The following photos were taken from onboard Amtrak's Cardinal, on 10/1-2/2003. This was the second leg in a trip I was taking to Colorado. Amtrak's Cardinal runs from Washington, DC, to Chicago, and back, on a tri-weekly schedule. Among the stops along the way are Charlotteville, Staunton, and Clinton Forge, VA; White Sulpher Springs, Charleston, and Huntington, WV, Cinncinatti, OH, Indianapolis, and Lafayette, IN, with the train terminating, or orginating in Chicago, IL. The train makes a few other intermediate stops. I traveled the train westbound from Washington.
The train passes through the
New River Gorge, and along the Gauley Rivers, in West Virginia.
Heading eastbound, this area is traversed in day light. The eastern
portion of this route follows a good portion of the former Cheasepeake
& Ohio Rairoad. The C&O purchased the Baltimore &
Ohio (B&O), to form the Chessie System, in the 1960's. Among
the passenger trains operated by the C&O over this route
were The George Washington, and The Sportsman.
The Chessie was merged with the Seaboard System, to become CSX
today.
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1. View of a yacht basin, on the Potomac River, from onboard Amtrak's Cardinal.
2. Cemetary for veterans of the Confederate States of America Army. Southwest of Washington, DC.
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3. View from Amtrak's Cardinal, of a herd of cows crossing under the railroad tracks, north of Orange, VA.
4. View from The Cardinal, of a CSX train, at Gordonsville, VA. Lead engine is a GP30, from the 1960's.
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5. The Cardinal, stopped at Charlottesville, VA.
6. View looking west, from the Charlottesville, VA station. Note: Amtrak uses only one engine on the Cardinal.
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7. View of University of Virginia gate, in Charlottesville, VA, taken from Amtrak's Cardinal.
8. Looking back at The Cardinal, rounding a curve, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, west of Charlottesville, VA, near Afton, on the railroad.
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9. Approaching the Stanton, VA station stop, on Amtrak's Cardinal.
10. Old railroad equipment, just west of the Stauton, VA station. The locomotive was lettered New Haven.
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11. View of more old railroad equipment, west of the Stauton, VA station. The passenger cars in the foreground were lettered New Haven.
12. View of old railroad equipment(under restoration), west of the Stauton, VA station, south of the active mainline. As can be seen, the steam locomotive tender is lettered Virginia Central.
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13. View of a Virginia Central pacific type steam engine. The wheel arrangement of a pacific type steam engine, using the Whitte Classification system is 4-6-2. That is, there are 4 smaller wheels in front, followed by 6 driving wheels(outlined in white in this picture), followed by 2 wheels under the engine cab. The passenger car in the foreground is lettered 'New Haven,' and painted in an orange,and pullman green scheme.
14. View looking west, from the
White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia station platform. White
Sulpher Springs is the railroad stop for the world famous Greenbrier
Hotel.
Updated 10/30/2003
(c) Copyright, J. Carl Shaw, 2003. All rights reserved. Photos may be used by giving credit to the photographer.