Virginia: Buckingham Branch Service (Corridor Cardinal and East-West)

jp1822 wrote: ↑Thu May 20, 2021 8:33 pm. Anyway, I think re-establishing this east-west connection from Charlottesville to Richmond and hopefully on to Norfolk and Newport News is a good thing.
It's great that Virginia is taking this much interest in re-establishing passenger rail!

I'll agree, but, it would be far better to establish faster trains than re-establishing slow trains.

jp1822 wrote: ↑Thu May 20, 2021 8:33 pm If we go back in time before the Cardinal, but still in the Amtrak era, wasn't there a train that ran from Cincy to Charlottesville and then at Charlottesville a coach (sometimes coach/dome) was sent on to Richmond and Newport News. It was very diminished service from what was.......combined west of Charlottesville I believe it headed off to Cincy. Not sure if it was an overnight train or not. It may have been during the George Washington and James Whitcomb Riley years, which I still get confused as to which train operated where and when. Anyway, I think re-establishing this east-west connection from Charlottesville to Richmond and hopefully on to Norfolk and Newport News is a good thing.

It's great that Virginia is taking this much interest in re-establishing passenger rail!

That would have been the James Whitcomb Riley and the Mountaineer in 1975 as seen here -

http://www.timetables.org/full.php?grou ... &item=0038

The JWR served Newport News and the Mountaineer served Norfolk.

In order for this cross Virginia service to do fine, the travel times of the train must be time competitive over driving. Many people love to ride trains and would really appreciate using a train between let’s say Charlottesville and Richmond and Norfolk as long as if it’s time competitive over driving. Slower trains that are nowhere close to competing with the travel times of driving aren’t worth into continuing further studies.

I agree that one flaw in the "east west service" has always been that I-64 is actually a direct, fast right of way for 60~70 mph bus service--speeds hard to achieve & sustain by rail.

However, if US-29 is the competition, things get a little more evenly matched (which is why the Lynchburger succeeded)

So my preferred BB route is a daily Washington-Orange-Charlottesville-Staunton-Clifton Forge, where the highway competition is much less, and the train can provide a much more competitive alternative I think such a service would succeed based on Charlottesville patronage alone.

Arlington wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 7:29 am However, if US-29 is the competition, things get a little more evenly matched (which is why the Lynchburger succeeded)

Indeed a point, Mr. Arlington.

While US29 Charlottesville to Danville is four lane, that hardly means "to Interstate standards", save a few spots such as around Jerry Fawell College. Many a blind intersection, such as just over the crest of a hill, spells "treach" to me.

During '18, driving South from Crozet to Danville, Farmer Alfalfa was hauling hay bales on a trailer behind his pickup and X-ing 29 to head North. There was a Yellow warning sign at the crest of this hill suggesting 45mph, to which I adhered.

Glad my Lex has good brakes.

Crozet would clearly be an Infill stop or a natural C'ville commuter rail stop. We know this partly because it is the only place outside of Charlottesville that has a branch of the UVa Credit Union.


Off topic: I love Crozet! When my older sister was at UVa, my Dad bought a farm there thinking he'd retire out there (ultimately it was Massanutten and then Front Royal) . Also Crozet is named for the railroad engineer who built the nearby tunnel Blue Ridge Tunnel (now a missing link in a bike trail)

WAAAY off topic, I was at Crozet to "stock up" with a "mixed" case from King Family Vineyards. Can't do that if traveling by rail or air!!!!

But to close on an Amtrak note, Crozet was where a grade X-ing incident occurred involving a "special" of Congresscritters traveling to a "retreat" at Greenbrier.