Norfolk & Western’s old mainline through Lynchburg is open as a bike and walking trail and offers a glimpse into the route of the railroad when built in 1852 as the Virginia & Tennessee and Southside railroads. One can’t help but be amazed at the workmanship in building the right of way, carved through stone cuts and a tunnel, over streams and across the length of an Island. Bridges include a through truss, an open girder and a deck girder bridge. At one point the old Southern Railway, now the modern NS, passes overhead so high it almost seems in flight. The old mainline line trail is six miles long plus another mile and a quarter of the Durham District branch. The N&W trail is called Blackwater Creek Trail and is part of the larger Lynchburg James River Heritage Trail totaling about eighteen miles. Bikes Unlimited bike shop, which is adjacent to the trail and across the CSX tracks from the old ND tower (N&W-C&O diamond), has agreed to open early Friday morning so that attendees may rent bikes for touring the trail and Island Yard. The Trek Navigator bikes are rented for $10 an hour, payable on return. More information on the rental and the trails will be at registration. – Aubrey Wiley
The picture show N&W’s eastbound Pocahontas, train number 4, exiting the Lynchburg tunnel, milepost 200.6, in December 1961. The train arrived at Lynchburg’s Union Station, a mile ahead, on time at 12:36 pm. Aubrey Wiley Photo