First I’d like to state that this is my home line so my excessive knowledge on the line may make this post very long. So bear with me. The C&O Piedmont Subdivision is a rail line that traverses east-west through the Piedmont region of Virginia. This line was built in 1836 for the Louisa Railroad from Doswell to the town of Louisa. The line would be expanded east and west eventually ranging from Richmond to Charlottesville. The railroad expanded over time eventually becoming the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway which is CSX Transportation today. All history aside, this line was the oldest stretch of the C&O and the backbone of C&O freight and passenger operations. So now I’ll give a brief description of important areas on the line and list some ideas I have for how this route could be done in Train Sim World 4 Richmond, VA This city is the capital of Virginia and a major rail hub in the state. The Piedmont Sub starts at 17th street yard though I’d recommend it start at Fulton yard just a few miles further down the line past Main Street station. As you can probably guess, the city had a large yard and was home to the Richmond Locomotive works (later ALCO) which produced engines like C&O 490, Southern 1401, etc. Before the James River viaduct was built in the 1890s/1900s, the C&O used a tunnel under church hill to get to rockets landing where Fulton yard is today. That tunnel was abandoned after the completion of the viaduct. However, in the 1920s, the C&O would work on the tunnel to expand it to accommodate rising amounts of traffic on the Piedmont Sub. On October 2nd of 1925, that tunnel collapsed on top of a work train led by 4-4-0 #231. Several men were killed and the train is still in the tunnel to this day. The tunnel was sealed in 1926 and today one end is an apartment building while the other end is hidden in the woods. Doswell, VA (Originally known as Hanover Junction) This town is now famous for being the location of the Kings Dominion theme park but before then, Doswell was known for its famous railroad diamond. This is where the Piedmont Sub crosses the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. The Diamond is also home to a brick station that was served into the 1960s and yard that is still used to this day by the Buckingham Branch Railroad. Verdon, VA Verdon is home to a Martin Marietta rock quarry. The quarry has been there since sometime in the 1960s or 70s and is served by CSX (previously by the C&O). There was a depot there before the quarry though it was torn down in the 40s or 50s. Beaverdam, VA ( known as Beaver Dam on timetables up until the late 20th century) This town is home to a sand loading facility that is still in use today along with a Depot that was restored and is now an event venue Like most of the depots on this line, the depot has been rebuilt many times mostly during the Civil War. This was as a result of the destruction of the railroad by General Sheridan and his Union Troops. Bumpass, VA (Originally Bumpass Turnout) Bumpass is an unincorporated town named after John T. Bumpass who was the first postmaster at the depot there. The town would be home to a chicken coop factory and ice cream spoon factory before the depot closed. The depot was torn down in the 1960s and has since remained just a historical marker beside the tracks. About a mile or so east of Bumpass in 1934, the C&O Sportsman was traveling westward when it derailed. It is unknown why it wrecked or if anyone was hurt. There is some photo documentation of the wreck though that can be found on the Piedmont Subdivision website along with other important info. Mineral, VA (originally known as Tollersville) Mineral was established as a mining town hence the name. A spur was built off from the mainline that served mines that mined for sulpher, gold, and other minerals. Those spurs shut down sometime between 1930 and 1960. Mineral was home to many industries in its hey day including Texas Oil Co, Mineral Milling Co, American Oil and Gas Co, and others. Each of those industries had their own sidings. Those industries started to close going into the late 1900s. By 1995, the sidings had been removed and only the depot remained which also lost its use in the 80s. The depot is now currently used as an Office for the Buckingham Branch though I could easily see it becoming a museum in the future. The town in the current day is home to about 500 people and just west of the town is the Middle and High School for Louisa county which also comes with a football field that brings most of the county together on Fall Friday nights. Louisa, VA This is the largest town in Louisa County. It was a major stop on C&O and by the late 60s, it was the only stop between Richmond and Charlottesville. The town was home to many industries over the years but today there is only one rail served industry in the town which is a industry that loads hoppers with some sort of mineral which I believe to be sand or aggregate. The depot here lost its passenger service in the 60s but today is an office for the Buckingham Branch. Gordonsville, VA Gordonsville is a large town in Orange County. I’m not sure of any industries that are still here but I do know the station was torn down in 1978. The depot still remains though as it was restored by the town after being sold by CSX and moved a few feet off the tracks. The town was a major stop on the C&O and even gained a reputation as the chicken capital of the world after passengers would buy chicken from vendors on the station platform. Next to where the station stood is G Cabin which was where the line’s CTC equipment was located. One of the most respected operators at G Cabin was Buddy Mahanes who was also the fire chief of the Gordonsville fire department. Because of this, he had the emergency dispatch phone line ran to the cabin so he could talk to the fire department while at work. The station site and G Cabin are inside of a wye that connects to the other portion of the Piedmont sub and the other to the Washington Sub. Charlottesville, VA This town is known to most for being the home of the University of Virginia and near the home of Thomas Jefferson. When it comes to the C&O, this is where the Piedmont Sub terminates. There was a yard here with a turntable. That yard was decommissioned in the 70s or 80s. The station there was used until the mid 70s when Amtrak moved to another location just west of there where the C&O crossed the Southern Railway. My idea on how this should be put into the game So I suppose you could put the modern day Piedmont sub with CSX and Buckingham Branch operations but it is not very eventful now. Only about 8 westbound CSX coal and grain trains a day with the weekdaily Buckingham Branch local. I mean I guess that new Amtrak service coming soon could be implemented but I have a better idea. 1974 Chessie-Amtrak Era Piedmont Sub This is a colorful era for the Piedmont sub with a mix of C&O blue and Chessie system painted freight trains along with Amtraks newly acquired George Washington which was renamed to the James Whitcomb Riley by this point. The Amtrak trains were using inherited equipment still which on the C&O was mostly C&O and B&O painted E8s with a few being painted to phase I by then. The passenger stops in 74’ were Richmond, Ellerson (when Richmond was backed up), Gordonsville (flagstop), and Charlottesville. Freight was still thriving around this time with a few locals on the line serving the industries which were numbered in the double digits still. And of course they ran westbound coal and grain trains at around the same rate as today. Rolling stock Here’s the rolling stock I recommend be used to match the era Another disclaimer: when I say chessie livery, I mean the cat livery everyone knows which had varying reporting marks due to the shared assets of the 3 roads. Locomotives: -EMD E8 These would have been all given to Amtrak by this point so this would be used for the James Whitcomb Riley service. I’d recommend a Phase I Amtrak livery along with a C&O tri color and later dual tone and B&O dualtone livery. -EMD SD40 These were used heavy in freight service by the C&O Liveries should include Chessie System livery, C&O Blue livery, B&O Blue livery, and WM circus livery. -EMD GP9 These were a regular sight on the C&O aswell but also used on occasion by Amtrak but not of my knowledge ever repainted into phase I I recommend these in Chessie, C&O, and B&O livery -EMD GP40 Common freight locomotive for locals on the line Liveries should include C&O blue, Chessie, and B&O blue. Other Rolling Stock: -C&O 70 ton Quad Hopper These were starting to be phased out around this time but were still common so this is important to include. - 100 Ton Coal Hopper These were very popular at the time and should be included in C&O, B&O, WM, and Chessie livery - ACF Covered Hopper Common on grain trains and I’d recommend chessie livery and maybe B&O or C&O liveries with it. - Rib Sided Covered Hopper Same as above but with these I’d definitely include B&O and C&O liveries with Chessie livery as well - C&O Pullman Passenger cars Amtrak was still using C&O and B&O equipment on the James Whitcomb Riley at this point so therefore I’d recommend a phase I livery along with C&O and B&O liveries. - C&O Caboose This was before EOT devices so the caboose was still being used on most freight trains. The most common caboose at this point was the side window caboose. I’d also recommend along with these having the wooden caboose with a cupola on the top as these were still common on locals. Thank you for reading and taking 10 mins of your time if you have made it this far. I am asking that either Dovetail or a third party developer would consider putting this route into virtual form for the world to enjoy. Now here’s some photos of the Piedmont Sub!
