Chesapeake Western Railway Railroading in 20th Century America has been a story of ever-changing ownership arrangements against a backdrop of expansion of service until the 1920's followed by contraction of service episodically for the rest of the century. The environment has included giant railroads that are household names, shortline railroads known to almost nobody outside their immediate neighborhoods, captive railroads owned by major shippers such as U.S. Steel, and countless other variations. The Chesapeake Western Railway (reporting marks CHW) exemplifies this ebb and flow of railroad history. The domain of the Chesapeake Western Railway is the Shenandoah valley of Virginia. The valley lies between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the main crest of the Appalachian Mountains to the west. The valley is drained by the Shenandoah River which flows northeastward to the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry. The valley has a relatively temperate climate which facilitates agriculture. The area also has a diverse assortment of light industrial plants and other traditional railroad customers such as lumber yards. Harrisonburg, the seat of Rockingham County is centrally located in the valley and is its largest city as well as being the home base of the Chesapeake Western Railway. While Harrisonburg was the home base of Chesapeake Western, its corporate offices were originally in New York City. The railroad business has traditionally had as much to do with finance as with transportation. At the beginning of the 20th Century finance was concentrated on Wall St., so many railroads had their offices in downtown Manhattan. Chesapeake Western's office was at 71 Broadway, although the offices were moved uptown to the lower rent area on W. 72nd St. after the IRT was opened. By the 1930's the offices had moved to Harrisonburg. The original route of the Chesapeake Western ran from the Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Division at Elkton westward to Harrisonburg and then further west and south to North River Gap, presently a recreation area in th George Washington National Forest. There were several major rail lines through the valley. In addition to the Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Division, the Southern Railway and B&O had branches that served Harrisonburg. The Southern's line was from Manassas westward to Front Royal and Strasburg Jct. before proceeding southwest to Harrisonburg. The B&O Valley Branch proceeded southwestward from the vicinity of Harper's Ferry through Strasburg Jct. and Harrisonburg to Staunton and Lexington. Between Strasburg Jct. and Harrisonburg the B&O used trackage rights on the Southern Railway's tracks. The Chesapeake Western was able to exchange freight cars at both Elkton and at Harrisonburg. Under the ICC procedures for fare division, short-haul carriers like Chesapeake Western did fairly well when carrying freight traffic to or from N&W, Southern or B&O. Chesapeake Western also had the potential to generate passenger and express traffic from the three major carriers, but Chesapeake Western only advertised connections with N&W at Elkton. The final major rail line belongs to the Chesapeake & Ohio. Unlike the other major lines it heads across the valley. From Charlottesville it crosses the Blue Ridge at Rockfish Gap and descends to Staunton before heading southwest to Clifton Forge and through the Alleghenies to West Virginia. With that general background we'll take a closer look at Chesapeake Western's operations during several different eras between 1903 and 1993. June 1, 1903: CHW 3: This train was a local from Elkton to North River Gap. The train carried passengers, mail and express. This train had a connection at Elkton from the N&W Shenandoah Division's Train 13. N&W 13 carried a Pullman Sleeper from New York enroute to Knoxville. The sleeper was carried by the Penna. RR from Jersey City to Philadelphia to Harrisburg in PRR 3, the Pacific Express. Then it was carried by the Cumberland Valley RR from Harrisburg to Hagerstown on Train 1. CHW 4: This train was a local from North River Gap to Elkton. The train carried passengers, mail and express. Passengers could transfer at Elkton to N&W 13 for Roanoke, Bristol and Tennessee destinations via Southern Railway. Passengers on B&O 88 from Lexington, Staunton and intermediate points could have connected to CHW 4 at Harrisonburg. CHW 5: This train was a local from Elkton to North River Gap. The train carried passengers, mail and express. Passengers on N&W 14 from Tennessee, Bristol, Roanoke and intermediate points could have transferred at Elkton to CHW 5. Passengers on CHW 5 could have transferred at Harrisonburg to SOU 274, a mixed train that made all local stops to Strasburg. CHW 6: This train was a local from North River Gap to Elkton. The train carried passengers, mail and express. This train had a connection at Elkton to N&W 14 for Hagerstown. N&W 14 carried a Pullman Sleeper from Knoxville to New York. The car was conveyed by Cumberland Valley 110 from Hagerstown to Harrisburg and by PRR 10, the Eastern Express, from Harrisburg to Jersey City via Philadelphia. Passengers could have connected at Shenandoah Jct. from N&W 14 to B&O 46 to Washington and points between Washington and New York on B&O 546. Passengers from CHW 6 could have transferred at Harrisonburg to B&O 89 to Staunton, Lexington and intermediate points. Alternately they could have transferred to SOU 218 to Strasburg Jct., Manassas, Washington and intermediate points. B&O 54 was available from Strasburg Jct. to Harper's Ferry connecting there to B&O 14 to Washington and Baltimore. CHW 19: This was a mixed train from Elkton to North River Gap. It handled way freight and passengers on an accommodation basis. It was subject to delay. Passengers on B&O 88 from Lexington, Staunton and intermediate points could have connected to CHW 19 at Harrisonburg. CHW 20: This was a mixed train from North River Gap to Elkton. It handled way freight and passengers on an accommodation basis. It was subject to delay. This train connected at Harrisonburg to/from SOU 209/B&O 89 enroute from Washington, Manassas, and Strasburg Jct. to Staunton and Lexington. Passengers from Baltimore on B&O 145 who connected at Washington to B&O 59 via Harper's Ferry would have been carried on SOU 209 between Strasburg Jct. and Harrisonburg. The 1903 CHW scheduled service required two train sets in service exclusive of maintenance considerations. Equipment for the mixed trains spent the night at the east end of the line in Elkton. The equipment for the four other runs spent the night at North River Gap and made two round trips per day. One crew could operate each set of equipment within a 12 hour day. W E S T W A R D ====================================================================== | | | 19 | 3 | 5 | | Miles | Stations | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | ====================================================================== | 0 | Elkton, VA Dp | 7:20 AM | 11:45 AM | 6:00 PM | | 3 | Inglewood | 7:34 | 11:53 | 6:08 | | 7 | McGaheysville | 7:52 | 12:03 PM | 6:18 | | 9 | Montevideo | 8:02 | 12:09 | 6:23 | | 11 | Penn Laird | 8:11 | 12:14 | 6:29 | | 13 | Keezletown | 8:20 | 12:20 | 6:35 | |-------+---------------------------+----------+----------+----------| | 20 | Harrisonburg Ar | 8:42 | 12:40 | 6:54 | | | Harrisonburg Dp | 9:05 | 12:50 | 6:55 | |-------+---------------------------+----------+----------+----------| | 24 | Dayton | 9:20 | 12:59 | 7:05 | | 27 | Bridgewater | 9:32 | 1:05 | 7:11 | | 30 | Spring Creek | 9:47 | 1:10 | 7:18 | | 33 | Mossy Creek | 9:59 | 1:16 | 7:25 | | 36 | Mt. Solon | 10:15 | 1:26 | 7:35 | | 40 | Stokesville | 10:30 | 1:37 | 7:43 | | 41 | N. River Gap, VA Ar | 10:35 AM | 1:40 PM | 7:45 PM | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- E A S T W A R D ====================================================================== | | | 4 | 20 | 6 | | Miles | Stations | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | ====================================================================== | 0 | N. River Gap, VA Dp | 8:40 AM | 12:30 PM | 3:10 PM | | 1 | Stokesville | 8:42 | 12:32 | 3:12 | | 5 | Mt. Solon | 8:49 | 12:52 | 3:20 | | 8 | Mossy Creek | 8:59 | 1:12 | 3:30 | | 11 | Spring Creek | 9:07 | 1:25 | 3:38 | | 14 | Bridgewater | 9:15 | 1:40 | 3:47 | | 17 | Dayton | 9:23 | 2:00 | 3:58 | |-------+---------------------------+----------+----------+----------| | 21 | Harrisonburg Ar | 9:33 | 2:20 | 4:09 | | | Harrisonburg Dp | 9:38 | 2:35 | 4:25 | |-------+---------------------------+----------+----------+----------| | 28 | Keezletown | 9:55 | 3:07 | 4:43 | | 30 | Penn Laird | 10:00 | 3:17 | 4:48 | | 32 | Montevideo | 10:05 | 3:25 | 4:53 | | 34 | McGaheysville | 10:10 | 3:33 | 4:58 | | 38 | Inglewood | 10:20 | 4:00 | 5:08 | | 41 | Elkton, VA Ar | 10:30 AM | 4:10 PM | 5:15 PM | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- November 5, 1911: Between 1903 and 1911 the Chesapeake Western added six stations, four between Elkton and Harrisonburg and two others between Harrisonburg and North River Gap. The mixed trains CHW 19 and CHW 20 were changed to turn at Stokesville rather than proceeding a mile further to North River Gap. There were a few timetable adjustments and changes to connecting train service as outlined below: CHW 3: The schedule of this train was shifted a few minutes later to account for the later arrival at Elkton of N&W 13. The Pullman Sleeper on N&W 13 was changed from New York-Knoxville to New York-Roanoke. The sleeper was carried in PRR 155 from Jersey City to Philadelphia, PRR 3, the Pacific Express from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. The schedule of Cumberland Valley #1 from Harrisburg to Hagerstown was basically unchanged. A B&O connection to N&W 13 at Shenandoah Jct. was available, but B&O 35 originated at Mt. Airy, MD rather than Baltimore or Washington. CHW 4: Due to the extra stops, the running time of this train increased by almost half an hour The connections from B&O 88 at Harrisonburg and to N&W 13 at Elkton were essentially unchanged. CHW 5: This train's schedule was moved up almost 90 minutes. The connection from N&W 14 at Elkton was improved. The connection at Harrisonburg to Southern's mixed train to Strasburg Jct. was still available with a longer layover. CHW 6: This train's schedule was moved up by about 1:20. CHW 6's connection at Elkton to N&W 14 for Hagerstown was still available. The Pullman Sleeper on N&W 14 was from Roanoke-New York rather than Knoxville-New York. The Hagerstown-Harrisburg Cumberland Valley RR train was #14. The PRR train from Harrisburg to Philadelphia to Jersey City, PRR 10 was renamed the Atlantic Express. The B&O connection from N&W 14 at Shenandoah Jct. was to B&O 16, the Wheeling-Baltimore Day Express, connecting to B&O 546, The Night Train, to Philadelphia and New York. The B&O connection to Staunton, Lexington and intermediate points was renumbered B&O 85. The connection at Harrisonburg towards Strasburg Jct., Harper's Ferry, Manassas and Washington was no longer available due to the earlier departure of SOU 28/B&O 58. Passengers from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and Harpers Ferry (B&O) or Washington, Manassas and Strasburg Jct. (SOU) could have connected to CHW 6 at Harrisonburg. The B&O trains were B&O 555, The Night Train, and B&O 55 from Washington. The Southern Railway train was SOU 49. CHW 19: This mixed train was shortened to terminate at Stokesville rather than travelling the extra mile to North River Gap. Its schedule was a few minutes earlier and it had an additional connection at Harrisonburg from Lexington and Staunton via the B&O. CHW 20: This mixed train originated at Stokesville rather than at North River Gap. It ran about an hour earlier than in 1903. Its connection at Harrisonburg was to SOU 28/B&O 58/B&O 418/B&O 18 and served points as far as Washington and Baltimore. Equipment and crew considerations for the 1911 schedule were essentially unchanged from the 1903 situation. W E S T W A R D ====================================================================== | | | 19 | 3 | 5 | | Miles | Stations | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | ====================================================================== | 0 | Elkton, VA Dp | 7:00 AM | 11:53 AM | 4:35 PM | | 3 | Inglewood | 7:10 | 12:00 N | 4:44 | | 5 | Mauzy | 7:17 | 12:06 PM | 4:50 | | 7 | McGaheysville | 7:25 | 12:12 | 4:56 | | 9 | Montevideo | 7:33 | 12:20 | 5:04 | | 11 | Penn Laird | 7:43 | 12:24 | 5:09 | | 13 | Keezletown | 7:55 | 12:30 | 5:15 | | 14 | Earmans | 8:03 | 12:33 | 5:20 | | 16 | Laymans | 8:10 | 12:39 | 5:24 | | 18 | Rutherford | 8:15 | 12:45 | 5:29 | |-------+---------------------------+----------+----------+----------| | 20 | Harrisonburg Ar | 8:20 | 12:49 | 5:34 | | | Harrisonburg Dp | 8:46 | 12:54 | 5:40 | |-------+---------------------------+----------+----------+----------| | 22 | Pleasant Hill | 8:52 | 12:57 | 5:44 | | 24 | Dayton | 9:05 | 1:04 | 5:50 | | 25 | Stemphleytown | 9:11 | 1:09 | 5:55 | | 27 | Bridgewater | 9:24 | 1:12 | 5:59 | | 30 | Spring Creek | 9:32 | 1:22 | 6:09 | | 33 | Mossy Creek | 9:42 | 1:27 | 6:16 | | 36 | Mt. Solon | 9:57 | 1:36 | 6:26 | | 40 | Stokesville | 10:15 AM | 1:46 | 6:36 | | 41 | N. River Gap, VA Ar | | 1:50 PM | 6:40 PM | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- E A S T W A R D ====================================================================== | | | 4 | 20 | 6 | | Miles | Stations | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | ====================================================================== | 0 | N. River Gap, VA Dp | 8:41 AM | | 1:51 PM | | 1 | Stokesville | 8:45 | 11:30 AM | 2:02 | | 5 | Mt. Solon | 8:57 | 11:44 | 2:12 | | 8 | Mossy Creek | 9:07 | 12:10 PM | 2:22 | | 11 | Spring Creek | 9:14 | 12:19 | 2:28 | | 14 | Bridgewater | 9:24 | 12:34 | 2:37 | | 16 | Stemphleytown | 9:29 | 12:40 | 2:42 | | 17 | Dayton | 9:33 | 1:04 | 2:47 | | 19 | Pleasant Hill | 9:40 | 1:14 | 2:54 | |-------+---------------------------+----------+----------+----------| | 21 | Harrisonburg Ar | 9:46 | 1:20 | 2:58 | | | Harrisonburg Dp | 9:55 | 1:56 | 3:02 | |-------+---------------------------+----------+----------+----------| | 23 | Rutherford | 10:00 | 2:03 | 3:08 | | 25 | Laymans | 10:05 | 2:10 | 3:13 | | 27 | Earman's | 10:10 | 2:16 | 3:18 | | 28 | Keezletown | 10:16 | 2:26 | 3:23 | | 30 | Penn Laird | 10:23 | 2:36 | 3:29 | | 32 | Montevideo | 10:29 | 2:41 | 3:35 | | 34 | McGaheysville | 10:36 | 2:51 | 3:41 | | 36 | Mauzy | 10:42 | 3:07 | 3:47 | | 38 | Inglewood | 10:48 | 3:17 | 3:54 | | 41 | Elkton, VA Ar | 10:57 AM | 3:24 PM | 4:02 PM | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- March 1, 1937: After years of prosperity and gradual growth, the depression coupled with increased road building and automobile use hit the railroads hard. It was the first stage of decline and retrenchment that would proceed episodically for more than two generations. The Chesapeake Western responded similarly to other railroads. The main line between Bridgewater and North River Gap was abandoned. Nine of the remaining stations were downgraded to the status of flag stops. The mixed trains CHW 19 and CHW 20 were eliminated, although the freight service could be provided to shippers with unscheduled freight service. The passenger, mail and express service was provided by railbuses rather than by conventional trains. Scheduled train-miles declined by about 50%, but the total train-miles depends on unscheduled freight traffic in addition to scheduled passenger and head-end traffic. The only sign of expansion was the addition of two stations in Harrisonburg. One station, originally called Normal was renamed in 1938 to Madison College (the school has since grown up into James Madison University). The other station, at Bruce St., provided convenient access to the railroad's offices which had been consolidated in Harrisonburg when the New York City office was closed. The retrenchment of service by Chesapeake Western was matched by the branch lines connecting at Harrisonburg -- service was reduced to one train each direction each day on the B&O and SOU lines to Staunton, Lexington, Strasburg Jct., Manassas and Harper's Ferry. There were fewer reductions on the N&W line between Hagerstown and Roanoke. CHW 3: This train had a connection from N&W 1, with a sleeper from New York to Bluefield. The sleeper was conveyed from New York to Harrisburg in PRR 23, The Manhattan Ltd., and from Harrisburg to Hagerstown in PRR 5813 (PRR had taken over the Cumberland Valley RR). CHW 4: This train had a connection to N&W 14 to Hagerstown, with connections at Hagerstown to the PRR to Harriburg, Philadelphia and New York. It also had connections at Shenandoah Jct. to the B&O eastward and westward. The eastward connection was to B&O 8, The Fort Pitt, to Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. The westward connection is to B&O 15, The Fort Pitt, to Cumberland, Pittsburgh and Chicago. CHW 5: This train had a connection from N&W 13 from Hagerstown (and New York from PRR). It also had a connection at Harrisonburg from SOU 11 from Washington, Manassas and Strasburg Jct. (including passengers from B&O 511-111-11, the New York-Cincinatti-St. Louis Express, from New York, Baltimore, Washington to Harper's Ferry and B&O 55 between Harper's Ferry and Strasburg Jct.). It also had a connection from the mixed train B&O 88 from Lexington and Staunton. It also had a connection to SOU 12 to Strasburg Jct, Manassas and Washington with further connections at Strasburg Jct. to B&O 54 to Harper's Ferry and B&O 16, The Blue Ridge Express, to Washington and Baltimore. CHW 6: This train had a connection to N&W 2 with the Bluefield-New York slepper (conveyed in PRR 5802 Hagerstown-Harrisburg and PRR 66, The American, Harrisburg-New York). N&W 2 had a connection at Shenandoah Jct. to B&O 25, The Washington-Chicago Express, to Cumberland, Pittsburgh and Chicago. This train had a 75 minute layover in Harrisonburg. W E S T W A R D =============================================================== | | | 3 | 5 | | Miles | Stations | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | =============================================================== | 0 | Elkton, VA Dp | 6:30 AM | 1:35 PM | | 3 | Inglewood | f 6:36 | f 1:41 | | 5 | Mauzy | f 6:42 | f 1:47 | | 7 | McGaheysville | 6:51 | 1:56 | | 9 | Montevideo | f 6:56 | f 2:01 | | 11 | Penn Laird | 7:01 | 2:06 | | 13 | Keezletown | 7:06 | 2:12 | | 14 | Earman's | f 7:11 | f 2:17 | | 16 | Laymans | f 7:16 | f 2:22 | | 18 | Rutherford | f 7:21 | f 2:27 | | 20 | Normal | f 7:25 | f 2:31 | | 20 | Bruce St. Switch | 7:26 | 2:34 | |-------+---------------------------+------------+------------| | 21 | Harrisonburg Ar | 7:30 | 2:40 | | | Harrisonburg Dp | 7:40 | 3:05 | |-------+---------------------------+------------+------------| | 20 | Bruce St. Switch | 7:43 | 3:08 | | 21 | Pleasant Hill | f 7:45 | f 3:11 | | 24 | Dayton | 7:55 | 3:20 | | 25 | Stemphleytown | f 7:59 | f 3:24 | | 27 | Bridgewater, VA Ar | 8:05 AM | 3:30 PM | --------------------------------------------------------------- E A S T W A R D =============================================================== | | | 4 | 6 | | Miles | Stations | Ex. Sun | Ex. Sun | =============================================================== | 0 | Bridgewater, VA Dp | 8:40 AM | 5:05 PM | | 2 | Stemphleytown | f 8:45 | f 5:08 | | 3 | Dayton | 8:50 | 5:15 | | 6 | Pleasant Hill | f 8:56 | f 5:22 | | 7 | Bruce St. Switch | 8:59 | 5:28 | |-------+---------------------------+------------+------------| | 8 | Harrisonburg Ar | 9:03 | 5:30 | | | Harrisonburg Dp | 9:13 | 6:45 | |-------+---------------------------+------------+------------| | 7 | Bruce St. Switch | 9:17 | 6:47 | | 7 | Normal | f 9:20 | f 6:49 | | 9 | Rutherford | f 9:25 | f 6:54 | | 11 | Laymans | f 9:28 | f 6:58 | | 13 | Earman's | f 9:33 | f 7:02 | | 14 | Keezletown | 9:36 | 7:06 | | 16 | Penn Laird | 9:42 | 7:12 | | 18 | Montevideo | f 9:47 | f 7:17 | | 20 | McGaheysville | 9:54 | 7:25 | | 22 | Mauzy | f 9:59 | f 7:28 | | 24 | Inglewood | f 10:05 | f 7:34 | | 27 | Elkton, VA Ar | 10:15 AM | 7:45 PM | --------------------------------------------------------------- Post-WW II: By 1948, the B&O had discontinued service south of Strasburg Jct. In the process the trackage from Staunton south to Lexington had been abandoned and the trackage from Harrisonburg to Staunton had been acquired by Chesapeake Western. The trackage acquired from B&O was operated for freight service only. The Harrisonburg-Staunton line had the following stations, shown with the mileage from Elkton: Stone Springs 22 mi. Pleasant Valley 26 mi. Mt. Crawford 28 mi. Weyers Cave 33 mi. Mt. Sidney 36 mi. Fort Defiance 38 mi. Verona 41 mi. Millbrook 43 mi. Bells Lane 44 mi. Staunton 46 mi. The former passenger trains 3, 4, 5 and 6 continued to run on similar schedules to 1937, but they carried mail and express only, no passengers. By the mid-1950's, publication of the schedules for trains 3, 4, 5, and 6 had been eliminated, but the railroad continued to operate for freight, mail and express over the route from Elkton to Harrisonburg to Staunton and from Harrisonburg to Bridgewater. It had converted to diesel-electric locomotives. Its independence ended in 1954 when the Chesapeake Western was acquired by Norfolk & Western. By the 1980's the reorganizations continued apace. N&W and Southern were merged into Norfolk Southern Corporation and Chesapeake Western's Harrisonburg offices were responsible for less and less as responsibility was shifted to Norfolk. Service between Dayton and Bridgewater evaporated and was eventually discontinued. Service between Harrisonburg and Staunton dwindled. But the flanged wheel had one more turn left. In January, 1993, Norfolk Southern agreed to spinoff Chesapeake Western to a newly formed shortline railroad encompassing the 46 miles from Elkton to Staunton and the 4 mile branch from Harrisonburg to Dayton. The 1980's and 1990's have seen growth in mainline traffic, particularly containers and trailers on flatcars, declines in branchline traffic, spinoffs of branchlines to newly-formed shortlines, abandonments of other branchlines, some growth in commuter passenger service, and Amtrak's intercity service caught between equipment shortages and overhead costs unable to covered by trains running at over 100% capacity. Double-stack trains have proliferated as cabooses have become museum pieces. The prospect of new rail lines for high-speed passenger service has been brightening but yet to materialize. There's no way of predicting the future of the Chesapeake Western. It may be successful under its new personalized management, it may fade away, or it may be transformed yet again in the seemingly endless ebb and flow of railroad mergers, divestitures and other reorganizations. Already much of the history of the Chesapeake Western has been lost as those who were there have moved on or died. The rolling stock, engines, railbuses, cabooses and maintenance-of-way equipment has come and gone. Even the abandoned rights-of-way have become overgrown, paved over or otherwise recycled. Valueing such a loss is never easy, but the value tends to increase with each passing year. - 30 -