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Welcome to the RRPictureArchives.NET contributor site of Stephen Brock.
Hello and thanks for stopping in!
I'm a locomotive hound of sorts so most of my pictures are large close shots of Norfolk Southern Locomotives and some foreign power that pops up from time to time. I also try to get as many angles as I can with pictures that fill your screen! My area covers Harrisonburg, Chesapeake & Western (CHW), Shenandoah, Elkton, Lynwood, Waynesboro and Roanoke VA., all are a part of NS's Virginia Division. I also have some roster shots of The Buckingham Branch R.R. in Staunton, VA. My pictures of rolling stock are also large shots as I try to focus on detail.
I developed a passion for trains growing up in Harrisonburg through the 60's and 70's, watching the CHW pulling freight to and from Elkton, VA. which was fed by the NW. My parents house is very near JMU and the RR tracks however when I was a kid much of the land was undeveloped and JMU was much smaller so I would go track side and watch as they came through. The Southern RR brought freight in as well from Front Royal and Strausburg, VA., fed out of Manassas, VA. In the 80's the NW took over the CHW line and her Alco T-6's were replaced by U-Boats and GP's coming in from Shenandoah. CHW 10 is now on display with the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, VA. After the rails were upgraded, six axle units started to appear in Harrisonburg. After the merger of NW and the Southern RR, the line from Strausburg to Harrisonburg was closed. The CHW / NS now service that line as far north as Mt. Jackson, VA. There is also a trestle that was in need of costly repairs north of Mt. Jackson which played in the decision to close the old Southern line.
Shenandoah is a stopover for crew changes between Hagerstown, MD. and Roanoke, VA. Shenandoah also maintains a yard crew which operate under VSO1, making local runs to Coors and Merck & Co. as well as assembling trains. Often one can find stray units waiting for assignments on the yard there as well.
The CHW / NS in Harrisonburg maintains a small yard as well as an office where you can usually find units tied down for the afternoons and on weekends. This NS branch line mostly operates during the night and through the late morning (sometimes into early afternoon), Mon - Friday and late Saturday night into early Sunday morning. They also make daily runs to and from the Shenandoah yard operating under V92 while two other local trains service the southern and northern ends of the CHW line. Harrisonburg has almost tripled in size and population since the days of the T-6's blowing their horns and naturally so have the length of trains! Harrisonburg is in the center of the "Poultry Capitol" of Virginia and as such, plays as host for several major grain / feed elevator operations built to meet the demands of the industry.
For more information and history on The C&W, check out the following web site: ( http://www.trainweb.org/varail/nschw.html )
You may browse my collection of pictures via the menu located on the left hand side of the page. I hope you enjoy the collection and thanks for stopping by!
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