The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway
Newport News to Richmond
Introduction
This tour of what is today much of the CSX Corporation's Peninsula Subdivision is part of Frograil's self-guiding tour of the famous ex-Chesapeake and Ohio Railway mainline from Tidewater to the Mid-West. The overall tour Introduction is here. This segment of the tour is complete from Williamsburg to Fulton Yard in Richmond, a distance of about 46.9 miles. However, with the exception of a few miles in downtown Richmond, the tour is complete all the way between Williamsburg and Low Moor in far western Virginia, a distance of about 271 miles. This segment is, without question, the easiest part of the entire distance to railfan.
As with all tours in the railfan guide, you will be able to print out this text and hit the road, but before you do, we suggest you take a long, hard look at our tour guide page -- it's got some good tips on it.
Contents And Navigation
Contributors
Henry Mikus, Jeff Allgood, and Jeff Hawkins have provided supplemental information and assistance.
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
Tony Hill, retired Frograil webmaster, all text, unless otherwise noted. Any first person reference contained herein is from Tony, unless otherwise noted. On-the-ground research was done from Williamsburg to Providence Forge in December 2005, and Providence Forge to Richmond was done in December 2004.
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
Life Support. While there are no restaurants, motels, or even gas stations along most of this segment, you're fairly close to I-64, so life support isn't an issue on this tour.
Geography. Since Richmond is on the fall line between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain, everything east of the city is fairly flat, sandy, and accessible. However, the very slow moving Mattaponi and Chickahominy rivers are more like the south Florida Everglades than a real river, so there are countless swampy, low-lying areas everywhere east of about Miller Road in the far eastern edge of Richmond. Bring your birding binoculars and some patience, and you'll see lots of critters, birds, and not a few odd humans out in the boonies. If you enjoy the incredible life contained in such an area, you'll love this countryside. As one would expect, there are no hills, few curves, and no "cuts" -- this is basically a pool table flat railroad.
It is also a very rural railroad between the western edge of Williamsburg and the eastern edge of Richmond.
The Railroad -- General. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, as the name implies, was built to link the mid-west (at Cincinnati) to the deepwater port at Newport News, Virginia. The economic justification was found in the coal in the middle portion of the railroad, which could be inexpensively shipped either to the east or west from central western Virginia and central West Virginia. The physical plant is in excellent condition, and while there is only one passing siding, per se, there are several sections of double track that serve the same purpose.
The Railroad -- Traffic. Generally, the trains on the line haven't changed for 50 years: Long, fairly slow coal going down to tidewater, and very, very long empties heading west. These trains frequently have a few revenue cars tacked on, and there are therefore no real manifest scheduled movements between Richmond and Newport News.
-- There is, however, a local that works Acca - Fulton - Newport News and return daily.
-- Two rock trains originate at Luck, just west of Richmond on the James River Sub, and run to Newport News approximately 5 days a week.
-- Two Amtrak trains in each direction run Richmond - Newport News.
-- 3-4 Coal load/empty sets
-- All of the above are both east and west trains, so figure 18-20 trains in a 24 hour period.
Photographic Considerations: As I've done in several Other Tours, I've attempted to rate the photo fields for all 4 quadrants of many crossings detailed in the tour. The following format is used: NE2, SE1, SW 4, NW4, where you go clockwise around the quadrants from northeast to northwest, and numerical ratings, from 1 to 4, with a 1 being excellent, and a 4 being non-existent, are assigned. Note that I'm rating only photo field availability, not the photogenic qualities of the site. I'm a picture taker, not a photographer, and you guys who are real photographers will have to make your own determinations.
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.
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.
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 find information here about Railfan Maps that are available.
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 in any other 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.
Site Listing
The Tour
This segment will eventually extend between the logical start and end points of Newport News and Richmond, respectively, but it's not yet complete. So, we begin the tour in Williamsburg.
"Let's roll", to quote Todd Beamer, an American hero and real man.
Williamsburg -- Station Area. From the intersection of U.S. 60 and VA-132, take the latter south, cross over the tracks, and take your first right, onto VA-31/VA-162, and then your next right onto North Boundary Street. This latter street will deposit you at the station area in just one block. Be aware that while this was originally the C&O station, and later the Amtrak station, today it's a multi-mode station, so expect to see buses, trains, and lots and lots of pedestrians, especially in tourist season.
Viewing is OK to the east of the station, but far better to the west. I'd rate it a solid S1 to the west, but only an N3 from the north, as you've got to walk across the tracks to get pix, and you're asking for more attention than you want if you do so. Besides, the sun will not be your friend on the north side, as the tracks are close to dead east-west. The station itself is at MP 37.7 westbound.
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Williamsburg -- Airport Road. Between the station and the far northwest part of town, the map shows a railroad and street love affair that looks good on paper, but which is treed in heavily. (Somewhere within those trees is a defect detector at MP 38.9.) Therefore, take the following route to get to the next location. Continue on around the station via North Boundary, and it will swing back south and become Armistead Avenue. Take the first right back onto VA-162, and follow the tracks northwest thru town. Eventually, you'll come to a major intersection at Richmond Road. Take a right and follow it up until just before it joins U.S. 60. You must stay in the right hand lane after turning onto Richmond Road.
Just before U.S. 60, take a 135° right hand turn to go up to the eastbound U.S. 60, which goes up and over the tracks. Get in the left lane and take the first left, which is VA-713, but the name of the street is not clear. Watch for VA-603 (Mooretown Road?) to the left and take it back to the tracks. You'll follow the tracks very closely for some time, but they are hopelessly treed in. Finally, you'll reach a stoplight signed for "Airport Road." This name does not appear on any map that I have, but it is a very rare opportunity to cross the tracks and get back to U.S. 60. This road is almost certainly VA-645 on MapQuest and DeLorme.
The crossing is AG, and is only so-so, but will get you trackside in the event that something is really close: NE4, SE3, SW2, NW3. The tracks are mostly north-south here, so the southwest quad in the afternoon yields pretty good photos of southbounds.
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Lightfoot. Continue on to U.S. 60, turn right, and head west. You'll go under the "ring road", VA-199, and should then look for Lightfoot Road on the right. This will take you to an AG, but like the last crossing, it's pretty much so-so, at best: NE1, SE3, SW3, NW4. Again, if you have to get trackside in a hurry, this one will be OK.
Between Lightfoot and Toano, the east end of double track is encountered, but it is not accessible to the public.
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Norge -- Hill Pleasant Farm. As you go further west (still compass northwest) on U.S. 60, you'll approach the town of Norge. On your right will be an odd private road leading over the tracks to a U-Pick and produce farm. You'll see a white sign with a big red apple in it. This is the driveway to the Hill Pleasant Farm, and you are well advised to stop and get some fresh produce in season. The farm has obviously been in business for many years, so they must be doing something right. As a grower and seller of local produce, I strongly suggest you support your local growers, because when they're gone...they're gone.
When you take the right off U.S. 60 to the farm, go north on the odd driveway past the actual crossing, and park to the right. The 2 quadrants from the west are definite 2's, but those from the east are 4's. However, if you drive up to the farm, make a purchase and ask for the OK, I suspect they'd let you take pix from their lane. In other words, when a train is imminent, walk from your car to a spot east on the farm lane, take your pix, and get back to your car. Incidentally, the MP 44 post is just to the northeast here.
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Norge -- Station. A little further north on U.S. 60 and you'll enter the town of Norge. Be on the lookout for Peninsula Street, as it's very easy to miss. Take the right, follow the road as it bends around, and take a right towards the tracks, where the ex-C&O Norge station stood on the right. The station has been moved and restored. It is now located at the regional library in Croker on Va. 607, exit 231 off I-64. Va. 607 intersects U.S. 60 just west of Norge. (Thanks to Jack Brown for this April, 2013, update.)
You're going to follow Peach Street out of town -- it's the dirt road to the north, so just park anywhere. This is the best photo location we've seen since we started back in Williamsburg, at NE1, SE1, SW3, NW2, and the tracks are mostly north-south, so AM trains in either direction offer good possibilities. There are still 2 tracks thru here.
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Toano. Back on U.S. 60, head ever further west, pass up VA-607, as it's NAG/NARL, and you'll soon come to the community of Toano. Look for Depot Street on your right, and take it to the tracks. This is one of those locations that would offer excellent views to both north and south if only someone would spend 30 minutes with a weed whacker. On the other hand, for far less effort, you could just sit on top of your car. There are still 2 tracks thru here.
The MP 47 marker is just to the northwest of the open area. The overpass you see beyond the mile marker is that of U.S. 60, but we'll not be taking it, as we're going to now head out into the countryside.
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Diascund. Go back down Depot Street, turn right onto U.S. 60, but immediately get into the left lane, and you'll be turning left onto VA-610. Head out of Toano on VA-610, and you're quickly in a different world. There are fancy working farms all along this road, with cute little signs, such as "Red Gate Farm" and "Amanda's Acres" (I made these up, but they're typical). The homes are large, and they give the impression of being in place for a long, comfortable period of time. VA-610 is a lovely, archetypical Virginia rural road.
At Diascund Road/VA-603, take a right and drive up to the crossing. There is good viewing here, at NE1, SE1, SW2, NW1, and the tracks are pretty much dead east-west. This is another location where a weed whacker would be a definite asset. Somewhat to the east, and out of sight, is the end of double track westbound.
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Chickahominy -- East. Beyond Diascund, we enter the somewhat swampy, very back woods-type countryside of the James and Chickahominy rivers. There are numerous creeks and sloughs, so roads and railroads are often far apart. The place names I'm going to give you for the next few locations are derived from geographic features in the area, rather than place names, as there are none of the latter. The Chickahominy west of Diascund makes a fairly sharp south - north - south bend.
To the east of that bend is Diascund Creek, a fairly substantial stream, and there are no roads across the creek in the vicinity of the railroad. Therefore, continue north on VA-603, and pass by Hicks Road. Hicks goes to the tracks, but is a NAG/NARL nasty underpass with only 10'5" clearance. At U.S. 60, turn left to head west. You'll cross Diascund Creek, which is flowing south from the Diascund Creek Reservoir which is just to your north. Look for Carter Road on your left, and take it. Carter will intersect with Waterside Drive/VA-627, and you should bear left. Waterside comes down from U.S. 60, at a place is known as "Lanexa", and you might want to remember that. At Colony Trail, take a left and drive down to the AG crossing. Just before the tracks, take a left onto Tyree Isle Road and park.
The tracks are east-west, and the viewing all along Tyree Isle is excellent, although the sun will not be your friend most of the time. Viewing from both southern quads is good, and the MP 53 mile marker is just to the southwest of the crossing. Note well: The track speed thru here is 60mph, so be alert.
At this location, the tracks have come over the top of the Chickahominy's big bend, and are about midway between the river and Diascund Creek to the east. If you're confused about your location in this area, go to MapQuest and look up Fish Hole Landing, which is well to the south of the tracks, but is the closest named place in the area.
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Chickahominy -- West. Go back up Colony Trail to Carter/Waterside, and take a left. Eventually, you'll see the rails come in on your left, but they're completely treed in. The road will make a sharp turn to the left to an AG crossing, and you should go over the tracks and take a left onto Marina Road and park. The railroad calls this place Lanexa, even though MapQuest and DeLorme show it way up on U.S. 60 (although they disagree as to the exact location of the point), as mentioned above.
Photo ratings are NE3, SE1, SW1, NW3, but take these with a grain of salt, as the tracks are almost perfectly southeast-northwest, so the crossing is really an X rather than a + . Incidentally, there is a large community, Chickahominy Shores, south of the crossing, so there is quite a bit of traffic across the crossing. The road name changes from Carter to Riverside Drive at the crossing.
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Walkers -- Rockahock. To continue the tour, it's necessary to backtrack all the way up to the junction of Carter Road and Waterside Drive/VA-627. Instead of turning right onto Carter, continue northwest on Waterside. Take the left onto Rockahock Road, and drive southwest. You'll see the tracks come in, and the countryside will open up. You'll see a big sign to Rockahock something-or-other, and should turn left at the sign, go over the tracks, and park to the left. Viewing is very fine, indeed: NE1 or 2, SE1, SW2, NW1. Actually, including this spot, 4 of the next 5 railfan locations on this tour are excellent. Just pick and choose, set up your lawn chairs, get out the cooler, crank up the scanner, and enjoy yourself.
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Walkers -- Allen Road. A very short distance west of the Rockahock sign via U.S. 60 is Allen Road. Take a left, go over the tracks and park. The tracks are still southeast-northwest here, and the ratings are solid 1's all around. Excellent.
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Tsena Commocko. There are thousands of place names throughout Frograil, but few are as different as this one! Continue up Rockahock Road to its intersection with U.S. 60, and follow the latter west. Again, there is no place name in this area, so look for Tsena Road to the left. There is a large church at Tsena; in fact, the church's name is Tsena Commocko, which has given us the railfan name for this location. Tsena is a very minor road, and you should park in the church parking lot, way back by the tracks.
Another super railfan location with 1's, all around, this is one of the few places between Williamsburg and Richmond that you can actually shoot up a fill, via the northeast quad. The tracks have evened out to an east-west bias, so you're in good light from the south all day.
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Windsor Shades -- GW King. On U.S. 60, maybe a mile west of Tsena, there will be Landing Road to the left -- look for a VA-650 sign to the right. Landing is AG, and photos are possible, but so-so at best. There is a better location just ahead, so unless you need to get trackside very fast, just keep heading west on U.S. 60.
You'll see a Virginia Forestry sign on your left, and the entrance to the complex is via G. W. King Boulevard. If you cross the tracks, there isn't much parking next to King, so you might want to park off the shoulder of U.S. 60. You can walk along the highway and enjoy wide open views in both directions, as the grounds are well maintained, and there are no obstructions. From the south, the viewing is not as good, at SE4, SW3.
About 100 yards to the west of the crossing is the east end of the Providence Forge passing siding, at MP 59.9. You can walk along U.S. 60 to the crossing, but the viewing isn't particularly good.
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This is a logical place to start this tour if you're not following it from the east: From I-64, take exit 214, and head south on VA-155/Courthouse Road. When you get to Providence Forge, cross U.S. 60, and take a left to follow further south on VA-155. This road will veer to the right after about 1 block, and then cross the tracks. Park southeast of the tracks, near the entrance to the wood products business in the area. Be careful to stay out of the latter, and out of the way of the truck traffic in and out of the facility.
If you've been following the tour from the east, from the forestry location at G. W. King Boulevard, get back on U.S. 60, and head west. You'll pass Boulevard Road, which is one way against you, and should look for Townsend Road on the left. Take it, and you can turn right onto Boulevard. Townsend will peel off of Boulevard after a short distance, and you should take it to the left, cross the tracks (NARL), and you'll do a 90° turn to the northwest, join Courthouse Road, and shortly find yourself at the crossing.
The tracks are almost dead east-west at the crossing, but the road is distinctly northwest-southeast, so keep that in mind as you review the photo field ratings for the crossing: NE4, SE1, SW2, NW3. If you're lucky, you can get a very wide open shot of an early - late afternoon westbound. About 120 yards to the east of the crossing is the west end of the Providence Forge passing siding, at MP61.1. The signals are clearly visible, and will give plenty of warning for eastbounds. A defect detector, "Providence Forge", is to the west at MP63, and you should be able to hear it.
[Webmaster's Note: There is a mile point discrepancy at the Providence Forge passing siding. The siding is supposedly over 12,000 feet, but the mile points I've been given for east and west ends are only about 5,800 feet. Obviously, something is wrong, and I'd appreciated a clarification from anyone.]
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Providence Forge -- Adkins Road. Retrace your route back into the center of "town", and instead of turning right to go up to U.S. 60, go straight onto Boulevard Road. Be careful here, as the right of way is thru the turn, and even though you are going straight, you must yield to traffic on VA-155. Boulevard follows the tracks closely for a ways, but they are heavily treed in. Take a right where you have to (because of one-way ahead), go out to U.S. 60, and turn left towards Richmond. Continue to the first real road off to the left, and take that left onto Adkins Road/VA-618. Cross the tracks and park to the left.
If you're driving a pickup or SUV, get in the bed or on the top, respectively, and wait for a westbound anytime between late morning and late evening, and you've got a wide open, excellent shot to the east: NE3, SE1, SW2, NW1. However, if you're standing on the ground, the best you'll do is an SE2, and that's probably an overly generous rating.
In this location, especially, a weed whacker and 15 minutes of work would reward you with much better pix than you'll otherwise get.
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Mountcastle. Heading ever further west on U.S. 60, the next road of interest is Mountcastle Road to the left. This is a real easy one to miss, so be alert. A short road, Mountcastle leads to a crossing, a very nice home and yard to the southwest beyond them, and what appears to be the remains of a Vulcan Materials property to the southeast. Apparently, there was a major landfill or quarry at Mountcastle in years past. Park to the left. This area is very, very quiet, and I'd love to buy the house and grounds to the southwest, with all that serenity, and a railroad in the front yard.
The photo ratings are decent, at NE2, SE2, SW3, NW2. IMHO, this is a cool spot, even if the photo fields wouldn't excite a world-famous photographer.
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Nance. Get back on U.S. 60, head west, and go all the way to VA-106, a fairly major state highway. Take a left, enter Charles City County, and come to the area known as Roxbury. Before crossing the tracks, take a left onto VA-609, which may be signed as West Cool Hill Road or Barnetts Road at this point, and go about 1/2 mile to a crossing. Park southeast of the crossing, being careful to avoid parking on the private property of the wood products outfit. This looks like a quiet country road, but it is not. There is a lot of truck traffic, and a surprisingly large amount of passenger cars zooming back and forth. Remember, this looks like you're in the 19th Century countryside, but you're quite close to Richmond, and from here on, I'd suggest you think like an urban driver, and not as a railfan traveling the bucolic byways of Virginia.
Ratings are NE1, SE2, SW2, NW3. The southeast rating would be higher if it weren't for the old scale house that's close to the tracks. The crossing is MP66.44. The railroad point known as Nance is about 4/10th of a mile to the east, in case you hear it mentioned on the scanner.
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Roxbury. Go back over the tracks, and retrace the drive to VA-106 at Roxbury. This is a very busy highway, and you should be fully alert to traffic. Take a left, go over the tracks, and park. This location is fairly poor, at NE2, SE3, SW4, NW3, but will give you the opportunity for a shot if you need to get trackside in a hurry. There is a defect detector just to the east of the crossing, and the MP 67 marker is on the southwest quadrant.
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Roxbury -- Swamp. Go south over the crossing to the first right you'll see. This road, Charles City Road/VA-600, will lead you cross country thru the boonies, as the railroad likewise heads thru them, but the tracks remain well away from view. Very shortly after starting west on Charles City road, it will swing to the north and you'll see a neat swampy area with the railroad running thru it. When the road swings from northwest to southwest, there is a pooch off to the right in which you can park. This "pooch" is the point where an old road off VA-106 crossed the tracks and joined Charles City Road at this point.
Walk out to the end of the vestigial road, and be careful to avoid the broken glass. Look to the northwest for what you feel will be an attractive shot. You'll get no totally unobstucted views, but to my eyes, this place could yield some very artsy photos.
At the point of the ex-crossing, both north and south viewing is very tight: N3/S3.
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Elko. Beyond the swamp mentioned above, the railroad is remote and not accessible for several miles. Continue west on Charles City Road/VA-600 all the way to Elko Road/VA-156. Take a right to go north to the crossing, which is decent at NE2, SE3, SW1, NW3. The southeast quad would be much better without a dumped load of ballast somewhat getting in the way.
The crossing is at MP 71.26, and intermediate signals to the west at MP 71.50 are clearly visible, at railroad point "Elko". Elko Road/VA-156 is quite busy, so be alert.
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Poplar Springs. Continue north over the tracks, and take your first left onto Portugee Road. Pass Technology Boulevard, and then you'll come to a stop sign at Memorial Drive to the right, and Poplar Springs Road to the left. Take the left onto the latter, and head to the tracks, cross them, and park to the southeast.
Unlike most locations on this tour, this spot is on a very broad curve, and offers some nice photographic possibilities. NE2, SE2, SW3, NW1.
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Beulah. Go north over the tracks and take a left onto Portugee Road. This is a very easy turn to miss, so be alert. You are also now in the Richmond International Airport vicinity, so don't jump out of your skin if a big motha airplane goes right over your head with a roar. Continue on Portugee until you reach the southeast edge of the airport. Portugee continues into the Airport property, and skirts the railroad to the north all the way thru it, but it is a controlled military access point, and the general public has no access. Therefore, take a left onto Beulah Road, and there is a crossing in only a few hundred feet.
The crossing is at MP76.87, and offers decent viewing at NE1, SE2, SW4, NW1. While the viewing is excellent from the north, photos are tough because the sun will be in your face all day. There is also a problem with noise here, as there is plenty of traffic on the street, airplanes are taking off and landing, and the military helicopter noise is heavy duty. You've got to be alert in this area. An Amtrak train can be in your face in a heartbeat, and you might never hear it until it's too late.
There are now 2 tracks, which started about 1/2 mile to the east. Double track will continue all the way thru the Richmond terminal.
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Fort Lee. Continue south on Beulah Road to a T with Charles City Road. This is the same one we got on way back at Roxbury. Take a right to continue towards Richmond, and you'll come to a major crossing, just as Monahan Road comes in from the south. You'll see classic C&O cantilever signal bridges both east and west of the crossing as you approach it. Park either northeast or southeast of the crossing. Photo ratings are similar to those at Beulah Road: NE1, SE4 (obstructed), SW3, NW1. There is a single crossover just west of the crossing, and what appears to be a defect detector, although I have nothing to indicate that one is located at Fort Lee.
The signal bridges are probably worth the trip to this location, as they are being replaced with modern signals mounted on a single mast, so get your pix while you can. The obstruction in the southeast quad is the electronic tower "Fort Lee".
Incidentally,Lawrence Haake IV has provided some background concerning this location. The name "Fort Lee" can be confusing, as the US Army has a large base named Fort Lee in the Hopewell area. This location is named after an old Civil War fort which was part of the Confederate defenses of Richmond during the Civil War. He further states that the Lee the fort is named after was probably the builder of the fort, not a member of the famous Lees of the 18th and 19th Centuries.
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Richmond -- Miller Road. Continue northwest across the tracks via Charles City Road, and then take a left onto Miller Road and proceed to the crossing. This point represents the first significant railroad traffic generating activity we've seen since we began the tour in Providence Forge, as there are obviously active spurs leading both north and south from the mains. This entire area is under intensive commercial/industrial development, so take these photo ratings with a grain of salt, because they can change dramatically if a huge warehouse gets erected: NE1, SE2, SW1, NW1.
This is the best railfan location between Providence Forge and Rivanna Junction. The MP79 marker is just southwest of the crossing.
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[Note: From the Miller Road location, we enter Richmond proper. There are no more at-grade crossings throughout the entire Richmond terminal area. Fanning the area is quite difficult, and mostly more frustrating than rewarding. The railroad is crossed primarily via underpasses, and both ends of the railroad overpasses are generally not suited for photos, as they are very tight, and the streets leading under them are very narrow. This situation is made worse by the fact that one road that offered photo possibilities in years gone by has been severed, and is no longer accessible by the public. Also, most of the entire Fulton Yard complex is above street level.
As you review driving instructions from Miller Road to Rivanna Junction, please realize that the entire Miller Road - Fulton Yard - far west Henrico County (at Gaskin Road) route needs to be meticulously examined by someone who has the time and knowledge to do so.
Fanning the route of the C&O across Richmond is more difficult than it appears on the map because nothing is level, as this is the fall line, and the beginning of the Piedmont from here until the real mountains are reached. The James River interferes in many ways, and there are no streets parallel to the tracks for any appreciable distance. Please be aware of the foregoing disclaimers as we continue the tour from Miller Road, and we'll at least have a chance to see some things.]
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Richmond -- VA-5 West. Continue on south via Miller Road to a right onto Seven Hills Boulevard. This will take you to a major Richmond artery, South Laburnum Avenue. There is a crossing to the north, but it's NAG/NARL. Take a left onto Laburnum, and then a right onto Darbytown Road. This will take you northwest, under the tracks (12' vertical clearance), and will end at Williamsburg Road. Take a left on the latter, and travel west until Williamsburg veers to the north. Assuming VA-5 is open, take a left on Hatcher Street, and bear slightly left as it becomes Newton. The latter goes under the tracks @ 11' 8", and the first turn to the right used to be Bickerstaff Road, which saw-toothed next to the tracks all the way to VA-5. Bickerstaff has been severed, unfortunately, so continue on to McCoul Street, turn right, and at VA-5, take another right to head up to Fulton Yard.
You'll shortly see yard trackage well off to your right, and should take the first right onto the western end of Bickerstaff Road. I did not explore how much of the west end of Bickerstaff still exists, but it appears to be worth some time to explore.
Further north on VA-5, the tracks get very close to the street, but are about 5' above street level. There is absolutely no access for photos between the street and railroad property, so find a place on the west side of the street to park. Look for an abandoned industrial facility, perhaps. This is definitely an afternoon photo location, and is one where standing up in the back of a pickup or sitting on top of an SUV would be most advantageous. There is some undergrowth on the verge of the Fulton Yard's retaining wall, but it's mostly not too bad.
The north end of this flat-switched yard is right in front of you, and this is a neat place to just sit and watch a railroad do its work.
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Richmond -- Orleans Street. Continue north on VA-5 until you see a handsome interlocking tower. This is R Cabin, and is the site of important switches that direct engines to yard tracks and vice versa, trains coming in and out of the yard, and light diesel movements. The tower is out of service, but is still in pretty good condition. You'd better get your pix sooner rather than later. The tracks here are dead north-south, and are quite a bit higher over the street level. Facing the tower from VA-5, the main lines to/from Rivanna junction go to the left/north, and the yard and running tracks are to the right/south.
Orleans Street is immediately south of the tower, so take a right and go under the tracks. The first right after the tracks is Goddin Street, and it swings around the diesel servicing area. Expect to see 6-12 engines, but also expect them to be mostly buried, and all the property on both sides of this public road are clearly railroad property. For AM shots, I think you could legally park on the north side of Orleans street, but stay right at the shoulder. It is fairly difficult to determine what is railroad property in this area, so err on the side of caution.
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My plan to explore the Old Main Street, Dock Street, Ash Street, and Pear Street areas was dashed by Hurricane Charlie. The crossing known as Coney Island is in this area, and it should be visited by the tourist in better times. For practical purposes, this tour segment has to end at Orleans Street, and your humble Webmaster will gratefully receive any comments, suggestions, connections and additions.
To continue the tour on the James River Sub westward, go here.