Cragin Branch

CSX Deepwater Terminal Lead

Presented below are rare photos of switching on the low-traffic Deepwater Terminal lead, which breaks off of the Bellwood main line and extends parallel to I-95 down to the Port of Richmond. Look to the bottom for a boxcar that seems to have lost it's way...

Local Y124 has pulled cars (at left) from a scrap dealer and is onto another customer

Flagging the crossing

No cars were dropped or pulled, instead,
both covered hoppers were pushed one car length back,
presumably for respotting at unloading equipment.

Next, the engine and crew of Y124 get down to the end of the lead,

the Port of Richmond, VA.

One car is pulled. The port sees at best a few small ships a week.
Despite this, I895 was built on a towering bridge (background) that allows maximum vessel clearance, only for ships to travel another couple thousand feet up the James River

Two spurs got new crossings near the port, though they
don't look active and the businesses don't look like
they would even have a reason for rail service.
Clearly the state is hoping for more out of the port...

Bringing the coil car back, parallel to I95

The cars from the scrapyard will have to be run around.

This is the scrapyard lead. Based on appearance I had no idea it was active.

Another spur...

Where the tracks disappear into the dirt...

Actually has a boxcar on it. Wonder if CSX remembers?

From Richmond to Beckley, WV: Gladstone & Clifton Forge VA

In late April I travelled to Beckley, WV, to report on the memorial service held for 29 miners who died in an explosion at the Massey Coal Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, WV.

Along the way I took time to explore the current rail and coal operations in the Beckley region. What I'm presenting is therefore includes many pictures of yards, buildings, subdivisions, and other indicators of current operations. There are also some quite lucky and interesting train photos. For any photo, click to view it full size.

Driving west on route 60, rather than the tedious I-64, I swing by Gladstone, VA, to get a quick look at the yard. I was lucky to find Q303 working the west end of the yard.

These two power sets were combined onto the train, as viewed from behind the rotten Gladstone station. The town of Gladstone seemed to consist of only about a dozen houses; I wonder if any rail employees still live there.

On I64 west an empty train was on the Buckingham Branch RR mainline. By the time I got of 64 it had gotten the signal to head into Clifton Forge yard.

The difference in maintenance between what CSX gave BBRR and their own mainlines is apparent from the start of BBRR track, which quickly turns into jointed rail.

As empties off of the BBRR move into Clifton, another train of BNBX empties waits on the James River line to come into the yard. Clifton was very busy when I stopped by, with 5 trains attempting to enter the yard.

The BBRR train of empties passes the rail museum and what looks like former yard trackage.

The middle of Clifton Forge yard, with cars of woodchips and kaolin that look to be related to the paper mill in Covington. The old shops are in the background.

Looking west from the center of Clifton Forge yard. The train in the foreground has cars of utility coal for the Richmond, VA area and was just arriving into the yard. A train of Newport news coal is on the adjacent track.

The train on the left has empty VAPX cars headed back to the mines. In less than an hour I caught it ascending the mountain near Moss Run.

An eastbound view of the west end of Clifton. Note the approach signal for yet another train into the yard.

It's quite stunning how much track is gone from the yard, or how little track space there is for such a major junction. Presumably the switch to unit coal trains and dramatic reduction in local industry is a cause.

At the west end of Clifton Forge I caught this rail train with a commemorative caboose. This is train #5 moving in and around the yard.


Looking west from the same spot, a coal train is also waiting to enter the yard. In total, within 20 minutes I saw two empty coal trains entering or waiting to enter the yard from the east, one loaded coal train pulling through the yard, an empty coal train just about to depart westbound, a rail train entering the yard, this coal train waiting to enter, and I soon found yet another coal train (TILX utility loads) waiting to enter behind this train. 7 trains! I was certainly surprised.

This is a zoomed in view of trackage at the Mead-Westvaco paper mill in Covington, which is just west of Clifton Forge.

Summit of the Alleganies: Moss Run, Alleghany, and White Sulphur Springs

The train of VAPX empties previously seen in Clifton Forge climbs to the summit by Moss Run

A distant view of the switch to single track near Moss Run.

Looking west at the now unused tower at the summit of the Alleghanies, Alleghany, VA

Looking east. Here, luck was not with me and no train appeared.

The tunnels at Alleghany

Portal to portal at Alleghany.

Here came my luck: after taking a backroad over to White Sulfur Springs, VA, I heard a train on the scanner and took a chance road to catch it. Seeing the rail bed I ran up an embankment just in time to catch this loaded coal train bound for Newport News fighting the grade to Alleghany.

Aside from catching the train itself, this power of two beaten up C40-8s is extremely rare on such a train. In fact, seeing hundreds of such a train pass by my window in Richmond, VA, I can't think of another case where a duo was left to power these extremely heavy trains.

Some coal loads to newport news are 150 cars, others are 80-100. I got lost on the car count but considering the one-engine helper this was likely a smaller sized train, as I can't see how it could make the grade with 150 cars and two DC units up front.

The helper enters and exits the White Sulphur Springs tunnel. I-64 is overhead. I think this is a rare photo location, and I only came across it by accident.

Former NF&G lines near Rainelle, WV

Before heading to the Beckley area I wanted to get a look at CSX coal routes out of Meadow Creek/Rainelle, WV. This grade crossing view shows (defect detectors?) at Meadow Creek with yard tracks of coal cars in the distance.

The branch to Rainelle gets off to a rough and steep start. This is the east leg of the wye.

The west leg of the wye. The rails were somewhat shiny.

In person, the railroad looked as tortorous as the winding road up steep grades that I used to follow it.

A bit of a dip in Meadow Bridge; I'd like to see loads go over that.

Empties on a siding just South of Rainelle.

Former Nicholas, Fayette & Greenbrier Rainelle shops. No power was around, probably meaning a mine run was out and I was missing it.

The western side of the shop. Here is a Chessie-era photo showing this ramp used for sand loads

Assorted cars on a storage track near the shops include this unrelettered Chessie caboose.

I quickly scrambled up an embankment to get this picture of what I guess was a yard office/station in downtown rail. A few shorts cuts of loaded coal were nearby.

A view of the Rainelle yard from the North. Tracks were shiny and the loads are there, so coal is moving... somewhere.

One of three subdivisions that branchs off north of Rainelle in a wye. I little bit father up the rails were slightly shiny.


The northwestern leg of the wye near Rainelle; I presume the left portion is only used for turning power.


The G&E Sub breaking off of the Wye. It looks like a former CR bocar is sitting on that stub track. I'm trying to find where the mine is that this sub serves, but the rail was shiny. I suspect power was on this sub while I was there, but I missed it.

The third Subdivision that breaks off is the Sewell Valley Sub, which looked to be inactive based on the tree on the tracks! The rails were also rusty. The spur on the left goes into a lumber/logging facility.

Interestingly I found a photo from late 2009 with coal loads on this track.

I also found a photo from 1971 showing the Sewell Valley sub and G&E sub in the same shot; compare it to the two photos above.