Former Norfolk Southern - Southern-Manassas Gap line

[NW Mailing List]

 ??? Has anyone seen this? Group wanting to keep the rails on old CW line.

https://www.whsv.com/2023/01/06/save-rails-group-pitches-alternative-plan-shenandoah-rail-trail/?outputType=amp

 ??? Jimmy Lisle

Per Jimmy's query, yes, I have seen this and there are a number of people
trying to save the right-of-way for use, both as a trail AND rail. Now
getting the 45 miles of inactive railroad reactivated to a point of
profitability, never minding the cost to totally rehab that segment of
railroad is another matter. NS sure didn't encourage an expansion of
business after they came into ownership and in brief, there has been no
active business between the north end of Mt. Jackson and the northern end
of Edinburg since before that 6 miles section was the first portion
sidelined in 1989. Then from the north end of Edinburg to East Strasburg,
the last customer was Johns Manville at the south end of the Narrow Passage
Bridge but they quit in October 2007. Chesapeake Western assumed the Mt.
Jackson to Harrisonburg section in 1989 but north of Broadway to Mt.
Jackson went silent in 2014, not because there wasn't any business there
but however the company defines "profitability", that 14 miles didn't cut
the mustard.

The last section to go quiet was in East Strasburg and they had already
planned on discontinuing rail service in early 2020, but Covid-19
accelerated that to around March or April 2020, so from Riverton Jct. to
Strasburg then became quiet.

Lastly, after an unrelated (I think) derailment around Riverton Jct. in
early March 2021, the diamond was removed entirely leaving only a straight
thru track on the N&W line plus the connection legs to the wye  (well
actually now former wye), Manassas line and that made the Manassas line
from Riverton Jct. to Broadway, a distance of approximately 50 miles, out
of service. Broadway to Strasburg is about 40 miules, and Strasburg to
Riverton Jct another 10. Those are the round numbers.

Over the years several grade crossings between those 2 points have either
been paved over or at least temporarily removed, and obviously no
maintenance has been done. The connection at Strasburg Jct. exists in name
as the undergrowth has gotten rather extensive thru that former interchange
between NS and B&O/CSX as nothing has passed between the two from I think
at least 1989. The CSX line is still quite active 100 yards north of the
interchange tracks. Trees at least 6 inches in diameter have blossomed
forth between the rails in the longest unused segments and in the summer,
the weeds are maybe 4-6 feet tall, if not even taller.

The group/s are trying to acquire title to the R-O-W and expand upon that
by rehabbing the RR and adding a parallel trail, also getting some business
for the railroad, maybe even adding a tourist business along the way. All
the tall bridges would need to be completely rehabbed as the newest of the
7 such bridges was last rebuilt in 1925. Then there's the 2 bridges over
the Shenandoah between Strasburg and Riverton which are even older.

How they can make this profitable for whomever, never minding the tens of
millions of dollars investment it will take to rehab it, are another story.
I wish them well, but their garden is gonna be a tough road to hoe, that's
for sure.

Bob Cohen
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