Front Royal -- Harrisburg
A self-guiding railfan tour
Introduction
The route that was the Norfolk & Western between Roanoke, Virginia, and Hagerstown, Maryland, and extending on to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, via the Pennsylvania Railroad, is today all part of the sprawling Norfolk Southern Railway system. Different parts of this route have distinctly different characteristics and traffic, as we shall discover on this tour. Previously, the tour was completed between Grottoes and Front Royal, Virginia, a distance of about 70 miles. A short segment thru Waynesboro was also included. That entire segment of the ex-N&W is fairly universally known as the "Valley Line", and the tour is here. The territory covered in this tour segment extends north from Front Royal to Hagerstown, Maryland, about 60.5 miles, and will eventually continue on to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
If you have never taken a Frograil tour before, you are strongly encouraged to visit the Frograil Tour Guide page, which is loaded with good info for you. Following the advice on that page will save you time, effort, and quite probably, some grief.
Contents And Navigation:
About This Tour:
WHAT YOU WILL FIND HERE: From a particular starting point, each segment of this coverage will allow you to follow the instructions given, drive to a railfan site, then to the next, etc. etc. Traffic levels and patterns will be given, and the photographic/ lighting considerations for each site will usually be mentioned. You'll be told about area attractions, such as tourist and historic sites, as well as hotels and restaurants which are trackside or otherwise worthy of note. In short, you'll be able to plan an entire family or railfan-only outing or even a vacation from this guide, as it is completed in the months to come.
WHAT YOU WILL NOT FIND HERE: This is a railfan guide, not a photo collection. There are already many excellent and enjoyable railroad photo sites available, and one more really wouldn't add much value to the general railfan. Besides, photos take up a lot of memory, and your humble Webmaster has to pay for memory. You will also not find fancy graphics, as this is a tour guide, not an exhibition of graphics expertise. You'll be able to load these pages quickly and print them without waiting a week for each page to print. Also, you'll conserve toner in the process.
Contributors:
Major contributors to this effort include:
Jack Toomey, content between Shenandoah Junction and Hagerstown, unless otherwise noted.
Tony Hill, Webmaster and content between Front Royal and Shenandoah Junction, unless otherwise noted. Any use of the first person singular pronoun anywhere within this tour refers to Tony, unless specifically otherwise indicated. A first person plural pronoun refers to Jack and I, unless otherwise specifically noted.
Help
You contact me at webmaster@frograil.com, and let me know what you'd like me to add or correct to this tour segment.
Also, if you'd like to contribute tours of portions of other rail lines, we'll work together: You supply the data/info, and I'll do the HTML stuff and upload it. You'll get a chance to review the fruits of your efforts before the general public sees the finished product, so you can let me have your corrections, additions and changes.
Supplemental And Back-Up Data
The Railroad -- Background. In years gone by, the primary connection the N&W had from the southeast to the northeast was from Roanoke to Hagerstown. At Hagerstown, connections with the Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Ohio, and Western Maryland allowed freight to be forwarded and received to and from virtually any northeastern point. At Front Royal, the relatively modest traffic up from Roanoke is joined by the heavy traffic coming up from Atlanta via Manassas, Virginia. From Front Royal to Harrisburg, this is big time railroading.
The Railroad -- Geography. You are still in the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Mountains throughout this segment, with I-81 and US-340 separated by long, northeast-southwest mountains. To the east is not a mountain: It's the Blue Ridge. The railroad follows the valley of Shenandoah River somewhat, although the river is well to the east. At Shepardstown, the river is crossed, and will remain to the west for the balance of the tour.
The Railroad -- Traffic. You will see some major differences from Front Royal north from what you saw south of the city: Impressive intermodal action, lots more trains, and the railroad has become a high speed artery, helping connect northern New Jersey with Atlanta. Expect a minimum of 15 trains per 24 hours; you could easily see quite a few more on any given day.
Mapwork: Much of the tour is not easy if you have no detailed map for back country roads. I definitely recommend you get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study it before your trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. You can find information here about Railfan Maps that are available.
Photo considerations. For most of the sites included herein, I try to give you an idea of the availability of photo fields. These ratings are not to be considered indications of the photogenic aspects of a place; they are merely an indication of how much open, uncluttered room you have to take pix. I usually give all 4 compass points, such as: NE3, SE1, SW4, NW4. In this example, there is no photo access from the west, poor from the northeast, and excellent to the southeast. For areas with no crossing, east and west ratings (e.g., E2/W1) are used. This is mostly a northeast/southwest railroad, so you'll have opportunities to get shots pretty much all day in most locations. Do your studying in advance. Please note that contributions from fans other than your Webmaster may not have detailed photo quadrant ratings.
Also note that this tour is thru hilly, tree-covered country, so an SE1 here might barely be a SE2 in the coastal plain. All things are relative. One other thing to consider is that the general bias of the railroad is northeast - southwest, so many crossings are more an X than a + . This greatly expands the photo potential for most crossings. North of Shenandoah Junction, Jack Toomey provides the tour narrative, and the photo evaluations do not use the 4-quad evaluation system.
Abbreviations. Some phrases are used repeatedly in this tour, so I've developed some standard Frograil abbreviations:
AG. An at-grade crossing.
NAG. A not-at-grade crossing. Unless I mention otherwise, these are usually not worth the time and trouble to drive to them.
NARL. Not a railfan location. This is because of any number of reasons, such as lousy photo ops, dangerous, no shoulder on a NAG bridge, etc. As a general rule of thumb, it is wise to avoid NARL's.
NFOG. Not found on the ground. There may have been a road or crossing here "back in the day", but on-the-ground research failed to find it in September of 2008.
NO. Not observed -- for some reason, I didn't get over to the location, and cannot comment on it.
Security. As you can imagine, this tour is mostly very rural. Unlike some tours which encompass fairly large urban areas, there is relatively little concern throughout the tour's length with personal security. You've kind of got to work hard to get bopped over the head. However, there is a major concern with personal security once "away from civilization." You do not want to scramble down a hillside to get to a remote location by yourself. If you fall and break an ankle, you could very well die out there. Also, some areas are quite remote, and the locals do not always welcome strangers. In all railfan outings, you are encouraged to have at least one male buddy with you.
WEBMASTER'S NOTE: I do not recommend walking along the tracks, as this means trespassing or exposing yourself to danger. You will have to be creative, in some instances, to avoid trespassing while getting to the detailed locations included herein, but you will either have to be creative or not visit those sites. At no point in this tour guide, or any other tour which is part of Frograil, is it recommended that you trespass or expose yourself to danger. If you are a fool and have a leg cut off (or worse), don't come crying to me: You have been warned. Trains are big, powerful, and often surprisingly quiet. Don't end up being a statistic.
Railfan sites: Front Royal -- Shenandoah Junction
The Tour
This tour is a continuation of the Frograil Tour coming up from Waynesboro. As of October 2008, there are 60.5 miles completed between Front Royal's Riverton Junction and Hagerstown, Maryland..
Front Royal -- Riverton Junction. From the junction of US-340/522 and Shenandoah Avenue in Front Royal, go north on US-340/522 and take a right onto either 17th or 18th Street. Take a left onto North Royal Avenue.
At the bottom of the hill, Royal will go under some tracks; turn right before the underpass onto Depot Street. These tracks are the former N&W Shenandoah Valley Line going over to Harrisonburg. Follow the street back to Riverton Junction, where there are several connecting tracks between the two lines and a diamond. Despite the many posted railroad "no trespassing" signs, the street (actually gravel by now) is a public thoroughfare and access to a quarry, so as long as you don’t wander too far away along the tracks it is a legit place to stop and watch. There is a pull-in next to the diamond and signal box that is an ideal place to park. Unfortunately, footing here is dangerous because of the many glass shards and other trash left by non-railfan nocturnal visitors.
The directions to the junction are from a more detailed account of the trackage at the junction that Henry Mikus provided us in his B-Line Tour. The actual junction is MP 59.0.
Cedarville -- Rockland Road. Go back along Depot Street to Royal Avenue. Take a left, go up the hill, and turn right onto 18th Street. At US-340/522, take a right and cross the river. Pass up the area of Riverton (no access to the line we are following). Cross a creek, and then pass up Riverton Road, which is gated well west of the tracks. Also, as you go further north, pass up Country Club Road (no access). Finally, take a right onto Rockland Road, drive to the crossing, cross it, and park on the right.
There is a pole line on the east side of the tracks that extends until at least Shenandoah Junction. However, in June 2008, there was a big crew with bulldozers, excavators, etc., working away. It is possible that the pole line may be taken out. Photo ratings are NE3, SE3, SW1, NW1. Even though the tracks are on a somewhat northeast - southwest bias, this is an afternoon photo location.
Rockland Road is busy, so keep your wits about you.
Success. Continue east on Rockland Road as it winds and weaves thru the countryside. At the crossroads of Rockland, turn left onto Fairground Road. Continue to the crossing, go across the tracks and park on the north side of the road (actually, parking is difficult in the area of the crossing itself, so you might have to hoof it a short way). While the drive between the Rockland Road crossing and Success may seem bucolic, the area out of sight and west of the tracks would hardly be called bucolic. Besides some industrial facilities, the Virginia Inland Port, an intermodal transfer point, sits between US-340 and the tracks. All of this is out of sight, and out of reach. As you can imagine, security around such facilities is quite strict.
The crossing at Success is poor, at NE3, SE4, SW4, NW3; however, it's a place to get trackside in a hurry if your scanner suddenly fires up.
Ashby. Stay on Fairground Road to the northwest, and you'll soon come to US-340/522. Take a right, and in a mile or so, look for Ashby Station Road on the right. Take it to the crossing. This crossing is as good as the one at Success was poor: NE3, SE1, SW1, NW1. Note that the pole line, depending on what you're trying to shoot, might be a problem on the southwest quad.
The station sign for "Ashby" is to the northwest of the tracks, at MP 53.1. The start of a siding is just to the north, and there is a signal just northeast of the crossing.
Greenway Court. Keep going east on Ashby Station Road until you get to Rockland Road. Take a left, enter Clarke County, and then take a sweeping left onto Sugar Hill Road. This will cross the tracks at a nice afternoon location: NE3, SE2, SW1, NW1. Note that Sugar Hill is a very busy road, so be careful.
Greenway Court -- Carters Lane Road. Immediately to the west of the crossing, White Post Road comes down from its namesake town. Take the right and go up to Carters Lane Road. Take a right and drive the short distance to the crossing. Photo ratings are NE1, SE3, SW2, NW1. You should be able to get pix here at just about any time of day.
White Post. Go back the way you came and turn right onto White Post Road. In the center of the town, there is an intersection with a really cool white post street sign in the middle of the intersection. Take a right onto Berry's Ferry Road, and the crossing is a quarter mile ahead. Drive slowly and enjoy some of the lovely homes in this small town.
Unfortunately, the town has not maintained the station. The small clapboard structure is getting covered with weeds and growth, and it definitely needs some TLC. About 1/2 mile north, signals are visible. The station is at MP 49.2, and the photo ops are NE2, SE2, SW3, NW1. Park northwest of the crossing. One good thing about this location is that the pole line is further back from the rails, as compared to the sites to the south.
Boyce -- Main Street. Reverse direction and go back to White Post. At the "post", take a right to get back on US-340. As you head northeast, pass up Westfield Farm Lane, as it is a private road. Pass up the crossing at US-17/50, as it is NAG/NARL. Enter the village of Boyce, and turn right onto Main Street. The crossing is about 100 yards from US-340. Here, the railroad is on a very lazy northeast - southwest bias, and seems almost to be east - west. There is a signal mast about 1/4 mile northeast of the crossing.
The station is still standing, indeed, it's in good condition and is a lovely, classic N&W station. It's quite impressive for a town of this size.Photo ratings at the crossing itself are NE2, SE1, SW1, NW3, but remember that this is an X, not a +.
Boyce -- Old Chapel Avenue. From the Main Street crossing, go back up to the first right north of the tracks. Take a right and stay right to get onto Old Chapel Avenue. This will cross the tracks and yield a photo rating of NE3, SE4, SW2, NW1. There is a signal on the northwest quad, at approximately MP 45.9.
Boyce -- Browntown Road. Get back on US-340 via either Huntingdon, Crescent, or Main, and continue northeast. When you get to Browntown Road, take a right and drive the very short distance to the crossing. Photo ops are NE2, SE1, SW3, NW1, but you are reminded that this is a largely X crossing and not a +. The 45.0 mile marker is just to the northwest of the crossing.
Berryville -- Smallwood Lane. Backtrack to US-340, turn right, and continue to the northeast. At Briggs, there are some tempting treats, but none of them deliver -- with one exception. The Bishop Meade Road crossing is NAG/NARL, and any crossing via Briggs Road was NFOG. However, there is beautiful old chapel in Briggs that is definitely deserving of a stop and looksee. While this latter stop is not at all a railfan location, it's certainly worth a few moments of reflection.
Continuing northeast from Briggs, follow US-340. Skip Llewellyn Lane, as it is private and not available to the public. The same comment applies to Milton Valley Lane. At Smallwood Lane, however, we reach the land of public roads, and will take a right. This will lead thru the VDOT facility to a crossing, with photo ops at NE4, SE3, SW2, NW4 -- yeah, pretty yuck, but this is the best trackside opportunity from the south for some distance, and will get you trackside in a hurry.
Berryville -- Josephine Street. Drive back to US-340, take a right, and watch for a road to the right. This is Church Street, which once upon a time used to be US-340. Take Church Street to a right onto Josephine Street. The photo ops at the crossing aren't much better than those at Smallwood Lane: NE4, SE3, SW2, NW3.
Berryville -- Main Street. Backtrack to US-340, turn right, and then take another right onto Main Street/VA-7Business. The area of the crossing is quite interesting, with some old mill-like buildings that can be used as photo props. On the north side of Main Street is a double mast signal and double track northbound begins immediately south of Main. The pole line is on the north side of the tracks here, and are a problem from the northwest quad, but don't interfere to the north. Photo ratings are NE1, SE1, SW4, NW3. The view from the southeast to the north is excellent, but is obviously ruined if there are cars on the siding.
This spot is probably the most interesting location for a real photographer; it has great potential. The Berryville station sign is just to the southwest, at MP 40.0.
Berryville -- Boom Road. Immediately west of the tracks at Main Street, take a right onto Boom Road. This will quickly leave town, go under the VA-7 bypass, and deposit you in some beautiful Virginia countryside. At the crossing, the road to the east/south of the tracks becomes a private road, so this is a very quiet place to watch the action. Photos fields aren't great, at NE2, SE2, SW3, NW2, but the bucolic, quiet charm of this location makes it one at which you just sit and relax and let the big dogs come to you.
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West Virginia
Rippon -- Lewiston Road. To continue the tour, you must drive back to Main Street in Berryville. There is an overpass of the tracks on the VA-7 bypass, but that road is a limited access expressway, so it's NAG/NARL. Once back in town, take a right onto Main Street and drive out to US-340. Take a right and you'll soon see the Welcome to West Virginia sign. Just before the state line, there is an overpass of the tracks on US-340, but it's also NAG/NARL. As you approach the community of Rippon, look for Lewiston Road on the left. Note that MapQuest shows this as Darke Lane.
The crossing is decent for pix: NE3, SE2, SW1, NW2.
Rippon -- Withers Larue Road. Go back to US-340 and take a left. As you come into the crossroads of Rippon, take a left onto Long Street, and then a left onto Withers Larue Road. This will take you to a crossing. The railroad is almost dead north-south here, so take these photo ratings with a grain of salt, as you'll fight the sun all day for northbounds: NE3, SE3, SW1, NW1, and you should avoid trespassing on the northeast quad.
The crossing here is "Rippon," and the mile point is 33.7
Wheatland. Reverse direction and go back into Rippon, but don't take Long Road, as Withers Larue Road will take you back to US-340. Take a left on the latter, and look for the crossroads with Wheatland Road. You can search MapQuest and find Wheatland, but DeLorme doesn't have it indicated. Take the left and drive to the crossing, which is so-so: NE3, SE3, SW2, NW2.
Charles Town -- Cold Storage. As we enter the Charles Town area, keep in mind that Ranson and Charles Town each have populations of about 3,200, and it is impossible for the non-native to know where one town begins and the other ends. Therefore, I'll refer to all locations in the area as being in Charles Town. If any Ransonites want to send me corrections, I'll be glad to consider them.
From the Wheatland crossing, go back to US-340, turn left, and head towards Charles Town. As you enter it, US-340 becomes a freeway and heads well to the east (Harpers Ferry), and we bid adieu to this road that has been our route from Waynesboro north. Look for Augustine Avenue to the left and take it. Huyette Road will immediately peel off to the left, and will lead to a crossing, but it's NAG/NARL. Augustine is US-340Business thru Charles Town. Go all the way up to a strange curve to the left, and the street is now South West Street. After two blocks, turn left onto West Washington Street, which will become Summit Point Pike as it leaves town towards the southwest.
Cross the tracks and continue on. We'll come back to this crossing later. Look for Cold Storage Road on your left and take it. This complex in front of you is for the cold storage of apples. If the apples are coming in, this place can be a madhouse, so avoid it. Most of the year, however, it's very quiet. Try to find someone in the office to get permission to drive all the way around the buildings and stacked bins to the rear of the complex, and head towards the farm fields and a crossing. East of the crossing the road becomes a private farm road, so don't expect much traffic here.
There is a dragging equipment defect detector ("Bryd", MP 29.5) immediately south of the crossing. The pole line is east of the crossing, and hurts the photo ops somewhat: NE3, SE3, SW2, NW1. Afternoon southbounds are in excellent light. This is a quiet, enjoyable location, but do get permission before venturing around the facility.
Charles Town -- Summit Point Pike. As mentioned, we now come back to the crossing on Summit Point Pike. Drive north and out of the cold storage facility, take a right onto Summit Point Pike, and approach the crossing. Parking is quite difficult. The shot here is to the northeast across the field, for afternoon southbounds.
The large brick ex-N&W station was on the east side of the tracks, midway between Summit Pike and Middleway Pike (our next stop). It was demolished in August, 2012.
Charles Town -- Middleway Pike. Continue east on Summit Point Pike, until you reach a fairly nasty intersection. You've got to turn left (about 135º) up a small hill, and there is a strong flow of traffic opposing you. Be stout! Middleway Pike between this intersection and the tracks is now called Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard. The name is probably longer than the street, which becomes Middleway Pike after the crossing.
The crossing itself is nothing to write home about: NE4, SE3, SW1, NW3, but the view to the southwest is really very nice. You can see the station just to the south, but it's too far for pix, and there is no public access. Signals are visible to the northeast, about 150 yards up the tracks. Be aware that Middleway Pike is extremely busy, so be careful. Of possible interest is a building proclaiming itself to be the Charles Town station, but I don't know what it is. It's private, but definitely seems to never have been a true railroad station.If you know anything about it, please let me know.
Charles Town -- Cranes Lane. Go back to downtown via MLK/Washington Street. Maps show a crossing via Water Street, but the street itself is not a public road beyond Eagle Avenue, so there is no public access. That's a shame, because it blocks access to the crossing with the CSX secondary line coming southwest from Harpers Ferry. [Webmaster's Note: Interestingly, DeLorme's Atlas faithfully shows this line to be the "Baltimore and Ohio".] At North George/Old WV-9, the main north-south road thru the town, take a left. This street will become Fairfax and then Mildred -- follow it as it wends its way thru town. At Cranes Lane, which is the equivalent of 12th Street, take a left and drive one block to the crossing.
Photo ops are NE2, SE3, SW2, NW1.
Charles Town -- Mildred Street. Head back to Mildred Street and take a left. In two blocks, the road rises and crosses the tracks AG. While only a stone's throw from the last crossing, this one couldn't be more different. The fact that the street has to rise to cross the tracks makes sight lines difficult. However, the city fathers have built we railfans a very nice sidewalk with a set of stairs on the east side of the tracks. Also, Railroad Avenue swings away from Mildred and follows the tracks to the northeast, yielding excellent viewing.
Photo ratings should be taken with a grain of salt, as a good photographer can have opportunities here that "picture takers" might miss: NE2, SE1 (along Railroad Avenue), SW3 (clunky/junky), NW4. The 27.0 milepost is immediately southwest of the crossing.
Charles Town -- Universal Forest Products Road. Just a short distance north of the crossing at Mildred Street, you'll come to a significant intersection with Leetown Pike on the left and Universal Forest Products Road on the right. The latter is incorrectly referred to as Leetown Road on MapQuest. The crossing on UPF Road is a point to get to if you need to get trackside in a hurry, but the industrial traffic on the road makes it undesireable for more than a snatch and grab. Photo ratings are: NE2, SE2, SW3, NW4.
Shenandoah Junction -- Tony's Take. North of Universal Forest Products Road, Mildred street will end at the new WV-9/119. Take a left to continue north. At Shenandoah Junction Road, take a right and drive to the vicinity of the crossing. The text in this paragraph will deal with this crossing only. The day I did my on-the-ground research (June of 2008), there were MoW railroad cars, trucks and equipment all over the place, and viewing (not to put too fine a point on it) was absolutely lousy, with the exception of the view south from the southwest quad, and you'll have to take pix from the road, as you'll trespass if you try to take them from south of the road. The road, incidentally, is quite busy.
And now, for a completely different take on this location...
...Frograil welcomes Jack Toomey, who provides the narrative of the tour from this crossing north to Town tower in north Hagerstown, Maryland. From here north, this tour is Jack's.
Shenandoah Junction -- Jack's Take. Note that there is a passing siding to the right and three storage tracks to the left, which are remnants of when the Baltimore and Ohio and the Norfolk and Western used to exchange cars. Occasionally, Norfolk Southern will park camp cars and assorted rolling stock here, but usually the tracks are vacant.
Therefore, after crossing the tracks from the west, take a left onto 1st Street and park. Consider this site for southbounds in the morning. Although the right-of-way is narrow there is usually good lighting here. Southbound trains will call the 20.3 mile post, and you'll then have about three minutes to get set. In the afternoon and evening this location is pretty good for northbounds. There are two old N&W signals on either side of Shenandoah Junction Road.
Shenandoah Junction -- The Grassy Knoll. Continue north on 1st Street, which is a gravel road and is the main street in Shenandoah Junction. As you turn left again across the old exchange tracks you will see the old wye on the right. Go about two hundred feet and you will notice two commercial buildings on the right side of the street which is listed as Frances Daniels Road on maps but is merely an extension of 1st Street. On either side of the first commercial building there are driveways that lead to a sloping hillside that overlooks the CSX mainline, and to the west is the NS bridge that crosses the CSX. On any given day there might be one, five, or sometimes even ten carloads of railfans parked on this hillside. The owners of the property allow enthusiasts to park here.
At the bottom of the hillside are the foundations of the old Shenandoah Junction passenger station. NS has made this location off limits and crews will report trespassers. NS won't even allow people to walk across the abandoned property and old wye. You have to use the street by the post office. CSX on the other hand is pretty lenient. You may still park and watch on the hill west of the driveway as long as you don't block Powder Coating garage doors.
There is an old country store on 1st Street in Shenandoah Junction, which closed in 2014. No other life support facilities are available in the village.
Thanks to kkarleham for the updates to the location, especially the heads up about trespassing enforcement (added 1/10/15).
Shenandoah Junction -- Luther Jones Road. Another place to photograph NS trains is at the Luther Jones Road crossing. Leave the hillside, make a right after you leave the driveway, turn right at Ridge Road, cross the CSX tracks,go one mile, turn right on Luther Jones Road and proceed to the grade crossing. This is a southbound location until later in the afternoon.
After leaving Shenandoah Junction the next real railfan site is Shepherdstown, WV. However, there are three locations on the way where passable photos can be taken. If you're a combat railfan, you won't want to miss them.
Shenandoah Junction -- Whitmer Road. After traveling a mile north on Ridge Road, Whitmer Road runs to the right. Take this road for a few hundred yards. There is a gentleman with a well-tended yard and a white board fence at this crossing and southbounds can be photographed with the fence as a prop. Northbounds come through a tree tunnel.
Morgan Grove -- Gardners Lane. Less than a half mile north of Whitmer Road (via Ridge Road) is the Gardners Lane grade crossing. Train crews call this location the Junkyard since there is an automobile scrap yard on the east side of the tracks. Southbound photography is so-so and northbounds come through the same tree tunnel.
Morgan Grove -- Park. Go another mile north on Ridge Road to the intersection with WV-480. Take a right and in just a few hundred yards there will be a stop light. This is Morgan Grove Road. Turn right, go less than two hundred yards to a parking lot for Morgan Grove Park. Southbounds will approach on a sharp curve and photography is nearly impossible. Northbounds pass a N&W signal and there is also a passing siding here. This location is called “Morgan” on the railroad. There are portable bathrooms in the park.
Shepherdstown -- Washington Street.After leaving Morgan Grove turn right on WV-480 and in less than a mile you will enter the historic town of Shepherdstown. It is the home of Shepherd University, at least two historic cemeteries (whose residents date from the Revolutionary War), shops, bookstores, and some of the best locations for photography on the Hagerstown Line. The Potomac River also is located here and is the boundary between West Virginia and Maryland. There are several gas stations, carryouts, and restaurants in Shepherdstown so comfort is not a problem here.
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: In Shepherdstown you get a pedestrian double whammy: It's a college town and a popular tourist attraction. Both students and tourists are more or less oblivious to everything except their own little worlds. They are not at all concerned about the fact that your vehicle represents a threat to their well being. There are many marked crosswalks and it would be advisable to always yield the right of way.]
Turn right on Washington Street, go just a few blocks east, and just before crossing the railroad tracks, turn right into a large gravel parking lot. Both north- and southbound trains can be photographed from here. It is also the location of a passing siding and there is a N&W-era signal here. Southbounds are announced by the detector at MP 14.4 ("Antietam") which is just on the other side of the Potomac River. Northbounds can easily be heard at 20.3 and Morgan.
Shepardstown -- Rumsey Memorial Park. If you check your maps and aerials, you'll note AG crossings at German and High streets northeast of the Washington Street location. They are both NARL, however, so after leaving the gravel lot described earlier turn left out of the parking lot, go one block, turn right on Princess Street, go four blocks and turn right on German Street. Go two blocks to Mill Street and turn left. Take Mill Street to the dead end and you will enter Rumsey Memorial Park. There is a small parking lot here with room for several cars.
The Rumsey Memorial, which is dedicated to the inventor of the steamboat, is located here. You will notice that there are steps leading to the top level of the monument, and upon climbing the stairs you will have a spectacular view of the former N&W Potomac River Bridge and the Potomac River. In the morning the sun will be to your right but photos are usually ok. By noon or so the sun begins to swing around and in the summer it will be behind you. Southbounds can be anticipated by trains calling the 8.5, 11.5, and 14.3 mileposts. When the 14.4 detector goes off you better be up on that monument because the train will be less than two miles away.
While waiting for trains you might notice a large estate across the river which was the home of Henry Kyd Douglas who was the military aide to Stonewall Jackson during the Civil War. It is now the headquarters of the National Park Service’s C&O Canal Park.
Shepherdstown -- WV-480/MD-34 Bridge. After leaving Rumsey Park you might consider photography from the WV-480/MD-34 bridge which crosses the river into Maryland. To get there go back up Mill Street, turn right, go four blocks through the campus of Shepherd University, and turn right on WV-480. Note: There are almost always pedestrians and students walking on the streets of Shepherdstown. There are marked crosswalks all over the place and failing to yield the right-of-way is strictly enforced by the University police. After turning right onto WV-480 you will be going downhill. There is a marked crosswalk that leads from the dormitories to the classroom buildings at the university. It is absolutely necessary to travel 25 mph through this area because the police often are stationed here and students always have the right-of-way. After you pass this crosswalk the stadium will be on the right side of the road. Just beyond the stadium is a small parking lot on the south side of the highway bridge.
Pull into the parking lot and walk out onto the sidewalk of the MD-34 highway bridge and consider the mighty Potomac and the railroad bridge which is about four hundred yards downstream. While photography can be great here, the sun, during many months of the year, is at a 2 o’clock position in the morning which makes cloudy days more desirable for photos from this bridge. Later in the day the sun swings around, and in the summer it will be at your back late in the day. Unlike the Rumsey Memorial shot this bridge is equally good for both north- and southbound trains.
Maryland
Antietam. Leave Shepherdstown via the Potomac River Bridge on MD-34 and enter Maryland. Go two miles and you will pass underneath an old N&W overpass and almost immediately the railroad will be on your left. There is a farm crossing just south of the Antietam signal, at MP 14.3, and some like to sit here in the shade to await trains. Northbound trains can be photographed from a small hill on the east side of the tracks with a red barn in the background. Southbounds come at you on a straight-away of about a half mile with the 14.3 signal as a prop.
Antietam -- Station Area. Continue north on MD-34 just a few hundred yards to the historic Antietam Station. The station is no longer in use and is being restored for use as a possible museum. There is a cinder lot to park on and you might notice that there is a concrete structure immediately across the track. This is the base of a monument that was constructed in 1880. It was called the “Cannonball Monument" and it was made of cannons with cannonballs perched on top. It remained standing until 1959 when it was dismantled and moved to the battlefield at Antietam. The inscription, “Battle of Antietam Fought Near Here, September 17, 1862” is still visible on the concrete base of the old monument. Legend has it that passenger trains used to stop here carrying veterans of the Civil War battle that was fought at nearby Sharpsburg, and the veterans would be taken into town by horse drawn carriages and later by automobiles.
This is a very good location to photograph southbound trains, as they are well lit almost all morning. Northbounds are ok on winter mornings. On the west side of the tracks there is a large farm with a red house which can be very nice to get into your photos. There is also an old siding here that is hardly ever used. The town of Sharpsburg, in addition to hosting the battlefield and the National Cemetery where soldiers are buried, has carryouts, a few gas stations, and comfort facilities.
Grimes -- Bakersville Road. Head further northeast on MD-34 and head into Sharpsburg. A review of maps will show that there is a crossing northwest of town via Mechanicsville/Mondell Road. The countryside in that area is fairly convoluted, and the road and railroad are rarely on the same level, and even if this were not the case, everything is so treed in that we consider it to be NARL. Similarly, if you continued north on Montell, beyond the crossing, there is another crossing heading into the battlefield park, but it is via an ugly underpass and is NAG/NARL. Therefore, turn left onto Church Street/MD-65 in Sharpsburg.This will become Sharpsburg Pike as you leave town to the north.
If you do your map work, you'll see a crossing on Snyder Landing Road to the west. It's NAG/NARL, however, so don't waste gas going over there. Further along MD-65 to the north is Taylors Landing Road, but the crossing is also NAG/NARL, so save some more gas and continue north. When you get to Bakersville Road on the left (it's Keedysville Road on the right), take a left. You will come to Tommytown Road on the left, and there is an AG crossing on Tommytown, but the sun, a pole line, and a fairly sharp curve conspire against you, so we consider it NARL. Beyond Tommytown Road, you'll come to an AG crossing.
The photography here is OK, but not great; however, it definitely is a railfan location, unlike the other crossings between Antietam Station and Bakersville.
Spielman -- Jordan Road. Continue northwest on Bakersville Road until you get to MD-63/Spielman Road. Take a right to head east, and you'll come to Jordan Road on the left. Take the left and you will shortly come to an AG crossing. The crossing itself is AG/NARL, but a farmers crossing about two hundred feet away on a slight rise will give you a shot where you can get the farm in the background.
This is a very nice location for the several morning trains that leave Hagerstown. This is about MP 7.0 and trains that leave Vardo Yard always ask the dispatcher for permission to leave so you will have a few minutes to get ready.
St James -- Lappans Road/MD-68. From the Jordan Road crossing, cross the tracks heading west and follow the street at it goes around a 90º turn to the north and ends at Lappans Road/MD-68. Take a right to the crossing.This location is called St. James and is a fair location for morning southbounds. There is a short siding here and an old N&W station on the west side of the tracks.
Hagerstown -- Rench Road.Turn around and go back to MD-65. Turn left, and go another mile to Rench Road and turn left. In less than a mile you will be at another grade crossing which is only about a mile from Vardo Yard. You could probably stay here all day and follow the sun as it shifts around. Southbounds are fine in the morning and then you could move across the tracks where a wide field will give a photographer a chance to shoot a train from that vantage point. Both south- and northbounds are pretty good from this location during the afternoon.
Hagerstown -- South End Vardo Yard. Hagerstown's Vardo Yard is the mid-point between Harrisburg, PA, and the B-Line at Front Royal, VA. There is very little activity here besides the changing of crews and the comings and goings of thru trains.
To see the south throat of Vardo yard, which isn’t anything to write home about, continue west on Rench Road to Downsville Pike, also marked as MD-632, and turn right. Continue about a mile to Oak Drive, turn left, and go to the bottom of the hill and there will be a small parking area at the south end of the yard. DO NOT venture past the guardrail because it is posted, and NS employees are very vigilant and will drive down to find out what you are doing there. Southbound trains will run right past you at this location.
Hagerstown -- Background. Once an important east coast industrial city and a busy railroad hub, Hagerstown has now fallen on hard times, at least as far as railroading is concerned. While CSX and Norfolk Southern maintain a presence here, the level of local railroad activity has fallen off dramatically in the last twenty years. The CSX and NS lines snake through the city but you are probably wasting your time trying to photograph anything in the city because of the lack of access to the right-of-way. It is worthwhile, however, to mention what happens within the downtown area of the city.
Historically, the Western Maryland Railway entered from the northeast and east, had a large yard west of downtown, and exited to the southwest. The Pennsylvania Railroad came down from Harrisburg and mostly terminated in a yard southwest of the city, although there was a minor line extending to Winchester, VA. The Norfolk & Western came up from the south, and had a yard south of the city. The Baltimore & Ohio had a rather minor line coming up from the southeast, and it terminated in a small yard just east of downtown. As you can imagine, Hagerstown must have been one smokey city back in the steam era!
If you don't believe us look at this [NOTE: Put the URL together with no spaces]:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=HAGERSTOWN&state=MD#a/maps/l::: Hagerstown:MD::US:39.641701:-77.720299:city:Washington+County/m:hyb:12: 39.637023:-77.738217:0::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e
That big roundhouse was that of the PRR, and remember that for the Pennsy, this was a minor spot on their route map!
Today, CSX still operates the ex-WM lines, and the Winchester & Western operates the ex-PRR line to Winchester. The ex-PRR main from Harrisburg, and the ex-N&W line coming up from Front Royal have been stitched together as part of the Norfolk Southern system, and that's the line we're following on this tour. The ex-WM yard west of town is still in existence, as is the ex-N&W yard to the south. The ex-PRR yard, for all intents and purposes, is gone, as is the ex-B&O yard. An aerial view of the ex-PRR yard in September 2008 showed a few cars in the vicinity of the west leg of the wye, but there is clearly no yard, per se.
Today, NS goes north out of Vardo Yard to railroad point "HAGER", MP 0.6, where it bends to the right on what used to be PRR trackage. It meets the CSX northeast - southwest line, and they run parallel, elevated, thru downtown Hagerstown. The Hagerstown ex-WM station is probably MP 0.0 on the Hagerstown District. Beyond the cement plant described below, the line curves to the northwest at "TOWN" interlocking, and heads on towards Harrisburg.
Hagerstown -- Town Interlocking. After leaving the south end of Vardo Yard go back to MD-632 and turn left. Continue over the tracks and shortly you will see the yard on the left. There are several No Trespassing signs prominently displayed so don’t drive down into the parking lot even for a quick photo. Continue on MD-632 for about a mile to Wilson Boulevard. Turn left and in about a mile Wilson will become Burhans Boulevard/US-11. Go another mile and you will see that Burhans bears sharply to the right, continue on, and very soon you will encounter the CSX yard and some Western Maryland Railway artifacts parked nearby. There is a Western Maryland museum here that is open on the weekends. The CSX yard is almost devoid of activity and no one seems to care if you park in their lot so a few shots of idling power is about all you are going to get here.
After leaving this location turn right out of the parking lot, go under the CSX tracks, go another mile on Burhans/US-11 and you will see a concrete plant on the right side of the road. If you pull off into their parking lot you will see Town Tower which once controlled the movements of trains here. The NS Lurgan subdivision starts here and the CSX Hanover subdivision disappears to the east. Northbound NS trains will creep up to this location and a nice shot with some church spires and abandoned industrial buildings in the background can be had here.
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Unfortunately, this ends our tour, and I await a volunteer to continue the tour north to Harrisburg. If you'd like to contribute corrects or additions to this tour, or if you'd like to submit an entirely different tour, please contact me here and we'll work out the details.