NS Pkin, VA
Because the route chosen by the Shenandoah Railroad followed its namesake Shenandoah Valley through Virginia and avoided the Blue Ridge to the east and Allegheny Ridge to the west only minor grades were encountered with two exceptions. The northbound ruling grade is 1.6% on Lofton Hill beginning at Vesuvius where the line passes over the divide from the James River to the Shenandoah River watershed. Norfolk and Western installed US&S color position light block signals on this route in the 1920s and operated trains using a timetable schedule and train orders. Double track was added for 3.1 miles from Vesuvius north to Pkin during CTC implementation in 1944 to increase operating capacity.
Today, Norfolk Southern extends far beyond the regional interchange locations of the past and this route acts as a secondary mainline predominately for manifest trains. Although NS has been slowly replacing the classic N&W signal hardware, some remains. Broken coupler knuckles on the ground near the at the north end of double track indicate the challenge of starting a train on Lofton Hill after meeting a southbound at Pkin.
On the final evening of 2024, several lines of rain showers passed from west to east over the Shenandoah Valley. The sky cleared briefly and the setting sun dropped under the next approaching wall of cloud. The NS dispatcher in Atlanta has cleared a path south down Lofton Hill for manifest 15T from Allentown, PA to Irondale, AL. The southbound signal at Pkin displays Diverging Clear and the “Y” turnout at the north end of double track is lined to Main #1.
NS Pkin, VA
Because the route chosen by the Shenandoah Railroad followed its namesake Shenandoah Valley through Virginia and avoided the Blue Ridge to the east and Allegheny Ridge to the west only minor grades were encountered with two exceptions. The northbound ruling grade is 1.6% on Lofton Hill beginning at Vesuvius where the line passes over the divide from the James River to the Shenandoah River watershed. Norfolk and Western installed US&S color position light block signals on this route in the 1920s and operated trains using a timetable schedule and train orders. Double track was added for 3.1 miles from Vesuvius north to Pkin during CTC implementation in 1944 to increase operating capacity.
Today, Norfolk Southern extends far beyond the regional interchange locations of the past and this route acts as a secondary mainline predominately for manifest trains. Although NS has been slowly replacing the classic N&W signal hardware, some remains. Broken coupler knuckles on the ground near the at the north end of double track indicate the challenge of starting a train on Lofton Hill after meeting a southbound at Pkin.
On the final evening of 2024, several lines of rain showers passed from west to east over the Shenandoah Valley. The sky cleared briefly and the setting sun dropped under the next approaching wall of cloud. The NS dispatcher in Atlanta has cleared a path south down Lofton Hill for manifest 15T from Allentown, PA to Irondale, AL. The southbound signal at Pkin displays Diverging Clear and the “Y” turnout at the north end of double track is lined to Main #1.