Serving Southwest and Southside Virginia.

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On Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 8:40 AM Chuck wrote:

> Here’s a simple solution. Run multiple trains.
>
> Run the trains to Blacksburg at the new  station east of the tunnel as
> planned. Nothing wrong with that, actually better and quicker to get to
> this area with a dedicated road off of 460 bypass instead of the 460
> business route. These trains were designed for Va. Tech students, and the
> area for travel to the northeast anyway.
>

Interesting that passenger trains ran through Merrimac Tunnel from the time
it was built until the Virginian ended passenger service in the 1950s.
There were a number of times since that time that passenger trains ran
through the tunnel -- various excursions and Amtrak detours. Now the tunnel
is inadequate for passenger service unless it is widened, ventilated, and
several long stairways (and I hope, elevators) are installed for the rare
instance when a train is stopped in the tunnel.

If we are stuck with the "can't use the tunnel" scenario, then build the
alternate plan with the station on the east side of the tunnel. Then like
Chuck says, run multiple trains. One or two may be Amtrak extensions with
service to the northeast, but the rest should be light/heavy rail that run
much like the Smartway bus runs on the highway now. Improve the connection
between Blacksburg/Christiansburg and Roanoke, remove traffic from I-81,
and make it easy to get from the train to the airport and to the growing
medical facilities.

Run the dang Bristol trains up the old N&W side, bypass Christiansburg all
> together. Stop in Radford, that way the people in the C’burg area who want
> to go west, can.
> Will it cost?, you bet, but not as much as all of these crazy ideas to
> just get to what effectively is only the Gobblers branch. NS will play
> ball. There are ways.
>

The state missed the train years ago. In 1996, a state study was released (
https://rga.lis.virginia.gov/Published/1996/HD51/PDF) about rail passenger
service between Bristol and Lynchburg, with the train splitting there with
one section going to Washington, D.C. and one section going to Richmond. As
it developed, Norfolk Southern was amenable to the idea and on the Bristol
line only wanted some signal upgrades, an extended passing siding, and a
new passing siding. "Too much money" was the excuse.

Now we come to today. "Extend the train to Bristol" was the plan after the
success of the train reaching Roanoke, but it had to be done in increments,
with Christiansburg the destination for some odd reason. Radford should
have been the choice for the end point, since there is space there for a
layover/maintenance track and the wye at Walton to turn the train. There
was enthusiasm from the masses, Christiansburg even bought land for a
station even though there is a perfectly good station in Cambria, and
everyone anticipated easier travel by train. But Norfolk Southern (as a
number in the group know) only does what NS wants to do when it wants to do
it and went silent for years on any discussion of extending Amtrak west of
Roanoke. Then some bean counters in Atlanta saw the state was ripe for the
picking and saw a means to unload some trackage that it wasn't making much
use of -- a section of the Virginian trackage from Salem to Merrimac
(including two tunnels over 100 years old). The people in Richmond (who
don't know much about Virginia beyond Whooville) snapped up the deal with
the understanding that it could be used to extend Amtrak service. No one
thought things through, like how to get from Merrimac to Bristol when the
VGN tracks go to West Virginia. The planners also thought it would be a
good idea to excavate a massive cut to get from the VGN up to the level of
the Blacksburg Branch instead of investigating a little bit of history. The
original grade for the Virginia Anthracite Coal & Railway dropped down the
creek drainage then climbed up the other side to reach Merrimac Mine. The
high line with the trestle came when the Virginian came through and didn't
want an at-grade crossing at the top of its climb from the New River (see
https://nwhistory.info/articles/VAC&Ry-vs-VGN.php).

Even with all that, at least the idea of a station at or near the New River
Valley Mall (sorry, Uptown Christiansburg) made sense as a somewhat central
location with good access (NS could have offered up the former coal tipple
across VA 114 as a better location). It didn't solve the problem of how to
get to Bristol without some odd operations. The train could continue on the
Blacksburg Branch to reach Christiansburg, but the connection is a leading
switch from the westbound main. This would put the engine facing east for a
move west. The train could cross over to serve the station and with some
additional movements, the engines (it would require two, running back to
back) could be run around the train and put on the west end. Or the train
could back all the way to Walton and go toward Bluefield, then continue
west on the other leg toward Radford. Or, the ultimate plan that was
proposed at one time when the branch crossed the N&W main, then ran through
a switchback and down the Kingston Branch to the station -- build a large
loop off the south end of the bridge and drop down to the station (see
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=209915).

Or as Jimmy says, accept that "This entire project is a boondoggle to begin
with!" and lower expectations that nothing will happen until sometime in
the 2030s.

Bruce in Blacksburg
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