On October 31, 2017, after a nearly 40 years absence, passenger service returned to Roanoke, VA after Amtrak's Lynchburg, VA regional was extended westward along the former Norfolk and Western main line. However utilizing this service for anyone outside of Roanoke would involve an overnight in the city and while Hotel Roanoke is renown for its luxury, the price point is a bit much for a casual railfan trip. However, on July 17, 2022, Amtrak initiated a second daily round trip that would make a same-day round trip possible.
To make the new service work equipment-wise, Amtrak shifted the Night Owl Train 66 from its long time Newport News terminus to Roanoke, paired with southbound Regional Train 151. Moreover, the 151/66 round trip would make use of Train 66's trainset with a former Metroliner first class car providing both cafe and business class services. The half-coach car with 2+1 seating was not only comfortable, but provided the best platform with which to take rear facing video of the new route. Because of this I am breaking out the videos in their own post with a write-up of the 800+ still photos to follow. Note, the videos contain some commentary with Malcolm, my new railfan buddy from Washington, DC who is odd enough to want to do these sorts of trips with me.
We begin with the Train 152 power change at Washington Union Station where Amtrak ACS-86 #616 is exchanged for P42DC #139.
I began my video recording on Southern Railroad territory as my Amtrak train pulled out of the Culpeper, VA station and proceeded to the Southern RR era stop of Orange. With the GoPro I was somewhat battery limited so with the new Roanoke section getting priority I determined I had enough to get some Southern Main Line footage as well. This was made easier due to the fact that a railfan conductor provided me and my friend implied verbal consent to stand in the rear vestibule. Orange is where Amtrak's Cardinal enters/leaves the former C&O Washington Subdivision, traveling to Charlottesville via Gordon. Re-routing the Cardinal to the Southern would likely save on the order of 30 minutes if the money can be found to build a new connector track in Charlottesville.
Just shy of HAMNER interlocking on the former Southern Main Line about 20 miles south of Charlottesville, Amtrak Train 151 passes the slightly more established Roanoke Train 152 just short of HAMNER interlocking. This 4 mile long section of double track was enough to allow Train 151 to make the pass without having to make a complete stop.
The next video begins just prior to KINGSWOOD interlocking on a stretch of mostly 80mph track between Lynchburg and Charlottesville. This video covers the series of bridges and tunnels north of the Lynchburg Amtrak station. The station and associated infrastructure was constructed in 1912 in order to bypass the time consuming climb in and out of the James River valley to the old downtown Lynchburg Union Station. At the end of the video you can see the storage tracks used by the Lynchburg Regional between 2009 and 2017. This route is also used by the daily Crescent long distance train.
In 1982 the Norfolk and Western was joined via a holding company with the Southern Railway and began to integrate operations as a result. One such integration point was where their two respective Main Lines crossed at Lynchburg. While a connection had previously existed between the Southern Montview Yard and N&W Kinney Yard, the 1982 alignment had it upgraded for through movements and today Amtrak Regionals use the 10mph double wye track to access the line to Roanoke.
The longest of the "rear view" videos covers covers the entirety of the N&W Main Line between Lynchburg and Roanoke. The Regionals make no intermediate stops between the two cities. Despite having been operationally united as Norfolk Southern since 1990, the N&W Main retains its distinctiveness from the Southern with its N&W heritage signal aspects, speed restriction signs and mileposts. The N&W had actually been controlled by the PRR up until about 1960 and you can see the beefier bridges used to support the heavy coal trains and steam locomotives of a major mountain railroad. This route was also equipped with PRR inspired, N&W style position light signals through 2015. The Roanoke Terminal was the home of the N&W's corporate HQ as well as its primary locomotive shoppe facility. Due to the decline in coal traffic, most of Roanoke's locomotive heavy overhaul and rebuilding operations was recently shifted to the former PRR shoppes in Altoona.
To support the two daily round trips a locomotive storage and servicing track was constructed about a mile south of the downtown Roanoke Station on the NS W-Line. A few minutes after arrival, the trainset is cleared and then reversed to the far end of a wye track where it then pulls forward around the wye and into the storage yard.
In the final rear facing video of the trip comes back on the Southern Main Line where I was trying to complete the video coverage of the line segment between Lynchburg and Charlottesville. Starting at HAMNER interlocking we cover Train 66 as it travels towards Charlottesville before being brought to a stop at TEEL interlocking, just south of the city. Train 66 was running about 30 minutes late due to congestion on the former Norfolk and Western Main Line between Roanoke and Lynchburg and neede to allow the southbound evening Roanoke Regional Train 147 to depart the Charlottesville Station on track 1 and then cross over to track 2 to pass. Following directly behind Train 147 on Track #2 was a southbound NS intermodal train. If you watch closely you can see the southbound track #2 signal at TEEL interlocking change from Stop to Approach off in the distance as the switch was thrown and following route cleared.
The final Train 151/66 video is the northbound power change at Washington Union Station where ACS-86 #615 replaces P42DC 139. Coincidentally, the southbound Train 151/66 trainset was pulled from New York by ACS-86 #616.
That's all for the video post, tune in next time for the still photos!
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