Trip to Thurmond, West Virginia

[milepost426]

Thanks Kevin, that was fantastic. My pulse is still a litte high! This would be a must see area if I ever go that direction for a vacation.

Doug

[chatanuga]

I took that road in the third video link, which is the full drive from I-77 to Thurmond.  It goes up the hill to the north, does a 180, goes up the hill to the south along the tracks, does another 180, and then continues up the hill to several houses before heading back downhill on the north side of Thurmond, doing a 180 and dropping back into downtown Thurmond.  It then goes up a hill to rejoin the road at the first 180 after the crossing.  I was a little nervous up on the hill with my new Jeep since at some points there is the hill on one side of the road and a dropoff on the other with just enough room for one vehicle.  If you watch the video, you'll see that while narrow, the roads leading to Thurmond aren't as narrow as that.  Just obey the speed limit and keep an eye on the road as there are a lot of twists, turns, etc. that make for a fun drive.  :)

Kevin

[milepost426]

Kevin, yes that is a great article in the Trains Mag, and your vidio of the area was great. where does that road going steeply uphill  across the tracks go to? and are they that narrow everywhere in that area.

 

Doug

[chatanuga]

Back in the October 2008 issue of Trains, Scott Lothes wrote the article "A place worth waiting" on Thurmond, West Virginia.  Last year, I'd rediscovered the article and made the 5 1/2 hour drive down there.  Between the scenery, the history of the town, and (of course) the trains, it was an awesome trip.

This past Wednesday, I decided to head down there again to see the fall colors on the trees.  Unfortunately, the leaves hadn't changed as much as they have here in central Ohio due to the warmer temperatures down that way.  But it was still a beautiful trip and a fun drive in my new 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.

The first two videos are of the drive down from just north of the Ohio River to Hurricane, WV, where I stopped for gas, and then from there to the rest area on I-77.

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From I-77, I then headed east into Thurmond and explored the very narrow road around town.  Note the stopped CSX intermodal train when I arrived.

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After parking at the station, I waited to see if the intermodal was going to continue north.  A coal train came off the RJ Corman branch and stopped at the station as well.  After a southbound tanker train passed (3-train meet!), the intermodal continued north, and the coal train headed into the siding north of Thurmond.  Later in the day, the power from the coal train was run around to the south end of the train and parked for CSX to take south.  Not long before the Cardinal was due, another northbound intermodal rolled through.  Running about 34 minutes late, Amtrak's Cardinal then came through with two private cars on the rear.

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While Thurmond may not have the train volume like Fostoria or Marion here in Ohio, it's a definite favorite spot of mine to visit since between the trains there is so much scenic beauty and history to take in.

Kevin