Image of the C&O for Progress monogram Image of the C&O for Progress monogram A graphic image of the words C&O Piedmont Subdivision

Operations on the Piedmont Sub


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General

As noted on the introductory page to this site, the Piedmont was primarily a passenger line after the acquisition of the James River line in the early 1900’s. Much of this traffic originated in Washington and, thus, crossed only the section of the Piedmont between Gordonsville and Charlottesville. Automatic train controls were installed between Gordonsville and Clifton Forge around 1909. By 1926, an automatic train control signal system was in operation from Orange to Clifton Forge. CTC was added to this system in the 1940’s allowing the line to handle up to 50 trains a day.

Between Richmond and Gordonsville, the Piedmont Sub was single track Automatic Block Territory, with block control of traffic beginning at least early in the 1900’s. I have a couple of loose pages from the Railroad Gazette that contain a report titled “Block Signaling on Lines of Light Traffic.” The pages are in pretty tough shape and I don’t know the exact date of the issue, but a portion of the Greenbriar sub timetable was included and it had an effective date of November 13, 1904. The first example used in the article is the C&O line from Richmond to Gordonsville. Operations were primarily governed according to the timetable and the rules of superiority with the block system added to those. According to the article, each block station had a single signal located opposite the telegraph office (the station ticket office). The table below lists the block stations.

Callsign Station Name Miles1 Callsign Station Name Miles1
AR (D.N.) AR cabin 0.0 BD (D.N.) Beaver Dam 38.7
AB Atlee 8.5 FH Frederick Hall 48.9
HA Hanover 17.0 SV Mineral 55.0
HN (D.N.) Doswell 26.1 CU Louisa 60.8
X Hewlett2 34.0 G (D.N.) Gordonsville 74.7

Table 1. Block stations between Richmond and Gordonsville.
     Table notes:
     1 - Miles from Richmond
     2 - The distance from Richmond makes this Hewlett, but a copy of the July 1, 1921 Employee Timetable lists Hewlett’s callsign as RU.
     At night, only stations marked D.N. are open.

At the time of the article, there were 12 regular trains scheduled between Richmond and Gordonsville each day. Two of those were first class passenger trains and two were second class passenger trains. There were also two third class trains in each direction. According to the article, there were rarely extras run.

Freight Operations

As a primarily passenger line, the Piedmont Sub didn’t generate much freight traffic. Throughout its history, however, a variety of products were shipped and received by customers along the Piedmont Sub. Over the years inbound freight included coal, fertilizer (especially to the two firms in Ellerson), oil (Gordonsville, Louisa, and Mineral), LPG (Melton and Keswick), and lumber and other building supplies. Major outbound traffic, at least since the 1960’s, has included pulpwood, wood chips, crushed stone, vermiculite, and newsprint.

Scheduled Freight Trains: March 1964

According to the March, 1964 Fast Freight Schedules, there were six scheduled freight trains on the Piedmont Sub.

Number Runs Between Departs Arrives
794 Charlottesville to Richmond 2:00 am 6:30 am
795 Richmond to Charlottesville 11:00 pm Monday1 3:45 am Tuesday
892 Charlottesille to Potomac Yard 9:00 am 12:30 pm
893 Potomac Yard to Charlottesville 12:30 pm 4:00 pm
894 Charlottesille to Potomac Yard 8:30 pm Monday1 12:30 am Tuesday
895 Potomac Yard to Charlottesville 10:30 pm Monday1 2:30 am Tuesday

Table 2. Scheduled Freight Trains in March of 1964
     Table notes:
     1 - Days listed are for illustrative purposes. All trains ran daily.

There were no trains directly between Richmond and Potomac Yard. Cars from Potomac Yard bound for Richmond were put on either 893 or 895 and were dropped in Lindsay for pickup and delivery by 794. Cars from Richmond to Potomac Yard were put on 795 and dropped in Lindsay where they were picked up and delivered by 892. These were, for the most part, through trains and they handled general merchandise and some piggyback business.

Scheduled Freight Trains: December 15, 1965

I also have in my records a printout of a 2006 email thread which listed the following freight trains scheduled on the Piedmont Sub as of late 1965.

Number Runs Between Departs Arrives
794 Charlottesville to Richmond 2:00 am 6:30 am
795 Richmond to Charlottesville 11:00 pm Monday1 3:45 am Tuesday
892 Charlottesille to Potomac Yard 9:00 am 12:30 pm
893 Potomac Yard to Charlottesville 12:30 pm 4:00 pm
894 Charlottesille to Potomac Yard 8:30 pm Monday1 12:30 am Tuesday
895 Potomac Yard to Charlottesville 10:30 pm Monday1 2:30 am Tuesday
790 Charlottesille to Richmond 7:45 am 10:55 am
791 Richmond to Charlottesville 10:30 pm Monday1 2:30 am Tuesday

Table 3. Scheduled Freight Trains in December of 1965
     Table notes:
     1 - Days listed are for illustrative purposes. All trains ran daily.

The only difference between this schedule and the 1964 one was that it lists trains 790 and 791 as routed over the Piedmont. Train 790 was known as the Expediter and train 791 as the Speedwest. They ran between Newport News and Chicago. Both were routed back over the James River line in the mid-1970’s.

Scheduled Freight Trains: Late 1970’s, Early 1980’s

I also have in my files a document (or part of a document) that gives general information about the Piedmont and Washington Subdivisions, including scheduled freight trains. It looks as if it was prepared in conjunction with some railfan event or historical society meeting; three of the six pages list places where photographs of trains could be taken along with an evaluation of how accessible they were. The document isn’t dated, but mentions Bear Island Paper, so it would have to be after that facility was constructed in 1978. Further, the document only covers trains between Richmond and Charlottesville and makes no mention of the Potomac Yard trains.

Train Runs Between Notes
794 Charlottesville to Richmond Called at around 9:00 am. Usually left within an hour. Arrived in Doswell mid-afternoon and Richmond in the late afternoon. Handled switching in several places including Gordonsville, Verdon, and Doswell.
795 Richmond to Charlottesville Typically left Richmond around 3:00 am and arrived in Charlottesville around 9:00. It also handled some switching along the way.
Charlottesville-Beaver Dam Turn Charlottesille and return Typically left Charlottesville about an hour after 794. Performed local work from Charlottesville to Orange. It then returned to Gordonsville and worked eastward to Beaver Dam or Verdon before running back to Charlottesville.
Richmond-Beaver Dam Turn Richmond and return This train was typically called out of Richmond at 6:00 am. It arrived in Doswell around 9:00 and picked up interchange cars there. The train did not often go as far as Beaver Dam. Most of its time was spent working the Richfood warehouse near Ellerson.

By the early 1980’s, local traffic had dropped off almost to nothing. In 1984, however, the C&O began running the Virginia Rock Runner, a unit train between the quarry in Verdon and several sites in Tidewater Virginia. In the late 1980's CSX reinstated locals from Charlottesville to near Doswell (the Charlottesville Local) and from Richmond to near Doswell (the Beaverdam Turn). As needed, those trains exchanged cars at Doswell, Verdon, Noel or Beaverdam. In the early 1990’s many of the remaining active sidings (e.g., the lumber yards in Trevilian and Bibb) were removed or taken out of service. This left only the Bear Island paper mill, the quarry in Verdon, the sand loader in Beaver Dam, the vermiculite loader in Louisa, the pulpwood yard in Gordonsville, the Klöckner Pentaplast plastics plant, and the LPG plant in Keswick receiving regular service. Occasional increases in freight traffic occurred, however, when flooding or other disruptions caused the diversion of trains from the James River line over the Piedmont and Mountain Subs. Still, during this time, CSX considered abandoning the Mountain Sub which would, I believe, have led to the eventual abandonment of the Piedmont.

In 2004, CSX leased the former C&O lines from Richmond to Clifton Forge to the Buckingham Branch Railroad. Currently, the Buckingham Branch runs the local service on the Piedmont Sub. Five days a week the BBRR runs turns between Staunton and Gordonsville, Doswell and Richmond, and Doswell and Gordonsville. CSX also runs westbound empties over the line.

A C&O local, led by GP9 5981, rounds the wye at Gordonsville sometime in 1967. Following C&O practice for locals, there was a caboose on both ends of the train, even though there are only two cars between them. It was a desire to model trains in Gordonsville that led me to model the Piedmont Sub. (Photographer Norman Blackwood. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
C&O caboose 903112 crosses the diamond in Doswell on the rear of what I’m guessing is a train of empty hoppers. Sam Bone caught the action on July 13, 1984. (Photographer Sam Bone. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
SD50 8574 leads an ore train from Potomac Yard through Gordonsville on August 19, 1984. (Photographer Mark Demaline. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
[NEW] Though the traffic generated on the Piedmont Sub may have been somewhat limited, almost any type of car could be seen in the through trains. For instance, in this February 7, 1987 shot, we see a P&LE coil car passing through Louisa. (Sam Bone photograph. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
A CSX local passes the Mineral depot on December 29, 1995. CSX 6459 is a GP40-2 and is (I believe) paired with road slug 2308 (a former GP-30) in this photo. (Photographer Wade Massie. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
These June, 2010 photos show some of the current operations on the Piedmont Sub. In the top photo a Buckingham Branch local passes the former C&O freighthouse in Gordonsville. The bottom photo shows a CSX train of empty coal hoppers at the same location.

Passenger Operations

At its height, the Piedmont Sub had 44 stations between Richmond and Charlottesville and, as shown in the 1925 timetable (right, click the link for a larger view), the C&O had 10 trains — including the Fast Flying Virginian — running in each direction every day to service those stations. Among these were morning and evening locals each way, a pair of locals off the Virginia Air Line Subdivision (trains 402 and 403), and overnight trains between the eastern cities of Washington, Richmond, and Newport News and the western cities of Cincinnati, Louisville, and Chicago. After the inauguration of the Sportsman and the George Washington in the 1930’s, all three of the C&O’s best-known passenger trains plied the rails of the Piedmont Sub. Through the 1940’s there were often two sections of each name train (a Washington section and a Norfolk section) in each direction each day. Most of the Piedmont stations were either scheduled or conditional stops for these trains. In addition, train 141 ran from Newport News to Charlottesville daily and train 30 ran from Charlottesville to Richmond every evening except Sundays; on Sunday train 16 (later 116) covered the route in the afternoon. During this time, most of the Piedmont stations were still listed as conditional or flag stops on the public timetables, though some (e.g., Highland Park, Strawberry Hill, Patton, Bakers Creek) had been removed.

The schedule remained much the same through the 1950’s, though the Washington and Norfolk sections now combined or separated in Charlottesville. Despite the C&O management’s plans concerning post-war passenger business, passenger revenues began to decline precipitously in the 1950’s. In an attempt to stem the decline in April of 1958 the C&O purchased three Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) and placed them in service on the Peninsula and Piedmont Subs. The three-unit train — known as the Chessieliner — made one round trip daily between Newport News and Charlottesville and served as the connection for trains 4 and 5, the Sportsman. In August 1958 the schedule was changed so that the RDCs could make three trips each day. This was accomplished by moving the connection with the Sportsman from Charlottesville to Gordonsville. Chessieliner service over the Piedmont lasted until 1962 when the connection with the Sportsman was eliminated and the RDCs left the Piedmont Sub to run only on the Peninsula Sub between Newport News and Richmond. The 1960’s, of course, saw the end of all of the C&O’s passenger trains but the George Washington. In the mid-1960’s the C&O removed most of the stations left on the Piedmont Sub and late 1960’s timetables listed only Louisa and Gordonsville between Richmond and Charlottesville.

Passengers trains still polished the rails of the Piedmont Sub after the creation of Amtrak in May of 1971. Trains 50 (the George Washington) and 51 (the James Whitcomb Riley) ran between Norfolk / Newport News and Cincinnati. In November 1971 the routing of the trains was changed to Washington to Cincinnati via Charlottesville, with connecting sections from Charlottesville to Newport News. The connecting sections were renumbered 98 and 99 in June 1973. So that the train had the same name in both directions, the eastbound train was renamed James Whitcomb Riley in May, 1974. Two years later the Newport News section was discontinued, leaving no passenger service on the Piedmont east of Gordonsville. Amtrak trains 50 and 51 were renamed the Cardinal in 1977 to reflect the fact that the state bird of all the states through which the train ran was the cardinal. The Cardinal was discontinued in September, 1981, leaving the Piedmont Sub without any scheduled passenger service for the first time in its history . By Congressional mandate, the Cardinal was reinstated in 1982 and today continues to cross the Gordonsville to Charlottesville segment of the former Piedmont Sub three times a week.


Al Chione caught L1 Hudson number 492 between runs at Ivy City sometime in 1949. (Al Chione. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
It’s May of 1950 and L1 Hudson number 493 is in charge of the George Washington at Alexandria, Virginia. (Photographer unknown. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
It’s July of 1961 and one of the C&O’s RDC’s is in Charlottesville yard. The next year, the RDC’s left the Piedmont Sub. (Photographer unknown. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
RDC 9062 is at Richmond in February of 1963. I wasn’t quite sure what it was coupled up to, but Steve Yevich identified it as Baggage Trailer #551. It was one of three passenger/baggage trailers that were originally built to be used with the Brill cars on the James River Line. After that service ended, #551 had it’s seats removed and was paired with an RDC between Norfolk and Richmond. By the time of this photo, the RDC’s no longer worked the Piedmont Sub. (Photographer unknown. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
This photo shows #41 the George Washington crossing the RF&P at Doswell in September, 1966. (Photographer unknown. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
[NEW] C&O E8 4001 is pulling a train of what looks to me to be all head-end cars at Charlottesville. There was no date on this image, but I’m guessing early- to mid-1960’s. (Photographer unknown. From a negative in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
It’s February of 1967 and C&O E8 4006 and mate are receiving some servicing during a pause in Charlottesville. Both units are still in the tri-color paint scheme, but if you look closely you can see that a panel has been replaced on the trailing unit. (Photographer unknown. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
Amtrak’s train 50 The George Washington pauses in Charlottesville on Christmas Eve in 1972. (Photographer unknown. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)
Ten years after the previous photo, Amtrak’s train 50 passes through Gordonsville led by F40PH 217. (May 24, 1982 photograph by George W. Hamlin. From a slide in the collection of Larry Z. Daily.)

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