Clifton Forge, VA: JD Cabin: CSX/C&O vs. CSX/C&O, Turntables, Coaling Towers and Rail Museums

Junction: (Satellite)

Roundhouse: (Satellite)

Turntable: (Satellite)

Coaling Towers: (Satellite)

Depot: (Satellite, I don't think this was the original location)

Freight House: (Satellite, I think this is the original location)

Museum: (Satellite, 881 photos, cohs)

This post is what motivated me to research Clifton Forge.

Ron Flanary posted
[The bridge in the photo]

Waiting at JD Cabin

Like so many venerated places from the heyday of the American railroad era, JD Cabin—the east end of the big C&O terminal at Clifton Forge, Va.—was something else again, particularly in the late steam era. This is the point where the through passenger trains converged or split from the low-grade coal line via Lynchburg to Richmond from the Mountain Subdivision to Charlottesville, and then to Washington or to Richmond, and beyond to Tidewater. Most of the manifest traffic took the former line while the heavy coal traffic for Newport News followed the easy downriver grade of the James River. The huge H-8 Allegheny-type 2-6-6-6s only ran as far east as Clifton Forge, handing off their coal trains to heavy 2-8-2s here.

All this history was on my mind as I was driving home from a work trip to Richmond on June 10, 1993. When I arrived in Clifton Forge the evening sun was slowly dropping behind the Allegheny Mountains to the west. In the back-lit yard, I noticed a coal train that was apparently ready to roll east behind a pair of freshly repainted CSX SD50s. Where could I capture a “different” type of image in the challenging lighting conditions? Sure---perhaps there was something at the huge double track overhead truss bridge over the Jackson River near the community of Iron Gate. In less than three miles east of the junction, the Jackson’s confluence with the Cowpasture River created the James.

I looked things over at JD Cabin and selected a 300mm lens and climbed up to my “spot” with camera, tripod and cable release in hand. Now, the waiting began. I knew I had a long four-hour drive still facing me to get back home, but if the light held long enough for the train to hit a small window of sun on the far side of the bridge, perhaps it might yield a usable image. The waiting continued, and I seriously considered packing it in when the sun’s rays were fading fast. Just then my scanner squawked to life, and I heard the yardmaster give Extra 8577 permission to roll.

It didn’t take long for my train to reach the point where I banged off a few shots. As I packed up my equipment, I counted the loaded CSX 100-ton coal hoppers brimming with West Virginia bituminous as they groaned by in rapid succession. When the flashing EOT finally passed, 166 loads were counted. That was quite a train for two SD50s, but with level or slightly downgrade track, it would reach its destination without complications.

It was nearly midnight when I reached Big Stone Gap, but I felt my time in Clifton Forge was worth it. The only thing to do was to wait for the slides to return from Kodak to see if my photographic efforts were successful. You had to get it right the first time then, and there was no way to know if your calculations and settings were okay until you opened the little box of freshly minted slides (which I always smelled, by the way). In this case, I gave it a B, or maybe a B minus. Under the circumstances, I doubt I could have done better.

Ron Flanary shared
Charlie Isaacs: Ron, great pic and narrative of this area. I was the Track Supervisor/Roadmaster there from 1982 to 1994. There was an American flag off to the right on top of the bluff there which stayed for years. Back in the early 80's transportation would run "Big Macs" across the Alleghany Sub with pushers. Once they arrived at Clifton forge it was common to run 190 cars of coal down towards Newport News with 2 locomotives.

Junction Tower

The tower was on the south side just west of the turnout for the two routes. (On the left side of this aerial photo excerpt.)

EarthExplorer: Apr 28, 1944 @ 43,100, AR1AZ0000020068

Turntables and Coaling Towers

This yard still has two turntables.

We can tell from the remnants of the foundation that this turntable used to serve a roundhouse.

Satellite

A 1944 aerial photos shows that the roundhouse used to be a full 180 degrees.

EarthExplorer: Apr 28, 1944 @ 43,100, AR1AZ0000020068

The turntable in today's locomotive servicing facility did not exist in 1944.

Satellite

But it did exist in 1963. I included part of the now abandoned bridge in the lower-left corner as a reference point because a little northeast of that bridge is a large, rectangular coaling tower in this 1963 image.

EarthExplorer: Mar 24, 1963 @ 43,100, AR1VAPX00010201

The big rectangular coaling tower that we see in 1963 did not exist in 1944. Judging from the shadow in the upper-right corner of this excerpt, there was a smaller coaling tower similar to...

EarthExplorer: Apr 28, 1944 @ 43,100, AR1AZ0000020068

...this C&O tower that is still standing in Ronceverte, WV.

Aaron Bryant via Dennis DeBruler

At least the smaller, circular coaling tower is still standing. And at least part of the bigger tower is still standing.

Satellite

Museum, Junction Tower, Depot and Freight House

Street View

Street View

Noah's Railroad and Weather Photography posted two photos with the comment: "Chesapeake & Ohio SD40 7534 sits idle at the C&O Heritage Center in Clifton Forge, Virginia, on August 6, 2023. Built in March of 1971, the engine became famous for remaining in C&O paint as late as September of 2008, decades after the end of the scheme’s usage and the C&O as a whole. It was donated by CSX to the museum in 2017."

Randall Hampton shared

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I presume the depot and interlocking tower were moved to their current location in the Heritage Center.

2:36 video @ 0:58

But according to a topo map, the freight house is in its original location and the tracks in this area were team tracks.

2:36 video @ 1:51

Operations

When looking for the location of the junction, I noticed that a coal train was on the route that went over the mountains (northern) rather than the one that followed the James River to Richmond, VA (across the bridge).

Satellite

Then I noticed that it appeared to be an empty train. So I followed it west to see if I could find the locomotives. They were at the locomotive servicing facility.

Satellite

And while following that train, I found another set of locomotives working with loaded coal cars.

Satellite

Those locomotives were handling just a cut of cars that ended at the throat of the yard. The locomotives near the lower-left corner of this excerpt are attached to a long cut of loaded coal cars.

Satellite