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Roanoke -- Harrisburg
A self-guiding railfan tour
INTRODUCTION: The route that was the N&W
between Roanoke, Virginia, and Hagerstown, Maryland, and extending on to
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania via the Pennsylvania Railroad, is today all part of the
sprawling Norfolk Southern Railway. Different parts of this route have
distinctly different characteristics and traffic, as we shall discover on this
tour. So far, the tour is complete between Grottoes and Front Royal,
Virginia, a distance of about 70 miles. A short segment thru Waynesboro is
also included. This segment of the ex-N&W is fairly universally known as
the "Valley Line".
If you have never taken a Frograil tour before, you are strongly encouraged
to visit the Frograil Tour Guide home page, which is loaded with good info for
you. Following the advice on that page will save you time, effort, and
quite probably, some grief. The page is here.
CONTENTS AND NAVIGATION:
ABOUT THIS TOUR:
WHAT YOU WILL FIND HERE:
From a particular starting point, each segment of this coverage will allow you
to follow the instructions given, drive to a railfan site, then to the next,
etc. etc. Traffic levels and patterns will be given, and the photographic/
lighting considerations for each site will usually be mentioned. You'll be
told about area attractions, such as tourist and historic sites, as well as
hotels and restaurants which are trackside or otherwise worthy of note. In
short, you'll be able to plan an entire family or railfan-only outing or even a
vacation from this guide, as it is completed in the months to come.
WHAT YOU WILL NOT FIND HERE:
This is a railfan guide, not a photo collection. There are
already many excellent and enjoyable railroad photo sites available, and one
more really wouldn't add much value to the general railfan. Besides,
photos take up a lot of memory, and your humble Webmaster has to pay for memory.
You will also not find fancy graphics, as this is a tour guide, not an
exhibition of graphics expertise. You'll be able to load these pages
quickly and print them without waiting a week for each page to print.
Also, you'll conserve toner in the process.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Major contributors to this effort include:
Tony Hill, Webmaster and content, unless
otherwise noted. Any use of the first person singular pronoun refers to
Tony, unless specifically otherwise indicated.
Henry Mikus, content and many suggestions,
corrections, etc. His detailed descriptions of several locations provided
the impetus to begin this tour.
A REQUEST FOR HELP: This
tour is the result of short trips by the Webmaster along the route described.
Obviously, I'm no expert on the route, and realize that good photo places or
other interesting spots and local attractions may have been left out. If
you can provide information that would make this tour more complete and
enjoyable, please contact me at
frograil@yahoo.com, and let me know what you'd like me to add or correct.
Also, if you'd like to contribute tours of portions of other rail lines,
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 -- Background. In years gone by, the
primary connection the N&W had from the southeast to the northeast was from
Roanoke to Hagerstown. At Hagerstown, connections with the Pennsylvania,
Baltimore and Ohio, and Western Maryland allowed freight to be forwarded and
received to and from virtually any northeastern point. The Roanoke - Front
Royal section of the route today is a secondary main line, compared to the
Manassas - Linwood ex-Southern Railway line. The merger of the N&W and
Southern allowed for a Harrisburg - Front Royal - Manassas - Linwood routing
with seems roundabout, but is much faster and more fluid than trying to route
traffic to Atlanta via Roanoke. In this tour segment, we will describe the
railroad's geographic characteristics and physical plant between Grottoes and
Front Royal.
The Railroad -- Geography. If you
fly from, say, Fredericksburg, VA, westward, you would see a series of ridges
extending on a northeast-southwest bias. It looks like the effect
resulting from placing your palm on a flat blanket, and then pushing your hand
several inches: Ridges build up, and they are parallel. Indians,
settlers, road and railroad builders, and anyone else wanting to get from point
A to point B used the resulting valleys, and crossed the ridges only where no
other alternative existed. God used the same logic in placing the rivers
in the area. Today, parallel ridges separate the I-81 corridor from the
US-340 corridor. A tour of the ex-N&W between Grottoes and Front Royal has
US-340 and the South Fork of the Shenandoah River as constant companions.
As you can imagine, the scenery along the entire route is gorgeous. Even
if you don't see a single train, you'll not regret getting out and traversing
this wonderful valley. Geologically, this is part of the Valley and Ridge
Province of the Appalachian Mountains.
Do not, however, fall under the assumption that the valley is "level".
Compared to the ridges and mountains on both sides it is, but compared to
the ideal of a dead flat railroad, it's not. The builders largely followed
the path of least resistance, but that meant that the railroad hugged the river
in many places, so rather excessive curves are a problem for today's long, heavy
trains. The builders made extensive use of trestles in many places, and
those that provide good photo ops are mentioned as we proceed thru the tour.
The Railroad -- Traffic. As
mentioned above, most traffic heading to Atlanta and the southeast will go via
Front Royal - Manassas - Linwood. Don't expect to see intermodal trains on
the line we're touring, but do expect 4-8 manifest trains per day, a local or
two, and the occasional grain and coal train to provide additional traffic and
variety. There is plenty of industry along the Valley Line, so the "local"
is anything but a dinky little switcher and 3 cars. This is not a heavily
traveled line, but it is in excellent condition, and trains are surprisingly
fast.
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. You can usually get substantial discounts on
DeLorme atlases thru the Frograil Railfan Store, which is
here.
Photo considerations. For
most of the sites included herein, I try to give you an idea of the availability
of photo fields. These ratings are not to be considered indications of the
photogenic aspects of a place; they are merely an indication of how much open,
uncluttered room you have to take pix. I usually give all 4 compass
points, such as: NE3, SE1, SW4, NW4. In this example, there is no
photo access from the west, poor from the northeast, and excellent from the
southeast. If it's 9AM, this is a good photo site, but if it's 5PM, you
might want to use the tour photo ratings to suggest better locations. For
areas with no crossing, east and west ratings (e.g., E2/W1) are used. This
is mostly a northeast/southwest railroad, so you'll have opportunities to get
shots pretty much all day in most locations. Do your studying in advance.
Please note that contributions from fans other than your Webmaster may not have
detailed photo quadrant ratings.
Also note that this tour is thru hilly, tree-covered country, so an SE1 here
might barely be a SE2 in the coastal plain. All things are relative.
Abbreviations. Some phrases are used
repeatedly in this tour, so I've developed some standard Frograil abbreviations:
AG. An at-grade
crossing.
NAG. A not-at-grade crossing. Unless I
mention otherwise, these are usually not worth the time and trouble to drive to
them.
NARL. Not a railfan
location. This is because of any number of reasons, such as lousy photo
ops, dangerous, no shoulder on a NAG bridge, etc. As a general rule of
thumb, it is wise to avoid NARL's.
NO. Not observed --
for some reason, I didn't get over to the location, and cannot comment on it.
Security. As you can imagine,
this tour is mostly very rural. Unlike some tours which encompass fairly
large urban areas, there is relatively little concern throughout the tour's
length with personal security. You've kind of got to work hard to get
bopped over the head. However, there is a major concern with personal
security once "away from civilization." You do not want to scramble down a
hillside to get to a remote location by yourself. If you fall and break an
ankle, you could very well die out there. Also, some areas are quite
remote, and the locals do not always welcome strangers. In all
railfan outings, you are encouraged to have at least one male buddy with you.
| WEBMASTER'S NOTE: I do not recommend, or even
condone, walking along the tracks, as this means trespassing or 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. |
     
Waynesboro -- Front Royal
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As mentioned in the Introduction, we'll temporarily begin our tour in
Waynesboro, using I-64 just south of town as a convenient point of departure.
There is plenty of life support all throughout the area, so you might want to
make sure you've got gas, food and cold drinks, etc, before you leave
Waynesboro.
Waynesboro -- NS/CSX Crossing. Waynesboro is between
Charlottesville and Staunton via I-64. To get to the crossing, exit I-64
at exit 96, Delphine Avenue, and go northeast into town. There are some
active, important rail customers along the NS, ex-N&W Valley Line that will
appear on your left. DuPont and WayneTex are off-limits to railfans,
unfortunately. At the busy US-250/US-340 intersection, take a left, go one
block, and then take a right onto North Commerce Street. You will have the
N&W on your left hip all the way to the crossing, which is in the vicinity of
6th Street. You can sit on North Commerce Street just south of the CSX
bridge and get great sun for afternoon shots of Buckingham Branch trains going
over NS. The north side of the crossing has been cleared, and there is a
nice gravel area off 6th Street for parking.
The Buckingham Branch (ex-CSX, exx-C&O) Charlottesville - Clifton Forge line
used to be the C&O main line, but became a secondary main when the C&O completed
it's much more level and direct James River Line. Today, maybe a half
dozen empty coal hopper trains go west on the line, plus a local and the
tri-weekly Amtrak Cardinals. The NS (ex-N&W) line sees more traffic of a
much greater variety.
This data is from Henry Mikus.
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Waynesboro -- NS Yard East.
Continue north, and the small ex-N&W yard is between 4th Street and 2nd Street.
Good views to the west are available from North Commerce. 4th Street
crosses the NS main on a rickety old iron bridge that at various times has been
closed for repairs or just open one way (and the direction seems to vary).
Looking north from this bridge gives you a decent overhead view of the yard, to
the south is a nice clear view of the CSX bridge.
Continuing north, North Commerce will end at the base of the 2nd Street
bridge over the NS tracks; there is a cul-de-sac area here. This spot
gives good views of that end of the yard, the main line, and the south end of
one of two passing sidings NS has in Waynesboro.
This is probably a good point to mention the sidings in the area.
"Waynesboro" extends about one mile north of 2nd Street (it's right around
5,000'), and "DuPont" is south, in the area of the chemical plants. The
DuPont siding is likewise right around 5,000'. Since both are short by
today's standards, Waynesboro seems to function mainly as a north end yard lead,
and DuPont as a switching track for the plants. However, the sidings still
are active passive sidings, so if a train that will fit needs to hit the hole,
it will.
This data is from Henry Mikus.
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Waynesboro -- NS Yard West.
Go back down to 4th Street, take a left and go one block to Delphine
Avenue/US-340, and take another left to go north. In 2 blocks, take yet
another left onto 2nd Street, go over the tracks, and then take a 4th straight
left to go south on North Bayard Avenue. Then, take a record-breaking 5th
straight left onto 3rd Street, which deadends at the "house track" on the yard's
west side. You have just gone thru 450º of left turns to deposit you one
block south and one block west of where you started out!
The chemical plants south of town and some distribution facilities in the
Stuart's Draft area require rather constant attention, as does interchange with
CSX, so an NS local operates out of this area. Because of long reverse
moves, a caboose is often employed, and you'll usually find it here, with the
local's power, when the train is not out working. Interchange with CSX is
mostly covered hoppers and tanks for the chemical plants to the south and north
of town, plus a healthy amount of coal for DuPont's power plant.
Another interesting thing to see in the yard and on the road north of here
are the suddenly ubiquitous Maryland Midland hoppers. There is a second
DuPont plant just north of town, plus another major customer, and one or the
other of them gets quite a volume of MMID 100-ton covered hopper loads routed
from CSX interchange in Hagerstown, down the Valley Line, and then returning as
MT's. These cars are carrying cement, but I can't give you any more
information than that about them.
This data is from Henry Mikus.
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[Webmaster's note: Between Waynesboro and Grottoes, the tour is not
complete. This is a distance of about 13.4 miles. You can drive
directly from the vicinity of the NS yard, via US-340/East Side Highway in
Waynesboro, to the VA-256 location in Grottoes.
Grottoes -- VA-256. As you approach
Grottoes, look for a left turn onto VA-256. Note that both MapQuest and
Yahoo show no direct connection, but it exists on the ground. Take the
left, cross the tracks, and park in the parking lot by the utility blockhouse.
Photos are very poor here, at NE4, SE4, SW4, NW3, but it is our first location,
and if you've got a train about to be in your lap, this spot will get you
trackside. Note that from here north, there are few good photo locations,
all the way to the south outskirts of Elkton, where we'll encounter some
excellent ones. The problem isn't that the crossings are narrow or
otherwise constrained, there's just a lot of clutter and stuff next to the
tracks. There are, however, plenty of good places to watch trains -- it's
just photos that will be tough.
Grottoes -- Cary Street. From
the utility parking lot, go north on Aspen Street to Cary Street, and park off
Aspen. Walk up to the crossing, and you'll find photo ratings as follows:
NE4, SE2, NW4, NW2. The southeast view must be shot from north of the
street, as there is private property adjoining the street on the southeast.
The tracks are northeast/southwest by about 15º here. As you can see,
this is a good bit better location than that at VA-256. This location is
at approximately MP 129.1.
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Port Republic. Go north over the
tracks via Cary Street, and it will take you right back to US-340/East Side
Highway. After a little more than a mile or so, look for a crossroads at
Port Republic Road. Take a left on this busy street, cross the tracks, and
take an immediate right onto Tiger Camp Road. Park and walk back to the
crossing. Port Republic Road is very busy, so be careful. The photo
ops are not good, except for afternoon southbounds: NE3, NW4, SW4, NW1.
Shoot from Tiger Camp Road to get the good afternoon shot.
Port Republic -- VA-955.
Continue on Tiger Camp, and it will almost immediately swing 90º to the
northwest. It's a gravel road, so take it easy. It will T at
Jackson's Way/VA-955. Across the latter is the Port Republic Landing, a
boat put-in and fishing area. There is a port-a-potty there. You
will see "Jackson's Way" on street signs on the ground, but not on any map that
I've seen.
Take a right onto VA-955 (another gravel road), and it will take you to a
crossing. You will think you're really out in the boonies as you drive
along this lovely, bucolic road. You are, but there is a surprising amount
of traffic using it as a shortcut to get from US-340 to Port Republic Road (and
a bridge over the river), as well as from folks using the landing and fishing
area behind you.
At the crossing itself, the photo ops are lousy, as there is brush everywhere
-- not tall trees, just scrubby brush that ruins photos. However, from
100' or more both east and west of the tracks, there are excellent panorama
shots available. This is The Great Train Photograph, not a roster shot,
and patience in necessary, but the potential is great. Note that if there
is a corn crop during the time you're there, you won't get a shot, as the farm
fields are dead level, and corn will be too tall to shoot over. Standing
in the back of a pickup or on top of a van would probably solve that problem.
Regardless, the best time of year for these panoramic shots is obviously during
the winter.
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Lynnwood. Continue ahead on
VA-955/Jackson's Way, and it will T at US-340/East Side Highway. Take a
left onto US-340, and the next intersection up US-340 will be Lynnwood Road on
the left, and Ore Bank Road on the right. Take the left to head to the
crossing. Park near the crossing. There are two tracks here, and
you'll see signals in the distance to both northeast and southwest.
The signals to the northeast are for the beginning of the passing siding that
is the second track at Lynnwood Road. To the southwest, in the distance,
you can see the signals for the end of the siding. The former is "Lewis
Run" at MP 124.4, and the latter is "Lynnwood" at MP 125.5. Out of sight
to the north is a defect detector "Island Ford" at MP 119.8, which you'll
probably hear OK on your scanner.
Photo ops are so-so at best: NE4, SE3, SW3, NW2, but remember that the
tracks and road are biased, so take the directions with a grain of salt.
Rocky Bar. Beyond Lynnwood, the railroad
goes off towards the river and follows it around a major bend. Go back to
US-340, take a left and drive over some small hills (rather than around them, as
does the railroad). Eventually, you'll see the railroad coming in from
your left, and then it will be right next to you all the way into the outskirts
of Elkton. On maps, you'll see the beginning of Captain Yancey Road as
well as another, un-named one a little further north. Both of these have
been cut, and are now private crossings.
After the railroad comes in from the left, and all the way to VA-649, there
are a few very open areas between the highway and the railroad. You can
shoot from the highway and get excellent pix from early morning until
mid-afternoon. On the west, there are a few private crossings over
driveways, and these are prominently signed as private crossings. If a
train is coming, you can walk a short distance down such a driveway and take
your pix, and then get back out to the highway.
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Island Ford. Further north, when you
get to the Island Ford community, take a left onto VA-649. Go over the
crossing and park. This public road offers non-private viewing from the
west, and the photo ops are: NE2, SE1, SW1, NW4. The tracks are
still at a 45º northeast/southwest bias.
Island Ford -- Coors Water Plant.
The next location is not on any map I've found, but it is absolutely superb.
As you head further north on US-340, look for a road to the left leading into
what appears to be a water treatment facility. It is part of the Coors
Beer bottling complex, and as you can imagine, the facility is immaculate.
The gated entrance is about 100 yards from US-340, and you want to be well away
from it, as it is posted private property. However, I doubt that you'd be
bothered if you waited east of the tracks at US-340, and then walked over the
crossing to take your pix, and then went back to your car. Don't park west
of the crossing.
Photo ratings for all four quads are solid 1's, and there are absolutely no
obstructions.
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Elkton -- Coors Spur Area. This
area is a little complicated, and the rewards are not particularly large.
However, you can see some interesting action if you're lucky. North of the
water plant, watch for the Coors bottling facility on your right. You'll
see lots of cars in what is obviously a good-sized yard. The spur leading
from the main line, across US-340, and into the yard, is just ahead, but don't
try to park there. Go ahead for just a short while, and watch for a good
gravel road to your right. There is a small Cargill Turkey Products sign.
Park at the northeast corner of the lane.
If you cross the highway, you can walk a short ways down from the private
crossing of the main line. Take your shot and then get back onto public
property. Walk back to the vicinity of the spur crossing. There's a
power pole line along the main on the east side, unfortunately. You can
shoot on the west side of the highway, back over the highway and along the spur
to the southeast. You cannot, of course, enter Coors' property.
US-340 is very busy and noisy here, so be alert. There is a much, much
better location just ahead.
Elkton -- Captain Yancey Road.
If you remember Captain Yancey Road back at Rocky Bar (which was cut many years
ago), you might be surprised to see that same road come up on your left.
North of the Coors spur via US-340, the Coors complex is left behind, and the
Merck & Company complex begins. Captain Yancey is not cut here,
obviously, but it is private, and leads to some sort of administrative campus of
the Merck complex. Like the Coors water plant some miles south, this area
is immaculately maintained, and there are no obstructions on any of the photo
quads. Strong 1's all around the compass.
Park somewhere off US-340, and if a train that you need to shoot from the
west is coming, walk across the crossing via Captain Yancey, take your
pix, and then go back to your car.
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Elkton -- Ore Wash Road. As you
continue north into Elkton, look for a vestigial road on the left. Ore
Wash Road used to go over the tracks and then turned 90º to the north, but it
has been cut. There is nothing in the area where the road ends, other than
a fenced in utility area. Park and walk up to the track. On the
other side is a Merck company picnic pavilion. The river is immediately
behind the Merck area. It's a lovely piece of the world, but it's private
property, which yields the following photo ops, assuming the crossing were still
in place: NE3, NE4, SW4, NW4. As you can see, it's a poor photo
location, but it is very quiet.
Elkton -- NS/CHW. We'll now enter
Elkton proper, via US-340. A couple of blocks south of the big underpass
of US-33, take a left onto West Washington Avenue. At 6th Street take a
right, and go north to a left onto West Marshall Street. Elkton is fairly
small, with 2,000 folks, so it's pretty easy to find your way around, which I
point out because there are several conflicts between my notes and the maps of
this area. Marshall will cross the Valley Line and T into South 5th
Street. North and west of this intersection you'll see what look to be
spur or storage tracks coming in from the southwest. This is the location
of the termination of the NS branch from Harrisonburg (ex-CHW). The branch
crosses the South Fork of the Shenandoah River to enter Elkton from the west,
and swings up to join the Valley Line close to the middle of town.
Interchange work is conducted north of downtown. There is good viewing of
the branch and Valley Line all thru here: E1/W1.
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Elkton -- Spotswood Trail.
Take 5th Street north, crossing under the US-33 overpass. Take a right
onto US-33Business/Spotswood Trail. Cross the tracks, and take the first
left into the large municipal parking lot. This lot provides excellent
viewing, as does the southwest quadrant of the Spotswood Trail crossing.
Be advised that the parking lot is often quite full, and you'll want to be
unobtrusive, because a "nut case running around taking train pictures" might
look strange to a non-railfan. NE1, SE3, SW1, NW3. This is a very
good weekend location -- set up your lawn chairs and coolers, but be advised
that there is a pole line in the area, so some broad views won't be clean.
Elkton -- Stonehill Memorial Park.
Depart the parking lot to the north, which is North Terrace Avenue. This
road will slope sharply up and out of the valley occupied by the railroad and
river. It will also curve steadily to the right. Look for a park far
below you on the left, and a sign for East Stonehill Memorial Park. Drive
down the hill into the park and get off to the west side of the park. The
tracks are outside the fence, and are pretty much due north/south. I think
the photo ratings are E2/W4, but I didn't do much exploring. There is a
gate in the fence, which was open when I was there, but may not normally be
open.
While photo ops are not maximum, this is an excellent place to bring the
kids. They can run off steam while you sit and relax. This is a nice
municipal park.
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Elkton -- Park Way. Go back up the
hill to Terrace, take a left, and drive out to a T at US-340/East Side Highway.
Take a left to go further north. Pass up both North Shenandoah Avenue and
VA-884/Homestead Road, as they are NARL's, even though they are at grade.
You will reach an intersection with Frog Pond Road [Hoo Ray from NC's Frog
Ponders to Virginia's!] on the right and Park Way to the left. Take Park
Way west to the tracks, and a fairly odd crossing.
The crossing is no great shakes at NE4, SE2, SW2, NW3, but will give plenty
of access if you know you need to get trackside rapidly. The major
drawback here is that there are lineside and heavy power poles just about
everywhere.
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Shenandoah -- Station Area.
Go back to US-340 to continue north. As you approach Shenandoah, there is
a street labeled Trackside Drive in MapQuest, and it does exist on the ground,
but it is a private driveway only.
At Shenandoah, a crew change point and yard provide some limited
off-railroad, railfan opportunities. The South Fork of the Shenandoah
River ascribes a sort of lazy S-curve in the area, and the town itself and the
railroad yard pretty much adhere to that set of curves. Therefore,
lighting will vary, depending how far north or south of the center of the yard
you might be.
From the junction of US-340 and VA-602 in the middle of this town of less
than 2,000 souls, go west toward the river. The only road crossing the
tracks in town is VA-602, but it does so in two small tunnel boxes, and is
certainly not the site of a railfan location. Actually, the "yard" is more
correctly described as a north and south yard, with the VA-602 underpasses and
the station (just north of the underpass) being at the short stretch of track
that joins them. There is a boat put-in just west of the tracks accessible
from VA-602. The yard office/station is east of the tracks, and is worth a
few photos -- it's fairly old, and also offers one of the few open views of the
tracks. You can drive to the station and sit for a few minutes -- maybe
long enough to eat a sandwich -- and see the action, but don't stay for longer
than a short time. You are on railroad property, and are not going to be
bothering them while you eat your sandwich, but if you show signs of staying,
you'll draw unwanted interest to yourself.
Incidentally, a scanner will help greatly in the area, because the
countryside will easily hide trains from view, depending on where you might be
at any given moment. All trains must call signals, and any northbound
leaving Shenandoah must call the dispatcher for permission to leave, with the
usual response being: "OK to leave on signal indication at Junior Avenue."
The view from the east at the station is good, but I do not recommend taking
pix from the station parking lot. Also, be advised that the VA-602
underpass is all of 11' 2", so be careful.
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Shenandoah -- 1st Street South.
This is a little out of driving sequence, but I wanted to take you to the
station first. Remember that it was mentioned that the "yard" is really a
north and south yard, and the station is between them? Well, here's how to
get to the north end of the south yard area. Leave the station parking lot
and go south on 1st Street. Cross VA-602 (be careful -- it's difficult to
see what's coming from the underpass), and continue south on what is now 1st
Street South. Within a block, you'll see an open parking area for railroad
equipment and personnel, but that is off limits. Instead, park away from
the area and stand on the small bank above the street. You'll get pretty
good viewing, but if you're going to be there for more than a few minutes, you
should probably try to find the property owner and ask for permission to stand
on the bank.
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Shenandoah -- Central
Avenue. Retrace your steps north across VA-602 and past the
station on 1st Street North until you come to Railroad Street, where you must
make a right. In this area is a very large, extremely nice looking
playground, with every cool thing to climb in, on, and out of imaginable.
This is a great place to let the kids run off a few billion calories.
Railroad Street will take you up to 2nd Street, and a left
for several blocks to another left onto Central Avenue. [By the way,
numbered and lettered streets in Shenandoah can be, to put it mildly, very
confusing. Do your homework before you get to town and you'll be OK.]
Central Avenue kind of peters out at a vestigial remnant of 1st Street north.
Take a right and park, and there is plenty of open area, with photo ratings of
E2/W4.
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Stanley -- Eldon-Owens
Road. We'll now drive a considerable distance before the next
location, and I'll detail most of what's in between Shenandoah and Stanley.
If you're in a hurry, you will probably want to just drive on to Stanley at this
point. For those continuing the tour, go back east on Central for one
block and turn left. The next intersection is Junior Avenue, and you'll
take another left and go under the tracks via a large, high underpass
(NAG/NARL). Junior will swing 90º and head due north and eventually turn
into Shenandoah River Road outside Shenandoah. Further north, US-340 will
go over the railroad at a NAG/NARL, and Shenandoah River Road will also go under
the highway. You'll come to Ridge View Road (NAG/NARL), and should ignore
it and bear to the left as Shenandoah River Road meets US-340. Take a
right to continue north. This is not an interstate, but it's a fast 2-lane
road that carries a lot of traffic, so be alert.
You'll shortly come to Yaegers Lane, which is a private
drive, and is clearly marked as such. Way overhead just to the east is a
big trestle. It looks as if good photos are possible from the east and
southwest, but you must get permission before trying to do so. At this
point, the river, highway and rails are squeezed closely together, but will
shortly be getting quite separated. As soon as you pass Yaegers Lane, the
river veers due west, the road goes due north, and the railroad heads cross
country to the northeast. This is an inaccessible portion of this
segment's tour. Just before crossing the river, which has made a big curve
to the west and is now heading due east, take a right onto VA-650/Grove Hill
River Road. The name of the road is less important than the number,
because you can be missing a street name sign, but you'll almost always have the
number signs available.
Before heading cross country via VA-650, there are some
cautions that are important. While VA-650 is fine, the small roads and
tracks heading off it enter some extremely remote, "private" areas.
Between US-340 at Grove Hill and the town of Stanley, you should stay on VA-650
and (later on) VA-638. You should be aware that many folks back off the
main roads do not trust strangers and do not want them anywhere on their
property. It is a fact that moonshine production and cock fighting are not
unknown in the area, and it should be obvious why you should be quite
circumspect in your approach to this part of the tour. All that said, stay
on the indicated roads and you'll be able to continue on smoothly.
VA-650 hugs the river as it makes a large U-turn to head
north once again, and the railroad will come in on your right. It is
inaccessible, however, due to trees, creeks, hills, etc. VA-603 was NO,
but VA-602 was NAG/NARL. As the railroad heads north, it continues on for
a short while, and heads off again to the northeast as VA-650 keeps northerly.
In fact, it will be quite a while before we encounter it again. This is
the most inaccessible area of the tour, as far as railfanning is concerned.
VA-650 will enter the area of Honeyville, and you need to bear right onto
VA-638, which in most places is signed as Honeyville Road. Even more than
VA-650, VA-638 wanders and turns all over the place -- just keep looking for the
number signs, and also like VA-650, it's the major road in its area, and if you
just go with what looks like the main road, you'll be OK.
Just east of Honeyville is VA-610 heading south to a
crossing, but it was several miles out of the way and was NO. Likewise,
near Stanley is VA-612 heading south to a crossing, but it was in an area off
the beaten path, and was also NO. As you get into Stanley, VA-650 will
head somewhat northwest, and Eldon-Yates Road will go almost 90º south.
Take the latter right and just after the tracks park anywhere available, but
don't block any part of the industry forming the southeast quadrant. Note
that Donovan, Eldon-Yates and Eldon-Owens all come together here, and it's a
little confusing name-wise, but that's not important. Actually, the only
reason to be here is to get trackside fast if you know something is coming.
NE4, SE4, SW2, NW3. There is a lot of traffic and noise, and this really
is not a good location -- but it is trackside.
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Stanley -- Downtown.
Continue south on what started out as Eldon-Yates Road, and bear 90º left as it
becomes Donovan Drive. This will take you to VA-622, where you should turn
left to go back over the tracks (NAG/NARL) and then take your first right back
onto what is now called Honeyville Avenue. This will take you directly to
US-340Business -- the main street of Stanley. Take a right, and in the
center of the small town is a crossing that is pretty decent, at NE4, SE2 (to
the northeast, but a 4 to the southwest), SW1, NW3. Note that the
southwest quadrant is excellent to the south, but not much to the north.
Do not park in the SE quadrant, and wherever you decide to take pix, make
yourself known to the local business owner, if possible. There is a
surprising amount of traffic in and out of the southeast quadrant, and the
entire area is noisy, so be alert.
From this point all the way to Front Royal, you are never
more than several miles west of the Appalachian Trail, and there are numerous
camping, hiking, off road, hunting and fishing opportunities throughout the
Shenandoah Valley. You could do far worse than spend a vacation here doing
lots of things besides touring the railroad line and taking rail pix.
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Stanley -- Middleburg
Road. Continue north (compass east) on US-340Business, cross the
tracks, and you'll shortly come to a point where the road veers to the north,
with VA-689 going straight ahead. You'll want to follow US-340Business,
but before you do, DR's Quick Stop offers running water, gas, food, and other
necessities. This is the last life support until Luray.
To get to Middleburg Road, the next location detailed, you
can drive straight up US-340Business, but I propose a detour. Take a left
onto VA-624 (no name noted), cross the tracks on a NAG/NARL, and take a right
onto VA-632 (probably Goodrich Road at this point). VA-632 meanders about
and finally meets VA-631/Middleburg Road. Take a right and drive to the
crossing. The reason I suggest this rather roundabout drive is because it
is one of exceptional beauty, and I highly recommend it. It's not a long
drive, and I think you'll enjoy it.
The crossing is definitely an AM site, at NE4, SE1, SW4,
NW2. Again, if you need to get trackside in a hurry, this will do fine.
The next good location is a good way north yet, so this is a decent spot, and
the AM shots can be excellent.
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Luray -- Longs Store
Road. Get back on Middleburg headed east and drive the very short
distance to US-340Business. Take a left and head north. Pass Alans
Road (NO), and eventually take a left onto VA-637/Longs Store Road. If you
pass Spring Cliff Road on your right, you've gone too far. This crossing
is in the middle of a very long stretch of straight track that seems odd in this
part of the country. Unfortunately, the crossing is fairly tight, at NE3,
SE2, SW3, NW3. Again, a good place to get to quickly if you know something
is coming.
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Luray -- Station Area.
Go back to US-340Business, take a left, and continue north. Pass Mount
Carmel Road (AG/NARL), Lakewood Road (a nasty 10' 9" underpass -- NAG/NARL), and
South Court Street (NAG/NARL). Stay on US-340Business almost all the way
to the intersection with US-211Business. (Note: South Hawksbill
Street was NO) However, just before US-211Business, take a right on Cave
Street, cross the railroad, and park anywhere.
This is the best railfan location between Elkton and Front
Royal. You are at MP 88.6.
It's more difficult to describe this location than most
others, because there is a lot of stuff kind of crammed together into a somewhat
unintelligible mass. However, here are the basics. The railroad is
on an almost perfect northeast-southwest bias, and Cave Street cuts it at 90º.
So, when I give the photo ratings, the NE, for example, is really E, the SE is
really S, etc. It really doesn't matter, because you can get excellent
pictures here any time of day. Rather than give you my traditional
quadrant ratings, I'll talk you around the entire crossing. On the east is
a milling operation, and viewing is excellent in both directions from there.
However, if the mill is operating, you'll have to get permission from the mill
operators before trying to get pix from this property.
In the south is a new library, and there is plenty of room
to set up lawn chairs, get out the coolers, and fire up the scanners, while you
tell railfan lies. The grassy area behind the library has an historic
building and a howitzer, and provides a comfy area to relax and wait for NS to
provide some entertainment. On the west is the station, which is just
beginning a restoration effort. There is excellent viewing in both
directions at the respective ends of the station. Finally, on the north,
there is little opportunity for photos, but that's fine, as there are ample
photo ops from the other quadrants.
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Luray -- Wallace Avenue.
From the crossing, continue east on Cave until just past the miller, and turn
left onto Zerkel Street. This will take you up to US-211Business.
Take a right on the latter, and begin to head out of town to the east.
There is significant life support in the eastern part of town on US-211Business.
Eventually, the road will meet the tracks on the left, and straighten out to go
due east. From this point, maybe the length of a football field later,
take a left onto Wallace Avenue and find a place to park.
Like several other spots, this is not a particularly good
train watching location, but if you hear a horn, or if your scanner starts
chattering away, this will at least give you a safe, off railroad property place
to watch and photo the on-coming train. NE3, SE3, SW3, NW4. The
biggest problem here is a nasty line of power poles on the south side of the
tracks.
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Kimball -- Old Mine Lane.
Continue east on US-211Business, which will end as it joins US-211. About
2/3 mile later, VA-611 will head north, and you want to take a left to follow
it. Like VA-650 and VA-638 earlier on this tour, VA-611 meanders all over
the place -- just stay on the road with the VA-611 markings. You'll pass
some roads that offer crossings, but these are NAG/NARL's, so just keep heading
north. Kimball Road was NO, but the map indicates that it may or may not
cross the tracks, so I skipped it. Eventually, VA-611 will be called Elgin
Drive, and will cross the tracks, immediately after which Old Mine Road goes
back sharply to the northeast, crosses the tracks just before the beginning of a
siding, and goes on to where ever the old mine was.
The distance to the south end of the siding switch from
VA-611 is perhaps 200'. Photo ratings are a little complicated, but I'm
going to go with NE4, SE3, SW3, NW2. Not particularly inspiring, but as
the only spot in some north-south distance, this is a place to get to fast if
your scanner suddenly wakes up.
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Vaughn -- Summit.
Somewhere along the way, VA-611 becomes Vaughn Summit Road, and you do have to
pay attention to the number markers at the various intersections. When
VA-611/Vaughn Summit crosses the tracks at a railroad point named "Vaughn", you
can look to the south and see the northern end of the siding begun back at Old
Mine Lane. Photo ops are OK, at NE1, SE2, SW4, NW3, but the whole area is
a little tight. You have to be pretty careful not to trespass, and that
takes away from the enjoyment of the location. That said, in the right
light, southbounds in the morning can yield dynamite pix here.
Vaughn interlocking is at MP 82.4.
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Vaughn -- Jeremy's Run
Vista. As you probably know, I'm not an artsy type of
photographer, but here is a location that makes me want to be an Ansell Adams or
Richard Steinheimer clone. VA-611 will swing well to the east of the
railroad, and then arc 90º to begin heading north once again. As it does
so, it follows the lovely Jeremy's Run thru the woods and fields.
You'll pass VA-661 on the left (NAG/NARL), and then come to VA-605 going off to
the right, away from the tracks and VA-611. Park.
Walk east on VA-605 for about 1/4 mile and turn to the
north. You'll be treated to a vista of fences, hayfields, and ridges on
both sides. But at the northern end of the vista is a great honking
trestle leaping over the Jeremy's Run and Moody Creek valleys. You're so
far away, the railroad looks like Z-scale, but it is unimaginably cool. To
see a 10,000 ton train go over that trestle so far away that you can barely hear
the sound -- that's cool. If you've got a tripod and a powerful telephoto,
you can do neat things over this vista. The fields and farms are gorgeous,
the hills are heavy, and the train is the exclamation point of the entire scene.
This is really nice.
As you drive north on VA-611 towards Rileyville, the
trestle gets larger and larger, and the photo ops change, but folks who know how
to take pictures can get some really nice stuff from all along here. This
is Shenandoah Valley railroading at its most enjoyable.
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Rileyville. As you
finally reach the end of VA-611, you can bear left to re-join US-340, or you can
take a right onto Rileyville Road. The latter will take you to a nice
crossing with the following photo ratings: NE3 (in the northern part of
the quadrant) and NE2 (in the southern part of the quadrant, shooting from the
bank of the playground in the city park on the hillside). Obviously, this
is a good family railfan location. Continuing on: SE4, SW1, and NW4.
A pretty good location all day, as long as your kids' legs hold out up in the
park.
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Compton. From
Rileyville north, the Shenandoah River does really weird, convoluted S-curves,
and both the road and railroad ignore them. Continuing north on US-340
will take you from Rileyville to a NAG/NARL where the road crosses to the east
of the railroad, and will, within a mile, cross the Dry Mine Run. This
stream and its valley are crossed by a high trestle on the NS. There is
excellent viewing from the southeast of the trestle to the west of US-340, but
it's on private property. You can stand on the edge of the highway
right-of-way and get so-so pix, but if you can find the landowner and get
permission, you can get outstanding pix from the hayfield west of the highway.
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Overall. Continue north
on US-340 past Lentz Lane (NO) and Alger Drive/VA-664 (NO) beyond the US-340
NAG/NARL crossing southwest of Overall. Get off the highway and go into
the Overall community. You'll see the railroad sailing over on a long,
high trestle. Scout around looking for a good photo vantage point.
Perhaps standing under the power lines southeast of the tracks might give an
excellent photo field. This is a challenging place for the point-and-click
crowd, but there are definitely opportunities here.
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Bentonville. From
Overall to Bentonville to Karo (southwest of Front Royal), the railroad is
decidedly northeast-southwest. Via US-340, you'll pass a few NARL
fingerlings of roads, but won't hit a real crossing until the area of
Bentonville. Go east on the Bentonville - Browntown Road to the crossing
and park. There is double track here, and the line is biased as stated
above, so keep that in mind as you view the photo ratings: NE4, SE2 (off
Fullerton Lane), SW4, NW1. This may be somewhat less than inspiring, but
that northwest quadrant is really good, and will give you some pleasure in the
afternoons.
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Riverside --
Convenience Center. Continue north on US-340 past Payne Lane
(AG/NARL) and Bordentown Lane (NO), Spangler Lane (NARL), and Buck Mountain
(NARL) until the railroad goes across the highway on a NAG/NARL just south of
Karo. You can get over to Karo via Chapman Farm Road, but the area is a
complete NARL. Beyond Karo, the river once again starts its S-curve
routine, but this time the railroad follows suit, and crossings cease for quite
a ways north. MapQuest and DeLorme show virtually no crossings in the next
2 oxbows, so I drove on towards Front Royal.
At Riverside, the river, road and railroad all squeeze
together, and south of the point identified as Riverside on both MapQuest and
DeLorme, there is a convenience center (that's a trash and recycling center for
all you urban types) on the west (compass north) side of US-340. There is
a U-shaped fence surrounding the facility on three sides, but the side facing
the railroad is not fenced (drum roll, please, Mr. Orchestra Leader).
During the day, you are south of the tracks and can get absolutely perfect shots
of passing trains from the south. There is no access to the north.
You must introduce yourself to the attendant, and be willing to put up with some
powerful smells, but you can get very, very nice photos here.
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Going further north into Front Royal, Rivermont Drive to
the left is NAG/NARL. You can take a left at West Criser Road a little
further north, and then another left at Luray Avenue, but that too is NAG/NARL.
Really, between the convenience center and Riverton Junction, there is very
little access to the tracks. The area of the junction is described by
Henry Mikus as part of his Frograil B-Line tour.
A more ex-N&W detailing thru the northern part of Front Royal will have to wait
until I can get up there again, or someone else steps in and writes it up for
us.
We temporarily end the tour here -- If anyone would like to provide segments
north of Front Royal, south of Waynesboro, or between Waynesboro and Grottoes,
I'd be delighted to work with you. Contact me at
frograil@yahoo.com . Thanks in
advance.
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