ludwig Drive. Leave Neabsco Creek the way you came in, and take a left onto Ludwig Drive. This will take you thru the wilderness towards the Park. As you get to the southwestern tip of the peninsula, you will make an almost 180º turn, in the middle of which you'll go under the tracks. CSX is heading out over Powells Creek inlet, and offers some interesting potential for photos. As you go around the big curve, there is a guardrail on your right. When the guardrail ends, try to find a place to park -- you might have to hoof it a bit.
While you could easily climb above the level of the tracks, they are hopelessly treed in, so you'd be needlessly expending energy. While you have unobstructed viewing from the southeast, remember that the southbounds will have their wheels cut off by the angle of the bridge. This spot is probably best for AM northbound photos, but it's a nice place to just relax and watch the trains zoom back and forth over the inlet.
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Quantico. If you thought the RF&P had been hard to get to previously, it really plunges into the wilderness south of Neabsco Creek. There is one crossing that's open to the public, and that's Cherry Hill Road, well to the east of US-1. I do not have enough information on this crossing to include it on this tour, and it's a long ways out and back from US-1, so it is considered NARL until more info arrives. There are other access points further south on the peninsula, but they are within obviously industrial locations, and there is no public access. Therefore, the best strategy from Leesylvania/Neabsco Creek is to drive directly all the way down to Marine Corps Base Quantico.
From Neabsco Creek, backtrack up Neabsco Road all the way to US-1/Jefferson Davis Highway. Take a left to go south 5 miles to Fuller Road, and take a left to head east. This road is the entrance to MCB Quantico, and you'll know you're there when you see the USMC War Memorial statue depicting the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. The original of this statue stands at the north end of the Arlington National Cemetery.
Yes, to access the town of Quantico and the AMTK/VRE station one must transit the Marine Corps installation. All that is required is a valid driver’s license to show the guard at the gate.[NOTE WELL: Glenn's information is correct most of the time; however, if terror alert levels are high, or if VIP's are at the base, it may be quite a bit more difficult to get into the base. Use common sense.] The little town of Quantico is known as “the town that cannot grow;” because it's surrounded on three sides by the base and on the fourth by the Potomac River. Access to the town is possible only through the base, aboard Amtrak/VRE or from the river. From US-1 to the AMTK/VRE station is about 3 miles.
As you approach the station area, Fuller Road will turn right and become Barnett Avenue. In just a few yards, at the first traffic light on Barnett turn left onto Potomac Avenue and you will see the CSX tracks and the station. Cross the tracks and turn right/south behind the station into the parking lot. If it’s a weekday, parking may be at a premium. The location doesn’t provide any scenic views, but it is an interesting place nevertheless. Shots of trains from the station side will likely have some of the older base buildings as a backdrop.
[Webmaster's Note: There is an excellent morning location north of the station, at the south end of the Possum Point bridge. You must have a military identification card -- active or retired -- to be allowed in the area. If you have such, contact me at frograil @ yahoo.com, and I'll give you the info.Do not be surprised to be approached by contract security or military police persons -- it's happened to me twice, and you had better have good ID.]
The station was built in 1953 to conform to the architecture of the Marine Corps base. The station is basically a brick box, but has some art deco features. It replaced a two-story frame structure constructed 1919. A freight station was on the opposite side of the tracks. RF&P Passenger service from Richmond reached Quantico in 1871, and ceased exactly 99 years later. Prior to 1920, Quantico was also where the RF&P ended, and met the southern terminus of the Washington Southern (originally the Alexandria and Fredericksburg).
In 2000 the station had been closed for about 34 years, but town leaders and Prince William County lobbied for VRE and Amtrak to stay and to keep the station open. They were responsible for getting federal matching grants to restore the decaying station. On April 27, 2005 VRE held the Grand Re-Opening of the station and more than 500 commuters a day now use the station. A coffee and snack shop is open Mon-Fri. Early furnishings were restored and placed in the waiting room. The Prince William Model Railroad Club is located in the old baggage room and they hold open house several times a year.
Amtrak service at Quantico is limited to the Carolinians #89 & 90 and Northeast Regional trains bound to and from Richmond and Newport News. VRE service is only available during morning and evening rush hours, Monday-Friday only.
When you leave Quantico, you'll go out the way you came in, via Fuller Road. Just south of the Fuller Road/US-1 intersection is the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Admission is free.This is a world-class structure designed by Jacobs Engineering, and it can be seen from I-95 as you travel north. You have to see it to believe it -- it will knock your socks off.
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Brooke -- VRE Station.From the intersection of US-1/Jefferson Davis Highway and Fuller Road in Quantico/Triangle, go south on US-1.As you enter the Stafford area, take a left onto VA-630/Courthouse Road. Take VA-630 east 2.4 miles and turn right onto Andrew Chapel Road. Follow Andrew Chapel Road south for just under a mile, and immediately after the narrow CSX overpass Andrew Chapel ends at Brooke Road. Bear right onto Brooke Road, and the Brooke VRE station entrance is on the right about 500’ ahead.
The Brooke VRE station south of Stafford is one of the most remote and pastoral locations in the area, yet is easily accessible. It sits in the middle of a broad S-curve and the tracks run nearly due east-west at the station.Photos from the platforms are somewhat tight.
Brooke -- Mount Hope Church Road. It's a little tight from the station, but Mount Hope Church Road, a lightly used road less than a half mile south of the station offers a different perspective. From the Brooke VRE station, continue south on VA-608/Brooke Road.At Mount Hope Church Road, take a right, and go north to the crossing.Here, there is a relatively wide view of southbounds in the curve in the morning. Afternoon shots are also possible, but on the outside of the curve.
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Fredericksburg to the James River
Fredericksburg -- Railroad Avenue. The railroad is elevated thru Fredericksburg, at least from east of the Rappahanock, thru downtown, and to the Blue and Gray Parkway. You can drive all over, walk all over, and run all over, but it's pretty tough to fan downtown Fred-town. If you're a real photographer and are willing to set up and wait for train and sun to combine to yield a TRAINS Magazine photo, go for it, but this tour is not about such endeavors.So, from the intersection of VA-3 and US-17/VA-2, go south on the latter to Tyler Street and go west two blocks to the tracks. At this point, we are at grade, and will be able to see everything rolling north/south on the ex-RF&P. Drive up and down Railroad Avenue to determine which point works best for you.
Understand that this is definitely an AM location, as the tracks are dead north - south once south of the Blue and Gray Parkway: W4/E1. Also realize that this is technically a "yard" area, so you may have great light, lots of trains coming at you, but not be able to see a thing, thanks to standing cars on the eastern tracks. When you're hot, you're hot; when you're not, you're not.
Fredericksburg -- Mine Road.Drive back east to US-17/VA-2/Tidewater Trail. On the aerials and maps, Landsdowne Road looks great, but it is mega-busy, and is NARL. At Benchmark Road, take a right and drive southwest to the intersection with Mine Road. This is a very noisy, high street traffic area, but it offers surprisingly good viewing:NE1, SE1, SW1, NW3. Be careful! There are signals just south of the crossing.
Summit.Continue southwest on Benchmark Road. Old maps show a crossing at Monticello Road, but it was NFOG, and this situation is repeated a little further south at Eagle Drive.Past the site of the erstwhile Eagle Drive crossing, the road swings away from the tracks and T's at the US-17 bypass. Maps show Benchmark Road following all the way to Summit Crossing Road, but it is vestigial in some places, railroad property in others, and non-existant for much of the way. Therefore, take a left on US-17, and drive to the first intersection, which is Jim Morris Road on the left and Thornton Rolling Road on the right. Take the right and go south to Summit Crossing Road.Out of sight between Thornton Rolling and the tracks is the layover facility for VRE, but there is no public access.
When you enter Caroline County, the name of the road changes to Macedonia Road. When you get to Summit Crossing Road, take a left and go west to the tracks.This crossing is so-so, at NE2, SE3, SW4, NW1.Just north of the crossing is a defect detector, and the crossing itself is MP 51.41.
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Claiborne.Continue west on Summit Crossing Road to a T with Massaponax Church Road. Take a left, and drive south to Flippo Drive, where you should take a left.When you get to the intersection with Nyland Road, bear left and Nyland will take you to Guinea Station Road. The latter will go to the south after a short distance, but you should continue straight on what becomes Claiborne Station Road to the tracks.Photo ratings are NE3, SE2, SW1, NW4, but the tracks are now on a northwest - southeast bias, so the crossing is an X, not a +. This isMP 48.63.
Guinea.Drive back to the point where Guinea Station Road went to the south, and take a left to drive thru the beautiful Virginia countryside to a T with Stonewall Jackson Road. Take your time on Guinea Station, because it is a very old, narrow road.Take a left onto Stonewall Jackson and drive to the crossing.The crossing is rated as NE2, SE1, SW1, NW1 -- this is the best railfan crossing in a whole lot of miles, although I hope some local railfan will take out the small cedar growing in the southwest quad.There are signals to the northwest.
Guinea -- Shrine Road.Just beyond the crossing is a road to the left which leads to the Stonewall Jackson Shrine. Take that road and drive to the parking area. The small white house with two distinctive chimneys is the place where General Jackson was taken after he was injured by friendly fire. He was brought here because it was close to the railroad, and it was hoped he could be taken to a hospital, but he died in the house.If the house is open, by all means go in, because the National Park Service folks who staff the Shrine are extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the Civil War in this area.
To the west of the Shrine's entry road, there is excellent access to the tracks from the east, but there is no access from the west.This is a prime morning location, as the tracks are still northwest - southeast, as they were back at Claiborne.
Woodford.Once east of the tracks, Guinea Station Road continues southeast; take it to a T with Rozell Road and take a right.[NOTE:Some maps show a Lake Farm Road connecting with Rozell in the Daltons area, and then running parallel to the tracks on the west all the way to Collins Crossing. This road is NFOG, except for a vestigial remnant near Collins Crossing.]Rozell will T with Woodford Road. Take another right, and you'll soon be at a crossing, at MP 44.5.Photo ratings are decent: NE2, SE2, SW2, NW1, with the southeast quad shot being take across the field, beyond the station.The station is in OK shape, and is apparently used as a drying and curing facility for local hardwood lumber.
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Collins Crossing.Continue south on Woodford Road until the intersection with Woodslane Road on the left.Go left and drive to the crossing. This is another very pretty, but narrow road.The crossing is still relentlessly northwest - southeast (about 124º), and is rated at NE1, SE3, SW1, NW4. There are intermediate signals to the south.
Bowling Green -- Paige Road.Stay on Woodslane Road east of the crossing, and it will meander about the countryside -- another very narrow road -- and eventually T at VA-2. Take a right and head south. Pass up the Rixey area, as it is private.When you pass the minor crossroad at Tinder Drive, look for Paige Road on the right.Take it and drive out to the crossing.Photo ratings are NE2, SE4, SW3, NW3. This location is only recommended as a place to get trackside in a hurry if you know a train is imminent.The railroad here is dead north - south, so even if a northbound is in your lap, photos will be poor at best.
This is MP 40.43.
Milford -- Station. Backtrack on Paige to the T with VA-2. Go right, and at the intersection with VA-207/Broadus Road, take another road to leave the Bowling Green area.Note that the railroad never enters Bowling Green, but skirts it to the west, via Milford.You will continue southwest on VA-207 as it merges with the southern end of the US-301/VA-207 Bowling Green bypass. Pass Holly Hill Drive on your right, and then turn left onto Colonial Road. There is an overpass of the tracks on VA-207 just west of this turn, but it is NAG/NARL.
Once on Colonial, it will bend and weave thru town, at one point making a 90º turn from a southeast direction to a southwest bent.At the point where the road makes another sharp turn (southwest to southeast), the station is straight ahead. The building is a private structure now, and if you want pictures of it, or if you want to watch trains behind it, you'll need to get permission.The area behind the station is wide open, and would be a good place to set up the lawn chairs, get out the cooler, and fire up the scanner, but do get permission first.
Milford -- Nelson Hill Road.As Colonial Road bends from southwest to southeast in direction (at the station), it becomes Antioch Road.In turn, Antioch will meet Nelson Hill Road on the right, and New Baltimore Road on the left. At this intersection, take a right, then the first left into Industrial Drive.When you get to the vicinity of the tracks, park and walk back up to Nelson Hill, and hoof it up to the overpass.The overpass is modern and wide open, so it's good for photos. However, the tracks are dead north - south, so if you're shooting northbounds, you'll be fighting the sun all day.N1/S1.
In the southwest quad of the crossing, there is a solid-looking 2-story tower, which guarded a set of crossovers. The latter are now CTC-controlled, and the tower has long been out of service.
Milford -- Industrial Drive.Continue south on Industrial Drive. As the name implies, there are industries located along this road, including some active railroad customers.Probably the best fanning area is at the far south of the road, just before a set of spurs goes over the road to the east. Photo ratings are E1, W4.You will have to be alert to industrial traffic and a high noise level.
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Penola.Go back up Industrial Drive to Nelson Hill Road and take a left.This will take you to VA-207/Rogers Clark Boulevard, and another left.After you pass Golansville Road on the right, take a left onto Penola Road.The AG crossing is about 3 miles or so the the southeast via this road.When you get to it, cross the tracks and park on the southeast quad (compass east).This is the best photo location and train watching spot between Bowling Green and the James River (with the exception of Ashland, which is really not as good a photo spot, at least in my opinion), and is well worth the drive out and back.Remember that the crossing is an x, and not a + .
NE1, SE1, SW3, NW1.The MP 33.0 marker is here.
Colemans Mill Crossing. Go all the way back to VA-207, turn left, and head south.When you get to Moncure Road on the right and Colemans Mill Road, take a left and go to the fair - poor crossing. Be careful here, because the road coming up from the north is very steep as it approaches the tracks, and visibility is limited.That does not, however, stop a seemingly endless parade of log trucks from going over the crossing.
Signals are visible just to the south, and the bias of the railroad is changing from east - west to northeast - southwest.Photo locations aren't good, at NE3, SE3, SW3, NW2, but it's certainly a decent place to spend some time watching today's trains work hard thru a difficult area.
Swans Corner.This is a snatch and grab overpass shot.From the Colemans Mill Crossing location, go back out to VA-207, take a left and head south. At Dry Bridge Road, take a very hard left, and park in the vicinity of the overpass.Viewing is not bad, at N2/S2, but the overpass is fairly narrow, so get out on it, take your shot, and get off.Because the tracks are once again steeply north - south, northbounds will be a problem, except in the long days of May - July.
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Ruther Glen.Retrace your steps back to VA-207, take a left, and continue south.Just before the busy I-95 intersection, take a left onto Ruther Glen Road. Be careful, as the turn is easy to miss; it is buried in the midst of the regular fast food, motel, and gas station junk around the interstate exit roads.Cross the tracks on a NAG/NARL, and take an immediate left onto an un-named road.Drive slowly, as there are often major potholes.The tracks are treed in for quite aways, but will then open up. You are on the outside of a curve, and the area is wide open.N4/S1.
This is one of the most popular fan locations along the RF&P.If you have a pickup, sit in the bed to give yourself a little more viewing scope.Ruther Glen is a quiet, pastoral setting just a stone's throw from a very busy interstate highway.There is a set of intermediate signals at MP 27.4.
Doswell.Leave Ruther Glen by going back the way you came. At VA-207, take a left, go thru the I-95 junk, and take a left onto US-1 to continue south.You will be away from the tracks for several miles.Pass the Verdon Road intersection, cross over a set of tracks (we'll mention them later), and turn left at the Doswell Road intersection.When you get to a set of tracks (the same ones you went over on US-1), go over them, cross the RF&P main lines, and find a place to park (not at Squashapenny).Doswell has been for many years, and continues to be, the most interesting railfan location on the entire RF&P.
Several years ago, CSX leased the original Richmond - Doswell - Charlottesville - Clifton Forge "Old Main Line" to the Buckingham Branch Railroad. Over that line, the major traffic consists of coal and grain empties heading back west, and a local or two. Significant interchange occurs in the southwest and northwest quads of the crossing. At any given time, expect to see a rather elderly Geep or two in rather strange paint combinations.
In all honestly, I have never thought Doswell was worth a hoot for photos, as you'll have to trespass to get good shots, but the interchange action, the Doswell-based locals working, and CSX interchange action -- not to mention all of the mainline traffic on the RF&P -- make this a great place to watch a couple of (very different) railroads at work.
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Taylorsville -- VA-30.From Doswell, backtrack to US-1, and turn left to go south. You'll pass lots of trees and trees and trees, and no views of the railroad, which is well east of the road. At VA-30, take a left to head east. The overpass of the tracks is four lanes wide, but there are only two lanes now in existence, so there is excellent parking on the north side of the road. The tracks are mostly north - south, so shots of northbounds will be a problem all day, although viewing to the south is quite nice.N1/S1.
The view to the north shows the interlocking signals at HN Tower in Doswell.
Taylorsville -- Old Ridge Road.Cross the tracks to the east, and take a right onto Burns Road.[NOTE WELL:Beyond the Taylorsville community, there is a 3-ton limit, very narrow bridge on Taylorsville Road. If your vehicle exceeds that limit, skip the next location, get out to US-1, and head south. Pick up the tour at Vaughn Road.]You'll notice the tracks come in from your right, and will see a set of signals, and the station sign for "Taylorsville". Most of the area along Burns is treed in, but there are a few open areas, none of which are really railfan locations.
At the crossroads of Taylorsville, take a left onto Taylorsville Road, and drive south to Old Ridge Road. At the crossing, find a place to park.Viewing to both north and south is excellent, but the bridge is fairly narrow, so this is just a snatch and grab location.
Ashland -- Vaughn Road. Continue west via Old Ridge Road to US-1. Take a left and head south to Ashland.Skip the crossing on Elletts Crossing Road, as it is a nasty, old, NAG/NARL.The overpass on US-1 is narrow and the highway is busy:NAG/NARL.Finally, take a right onto Archie Cannon Drive as you begin to enter Ashland. This road will take you to tracks and then become Vaughn Road once across them.There are nice off-railroad property areas here for photos, but be aware that the trains are pretty fast. There are even picnic tables in the northwest part of the crossing.This is about MP CFP 15.0.
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Ashland -- Station Area.If you've been on the tour from the north, continue west on Vaughn, and then take a left to go into town via North James Street.At Patrick Street, bear left and head to Center Street and the tracks.If you're just starting the tour, from I-95, drive west to the tracks on VA-54 and find a place to park.
In my humble opinion, this is one of the best places in Virginia to watch trains, and is certainly one of the best in all of North America. The town itself is lovely, and is the home of Randolph-Macon College. There zillions of motels and restaurants on the VA-54 strip west of I-95. However, if you're a railfan, and you have any time at all, you can enjoy Ashland in wonderful, almost unique ways. The CSX mainline goes right thru the middle of the town, with 1-2 trains per hour, and the traffic mix includes just about everything except ore trains. The trick is to be comfortable while doing your train watching:
FOOD. In the center of town, where VA-54 crosses the tracks, the building immediately southwest of the crossing is The Iron Horse Restaurant. This is an excellent place to eat. The food is superior and different; they have micro brewed adult beverages; there is live (but not intrusive) music on some nights; and, the big, big windows give you a view of the Auto Train barreling by about 50 feet from your seat. On one evening there, during a meal which included a pre-dinner drink, we saw 7 trains. Don't miss this place, and get there early to pick your table. The bar area tables give the best views.
Another place to eat that's close to the tracks (but not close enough to see trains) is The Smokey Pig, which is one block south of VA-54 on US-1. They not only have pork and chicken Virginia BBQ, they also have beef BBQ. However, what got my wife interested is the fact that they have excellent crab cakes. As one who grew up near the Chesapeake Bay, let me assure you that good crab cakes are very rare when you get more than about 30 miles from the Bay. She can vouch for the crab cakes, and I can vouch for the beef and pork BBQ. The potato salad and cole slaw are good, and the onion rings are full of the grease that makes them yummy (hey, we're not going to live forever, don't you know?).
LODGING. There is an "historic inn" about a block north of The Iron Horse restaurant. This is the Henry Clay Inn, which has a restaurant and 15 rooms. It's very comfortable, and most rooms cost about $90 per night. A continental breakfast is included. You can probably find it on the net. Anyway, you can sit on the porch and be entertained, as all those trains roar by just for your viewing pleasure. Note that trains don't blow thru town, as the town apparently doesn't allow train horns within the city limits. Listen for crossing guard bells.
IN BAD WEATHER: Across the tracks from the Iron Horse Restaurant is the Gillis/Ashland Branch of the Pamunkey Regional Library. This is a very nice, quite new library, and you can spend many comfortable hours here (all for free, of course), and still watch the trains go by, as the entire west side of the library has huge windows. The library is good on any day, but on a rainy, dreary day, it can make your train watching enjoyable, if not ideal.
RAILFANNING ASHLAND: The railroad is virtually straight north-south thru town, with Railroad Avenue going one-way north on the east side, and Center Street going one-way south on the east. The town is very pretty, and a good way to railfan it is to simply walk up and down these two streets, both of which have sidewalks for most of the way. If you're inclined to stay in one place, you'll probably want to remain close to the station itself, as you can get good southbound shots any time of the day, and vehicular traffic isn't overwhelming (although it can be busy at times, depending on what's going on over at the College).
For those of you who are long-time Ashland fans, the train speed thru Ashland has increased. It used to be no more than 20-25mph, but now some trains seem to go thru at what looks to be close to 40mph. You don't have as much time to casually select a photo location as you used to.
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Gwathmey. The sidewalks end at Early Street, and you can continue to follow the tracks on this tour by driving south on Center Street Road, past Ashcake Road (poor railfan location), and on down to the community of Gwathmey, where Center Street ends. Gwathmey Church Road crosses the tracks where Center Street ends, and yields a NE1, SE3, SW2, NW3 photo rating. [For those new to these tours, the preceding shorthand coding goes around a crossing clockwise from northeast to southeast to southwest to northwest, and rates the photo accessibility of the quadrant at 1-4, with 1 being best, and 4 being non-existent. Please note that the "photo accessibility" relates to whether the photo access is more or less wide open; it does not attempt to interpret the photogenic aspects of the location. The latter is up to theindividual taking the pictures.]
As the photo ratings indicate, the northeast quadrant of the crossing is excellent. There is a church here with a nice parking and lawn area. Other than Sunday morning or perhaps Wednesday evening, this would be a very nice place to get out the lawn chairs and cooler, but please no adult beverages, because this is a church. It's better in the morning and early afternoon than later.
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Elmont. At Gwathmey, you are no longer able to parallel the tracks south, so head west on Gwathmey Church Road to Elmont Road, and take a left to go south. Elmont will go straight south, and then turn southeast to take you to the tracks. At the crossing, which is NE1, SE3, SW4, NW2, you'll find a mixed bag of photo ops. There is a small grocery store and parking area in the northeast quadrant, and viewing is excellent. On the northwest quadrant is a house and lawn, but there is a small gravel road which gives pretty good access, and you don't have to trespass onto the lawn to get your photos. From both southern quadrants, however, there's nothing to write home about.
Kenwood. Continue southeast on Elmont Road, thru the small community of Elmont, and on to a T intersection at Cedar Lane. Take a right, and head towards the tracks and another small community at Kenwood. The crossing itself is pretty good: NE2, SE2, SW4, NW1. The northwest quadrant is helped by a small gravel road, Kenwood Lane, which goes north along the tracks, giving excellent photo fields.
Hunton. Go back east on Cedar Lane; pass Elmont Road, and take a right onto Old Washington Highway. Old Washington goes south-southwest towards the crossroads of Hunton. At the crossing with Greenwood Road, you can take a right and go northwest to the tracks, but the crossing is not at grade, and is not a railfan location. Conversely, you can continue on Old Washington to just before the crossing, and turn right to enter the Hunton area park. Actually, just before the park, the road that crosses the tracks becomes Mill Road, as Old Washington takes a 90° turn to the south.
The crossing itself is pretty good to average: NE2, SE3, SW4, NW2, but the thing that makes this a nice location is the park. On the northeast quadrant of the park, you'll find a ball field, port-a-potties, picnic tables and playground. Needless to say, this is an excellent place for the kiddies to unwind while Dad is taking his train pix. Just south of the crossing is MP CFP 9.5.
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Glen Allen -- North. Just east of the crossing at Hunton/Mill Road, go south on Old Washington Highway. You'll closely parallel the tracks for a few miles southbound, but the trees will preclude any train sighting in this stretch. As you pass under I-295, you'll notice the opportunity to get close to the tracks under the big interstate bridge, but ignore this -- it is so noisy as to not be a railfan location. Besides, there is a much better area just ahead. Go south another half mile or so, and then take either one of two close together dirt roads towards the tracks. This apparently was a commercial site (pulpwood loader?) and was posted at one time, but any local railroad activity is long gone, and the area doesn't appear to be posted now.
There is lots of open area to the east of the tracks, but little or nothing from the west. This is a great place to meet some friends, get out the lawn chairs, and open up the coolers, and tell railfan whoppers. You can stay well back from the tracks and enjoy a panoramic scene -- however, trains are fast thru here, so don't get lazy.
Glen Allen. Keep going south on Old Washington Highway until it ends in a T with Mountain Road. Take a right onto Mountain, and go west to across the tracks. There is a convenience store here, and the crossing itself is about average at NE2, SE3, SW3, NW2 -- obviously best in the afternoon for photos. Get yourself a Mountain Dew and a Moon Pie at the store and enjoy them as you wait for the next 79 mph Amtrak zoomie.
This pretty much wraps it up for our county driving, as from here south, we are entering (and within) the Richmond city and terminal. Driving speeds will decrease as traffic dramatically increases, but there will be lots of trains to see, so we continue onward....
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Richmond -- Hermitage Road. From the crossing at Glen Allen, go back east about 1/2 a block and then go south on Purcell Road. Again, you'll be hard by the railroad, but it will be invisible because of the constant row of trees. You'll come to a T at Hungary Road, with the nearest crossing back to the west, but this is a 4-lane, busy, very tight crossing, and is not a railfan location. This is the Laurel area. Just east of the crossing, the map says you can go south on Purcell or Peyton (I'm not sure what the name of the southbound street is here), but you cannot get down to the next major street, as Peyton Street is truncated, and you cannot get thru. Therefore, go west over the crossing on Hungary, take a left on Old Staples Mill Road, and travel down to Staples Mill Road. This is the road which will take you into Richmond, per se. As you take a left onto Staples Mill and go south just one block or so to Parham Road, you're in life support heaven, with motels, restaurants and shopping.
Hermitage Road is a half-mile or so south of the intersection of Parham Road and Staples Mill Road. Go south on Staples Mill to left (east) on Hermitage. Go over the tracks and take an immediate right onto the gravel/grassy area. Do not block the gravel driveway-type road. There are good, off-railroad property photo opportunities from both sides of the tracks, and all trains will blow for the crossing, so you'll have plenty of warning. Additionally, you can see up the tracks in both directions for quite a way, without venturing out on the tracks. Trains are fast thru here, so be prepared and be safe.
This is the CSX ex-RF&P mainline just north of the Amtrak station and Acca yard, so expect 1-3 trains per hour. I think this is a really good urban railfan location, as it's "safe", and photo access is quite good. Please be a responsible railfan and clean-up after yourself, stay off the tracks, and watch out for Hermitage Road traffic, which is fairly heavy, and the crossing is narrow.
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Richmond -- Amtrak Station.Unlike most big-city stations, Richmond's in not downtown. In fact, it's so far north of downtown that Amtrak runs 4 shuttle buses each way daily, with stops at Virginia Commonwealth University, the Marriott Hotel, and the Omni Hotel. As you continue south on Staples Mill Road, you'll see signs to the station, which is on your left (east), and there is a good, visible sign in front of the station.
Entrance to the parking lot is via an attended gate, but up to 3 hours' parking is free. Access from the station to the tracks is well controlled, and while this is a very nice facility, it's not really very good for train watching. The Hermitage Road site to the north, and Hilliard road just to the south are both much better railfan locations. So, let's go to a better location....
Richmond -- Hilliard Street. Continue south on Staples Mill Road to Glenside Drive. You can take a left to an overpass of the tracks, but it is a four lane, busy street, and the bridge abutments have chain link fencing over them. Better to go south a little further to past Glenside, and then to a left on the first left off Glenside (Talley? The map is unclear here, and my notes don't help.) Go back north to a right onto Hilliard Street, and take it to its end at the tracks. Park in an off-railroad, off-private property location and walk to the tracks.
You will be fairly tight, access-wise, from the west, so cross the tracks and spend your time on the east side. There is plenty of open area. To the north, clearly visible thru the Glenside overpass bridge, is the lead diverging from the west main to access the passenger platform at the station, plus the east and west main itself. This is a very good location, as it's out of the way, safe, and you'll get all the action going north and south on the RF&P. One drawback is that the area is fairly noisy because of busy Glenside Drive, but just be alert, stay back from the tracks, and you'll have no problems.
Just north of Hilliard Street is the location of Greendale and a set of crossovers. This is a significant location because it is the end of the RF&P subdivision, and the beginning of the Richmond Terminal subdivision. It's MP CFP 4.8. On our CSX East Coast Tour, we'll only be in the terminal thru Acca, and will then swing to the southwest, and on to the North End Subdivision.
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Richmond -- Dumbarton Overpass. Further south on Staples Mill Road, take a left on Dumbarton Road and go up and over the overpass, and then back downhill to take your first right turn onto Byrdhill Road. Take your next (virtually immediate) right onto an office/commercial area and park in the open area on the north side of the e entryway. Walk back up Dumbarton Road to the overpass -- be careful, it's a little tight up the hill, and there is a lot of traffic.
The overpass itself is 4 lanes wide, with fairly wide sidewalks on both sides. The walls on each side are some 4 feet tall, and there is no fencing on top of the walls. To the south, unfortunately, is a very heavy, ugly cable extending across the entire panorama of the north end of Acca Yard. Photos are pretty much ruined, but since the sun is in your face most of the day, that's really not a problem (at least for me). The signal masts governing entry to the yard are right in front of you. Looking north, there are no cables, but some railfan needs to take a chain saw to a sugar maple on the east side of the bridge. Photo ops are tight on the east side, especially for the first track, but the other two tracks are wide open. All three tracks are wide open from the west side.
This is an excellent place to watch the parade to and from the northeast part of the country. Keep aware of your surroundings, and stay away from any street traffic, and you can spend hours here. While I'm not normally much of a fan of railfanning from an overpass, this is one spot I really enjoy.
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Richmond -- Acca North. Railfanning Acca Yard is difficult, because access is very tightly controlled, and you have to blatantly trespass in order to see anything worthwhile. I'm going to give you a few spots, but they are not optimal, and the sad fact is that there is really no good place to railfan at Acca Yard. I'd recommend Ashland, the Dumbarton overpass or Hilliard over Acca -- why waste time searching for something that doesn't exist. On the other hand, you can get a job with CSX, and see all you want!
Acca Yard was the southern classification yard for the RF&P -- the mirror of Potomac Yard up in Arlington. Pot Yard is now completely gone, but Acca is as busy as ever. It is the major yard in the Richmond metropolitan area. Other than Amtrak, unit trains and a (very) few intermodal trains, all east coast traffic stops in Acca to drop off and pick up pre-assembled blocks of cars.
Staples Mill Road will go over I-64, and you'll take a left after a few blocks, to go east on Bethlehem Road. This will make a 75° turn to the southeast and become Dabney Road. The first road to the left is Racrate Road, and will take you down to the tracks. It will also take you right thru an inactive cement plant (no problem) and a most definitely active cement plant (a BIG problem). At the end of the road, you can get a fairly good view of trains departing and entering the yard, but summer vegetation is bothersome, and sitting in the back of a pick-up or on top of a van are recommended. All this said, this is a Saturday afternoon and Sunday location only, as the cement plant is full of cement, sand, and gravel trucks, and is no place to be when it's open. The area is not posted, but I don't recommend it for other than a quick look.
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Richmond -- Acca Dabney Road. Further along Dabney Road, it will bend to the southwest. Just before this bend, the west end of the Bryan Park engine facility will appear on your left. There is an adequate parking area off Dabney. [Webmaster's note: Walk on out among the engines, and you'll get a nice opportunity to be a guest of the city of Richmond for a day or so.]
Alternately, take a left onto Tomlyn Road from Dabney, and you'll be able to get within short walking distance of a small bluff overlooking the front/south side of the engine facility. This is a rather famous location for photos, and was on the cover of Extra 2200 South some years ago. Don't hang around either of these locations for more than a few minutes. I don't think you are trespassing in either area, but why take a chance.
Martin Boyask of Great Britain has provided some of this data for us.
Richmond -- Acca Hamilton Street. Both Dabney and Tomlyn will take you to Westwood Avenue. Take a left and go north, under I-195, and then Hamilton Street will be on your right. Get on Hamilton, and then take your first left into a commercial warehouse area. Wind your way to the back of the area. There is a small parking area alongside the borders of the highway overpass (Westwood Avenue). This is the point where northbound mainline traffic enters the yard or continues north to Washington, DC, and vice versa. There is also a locomotive ready track. Do not, under any circumstances, venture out to the tracks.
Martin Boyask of Great Britain has provided this data for us. I have not personally visited this location.
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Richmond -- West AY Interlocking. Continue further south on Hamilton Street just a little further past the previous location, and you'll pass the Bennett Paint manufacturing facility. Immediately past Bennett is the Carter Printing plant. Park on Hamilton, and request permission from the Carter Printing office to photograph or watch trains from the rear of the property. If granted, walk along the driveway on the north side of the property to the trees. (BTW, there's a shaded picnic table back here that's a real asset in the summer.) In a deep cut below you is the west leg of the Acca Yard wye. This railroad point is WAY or West Acca Yard Interlocking. It is a fascinating place, even though it is certainly not a photo location, because of trees, trespassing problems, etc. You can stand at the top of the steps down to the tracks and see all trains coming up from the A-Line south of the James River into Acca. [Webmaster's Note: Don't take one step down that stairway, as to do so makes you a trespasser.] This is a fascinating place to see trains.
In reality, while the wye has a south leg (to take traffic to/from the A-Line over to Hermitage/Rivanna Junction/Fulton Yard), relatively little traffic will take that route, so most of the action will be right at your feet. If you are lucky enough to see movement over the south leg of the wye, you'll have a bird's eye view.
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Richmond -- WAY to the James River. Let me be blunt: You can railfan the CSX East Coast Tour south of West AY Interlocking to the James River, but it is a total waste of time as far as trains are concerned. Just south of the wye. and just north of Broad Street, the railroad becomes sandwiched between the lanes of an Interstate highway, and continues within such a sandwich all the way to just north of the river. Railfan opportunities are zero. That said, however, the entire area is in a lovely section of the city, and the drive is quite enjoyable. So, forget the trains, and here's how to drive parallel to the railroad, and at the same time, get you close to where you can rejoin the tour on the other side of the river.
Drive south on Hamilton, and just keep going until you arrive at Dover Road. Take a left and go 2 blocks to a right turn onto Portland Place. At Douglasdale Road, take a left, and you'll go under two freeways before taking a right onto Belmont. Go only one block south to Garrett Street, and then a left after only one-half block onto Sunset Lane. Sunset will meander south, getting gradually smaller and smaller, until it ends at a private property sign. There is a turn-around here. Park off the street and walk west towards the tracks. You'll be able, even in summer, to look straight down at the double track mainline. Trees and the cut preclude any photos here, of course, but it's interesting to know that in about 150 yards to the south, the railroad will leap over the broad James River valley (and the CSX (ex-C&O) and NS (ex-Southern) lines along the river), and at the south side of the river bridge, begin mile point 0.0 of the A-Line. That numbering system will hold true all the way well into Florida.
Green