Curious what if anything is left of the Virginian railroad. With the demise of coal for power plants it must be a shell of what it was. Anybody have any knowlege?
I am not from that region but, after 60 some years of being part of the Norfolk and Western, one would think, not very much. Maybe some old building foundations or bridge piers or grades. These are things that usually aren't worth the trouble of removal. Area museums may have small artifacts, and maybe there is something at Roanoke. I believe two of the E-33 electrics survived, one in Roanoke and one that was sold to the New Haven is at the Illinois Railroad Museum.
I recommend getting a map of the Virginian, and then tracing the route(s) using Google Maps satellite view. You can also go from there to street view, if there's a street.
I did this for the UP mainline from Ogden over to Wyoming, and learned a lot.
Ed
Another place to look for some "before" photos is the Library Of Congress digital collection. Using various search words you can find some FSA/OWI photos that might be of interest, then as Ed suggests, try to find the same location using a satelite view.
Welch, West Virginia:
VGN_Welch-WV by Edmund, on Flickr
Welch_today by Edmund, on Flickr
What a neat railroad to model!
VGN_Welch-WV-FSA by Edmund, on Flickr
Look at that trackwork and ballast profile!
Regards, Ed
Notice the overhead wires--that's an electric railroad right there.
In the lower photo, it looks like a small high school in the middle, with some kids out playing ball. And then there's the depot over to the left, and some houses on the hill that look a bit "low cost".
Certainly a railroad of interest!
Virginian had massive steam engines including a 2-10-10-2 that the front cylinders were 48" in diameter. When delivered the front cylinders were not on the engines due to clearance on other railroads. They had el-3 side rod electric enginesthat ran as a trio of engines and the el33s that went to New Haven and then Conrail. When dieselized they bought 100% FM trainmasters and some smaller fm diesels. Most runs went from the coalfields to a port for loading coal on ships.. it is an excellent rr to model. Passenger trains were all coach as there were no overnight trains.
This appears to be a post-delivery picture of one of the 2-10-10-2's:
With the cylinders installed:
And here's one of the "honorary steam engines":
A couple of Trainmasters ready to do some work:
And, of course:
NOW do you see why Virginian is interesting?
7j43kAnd here's one of the "honorary steam engines":
I have a pair of former Virginian EL-C motors, by Bachmann, that are my "stand-ins" until, if ever, a decent model of the PRR E-44 becomes available:
P-C_4615_E33 by Edmund, on Flickr
Built in August of 1955 these heavy electrics lasted into the Conrail era:
CR 4610 8-16-78 by Leon Kay, on Flickr
From what I gather, the trucks were interchangable with those of the Trainmasters so a spare could be swapped for rebuilding when necessary.
Good Luck, Ed
I can remember as a kid of 12 or 13, taking the train to New Haven on a Sunday. I walked over to the shops (there was nobody around) and just started exploring. The NH had recently bought the E33's and one was in the paint shop, I can remember another still in Virginian paint outside. I may have climbed up onto it, can't remember. Never got to run these, they were used "on the Pennsylvania side" of the Hudson and I worked the New Haven/NYC side.
Back in the early '60's the old Railroad magazine had an article about the Virginian electrification. I recall the title as being something like "Before the Wires Came Down". I've searched for it online but can't find it. Anyone familiar with that?
many years ago Alco models did an E44 in brass. I have one. Three pole.motor but excellent details. You might look for one of those.
H Reid's book is a classic
The Virginian Railway by H Reid | eBay
Reid is the person who said the EL-C rectifier motors "looked like misshapen bricks"
And I have copies of Volumes 1 and 2
Book: Equipment of the Virginian Railway Vol 1 Steam Locomotives | eBay
Virginian Railway Volume 2, Diesel-Electric Locomotives Railroad Book | eBay
And
VIRGINIAN RAILWAY in Color VIRGINIA to rugged terrain of WEST VIRGINIA, NEW BOOK | eBay
And the VGN had its famous "battleship gons" - 6 axle, 120 tons
14978219db026934c9d9575872e32341--gondola-battleship.jpg (736×332) (pinimg.com)
BTW, the VGN dieselized with FM H-24-66's west of Roanoke and H-16-44's east. There was a solitary GE 45 tonner on some isolated trackage in Norfolk
And they had the IMMENSE two unit EL-2b streamliners
25690ec68343b8d9310ec3376a65b1d2--roanoke-electric.jpg (736×410) (pinimg.com)
I remember an Alco ad, saying the VGN had the most powerful steam locomotives in the world (2-10-10-2's) and the most powerful locomotives in the world (EL-3's) - both built by Alco
virginian railway - Bing images
Westinghouse provided the electrics, Alco built the frame, running gear and carbody. This was unusual, Westinghouse usually partnered with Baldwin and Alco with GE