N&W Installs CTC on Shenandoah Valley Line

307 Southward signal at the north end of the sid ing at Buchanan, Va. Project on 107.8 miles of single track and 10 miles of double track reduces delays on busy line handling 45 to 55 trains daily and-south direction between Roanoke, Va., and Hagerstown, Mel. At Ro anoke, connections are made with the east-and-west main line of the Nor folk & Western between Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, and Norfolk, N. &W. Va., as well as with a line between Roanoke and Winston-Salem, N. C. At Hagerstown, connections are made with the Pennsylvania and the West ern Maryland, at Shenandoah Jct ., with the Baltimore & Ohio, and at Installs C. T. C. Waynesboro with the Chesapeake & Ohio. Prior to the war, this Shenandoah On Shenandoah Valley Line District handled two passenger trains and three through freight trains each way daily, in addition to local freight trains. In February, 1939, the last THE Nor folk & vV estern has recently well as on 107.8 miles of single track. pre-war February, this district completed an improvement program T he purpose for these improvements handled 91,213,000 gross ton miles. on the Shenandoah Valley District, was to reduce train delays and to in At that time, the freight traffic was including the construction of second crease the operating capacity approxi mostly agricultural and manufactured track on 10.56 miles, and the installa mately 30 per cent. products, with no coal except for local tion of centralized traffic control on This Shenandoah Valley line ex delivery. By February, 1942, the this new section of double track as tends 238 miles in a generally north- traffic had increased to 180,452,000 Control machine for the Roanoke to Stuarts Draft section is arranged . in a "U" shape June, 1944 RAILWAY SIGNALING 308 dispatchers could not issue ord~rs fa.st miles of the single track in the sec gross ton miles, nearly double that enough, and as a result ~rai;ns, m tions where grades and curvature re- . for February, 1939. Next came the rnany instances, would walt m the duced the train speeds. One section war and curtailment of vessel mo-ye yard for orders, or ":'ould be st?pped of C.T.C. extends 85 miles between ments along the Atlantic Coast, which necessitated that much of the co.al, at stations on the lme to wa1t for North Roanoke and Stuarts Draft which had been moved by coastwise orders. Inferior trains were required and the second section extends 34 vessels north from Norfolk, Va., be to clear the main line at least five miles between Shenandoah and Ben- . handled by rail. As a result, the minutes prior to the schedule time of tonville. traffic on the Shenandoah District in superior trains. If some trains did creased to 558,557,000 gross ton miles not make the time anticipated, other Physical Characteristics of Line in February, 1943, more than six trains would be delayed because there times the pre-war figure. was no means for changing train or The track· consists of 130-lb. rail This traffic included 22,591 loaded ders soon enough to take advantage good ties and crushed rock ballast' cars and 1,139 empty cars out of of the changed conditions. all of which is maintained in good Roanoke northbound, 16,201 of the Especially on the heavy grades, the condition. The maximum permissible loaded cars being coal, and 5,472 trains lost a great deal of time when speed for freight trains is 45 m.p.h., loaded cars and 13,736 empty cars into Roanoke from the north. The peak day was February 23, 1943, when 1,223 loads and 62 empties were moved north from Roanoke, and 276 loads and 715 empties arrived at Ro anoke from the north. During the last few months traffic has decreased slightly, a total of 42,117 cars, count Equilateral turn out at the end of ing both out of and into Roanoke over double track near the Shenandoah District, being Cold Spring, Va. handled in February, 1944, as com pared with 42,938 in February, 1943. The traffic in February, 1941, in cluded an average of 14.4 trains daily as compared with an average of 33.3 trains in February, 1944. These fig ures include four passenger trains daily and a local freight train each way daily except Sunday, as well as entering or leaving the passing tracks and on grades, either ascending or return moves of light helper engines. at which hand-thrown switches were descending, the limit is 30 m.p.h. ~he Prior to the recent improvements, in service. T herefore, a decision was maximum speed for passenger trams train movements were authorized by made to construct second track on is 65 m.p.h. timetable and train orders, with auto 10.5 miles of the heaviest grade be Between Roanoke and Buchanan matic block signal protection. As the tween Vesuvius and Cold Spring, and the railroad passes over the divide be traffic increased during 1942, the de to install centralized traffic control on tween the Roanoke and the James lays to trains became excessive. The this double track as well as on 107.8 rivers, the ruling grade southbound is 1.5 per cent for 3.5 miles between mile posts 221 and 225. On this grade there are three 4-deg. curves, one 5- deg., one 6-deg., and two 7-deg. The tonnage rating for Class Y-6 locomo tive southbound up this grade is 2,650 tons. As the majority of southbound traffic consists of empty cars, the train length, rather than tonnage, usually determines the limit. Between Buchanan and Glasgow, 19.2 miles, the line is near the James river and is mostly at river grade. Between Glasgow and Buena Vista, Typical signals at the line follows up the valley of the the north end of Buena Vista, Va. North river at water grade. Between Buena Vista and Stuarts Draft, 32 miles, the line passes over the divide between the James river and the Shenandoah river, the maximum grade northbound being 1.5 per cent for about 1.25 miles between M.P. 162.6 and 164, this being the ruling grade northward. The crest of this grade is at Lofton, and the ascending grade southward from Cold Spring to Lofton is about 1.5 per cent for nearly three miles. The curvature on this grade, however, is very light, so June, 1944 RA ILWAY SIGNALING 309 Pktn Lofton Cold Spnng p~. ,' Q9e,....<.S'.)( _,' a£1:.,., ~ ,, ~ ~~~~ ~~----------+---------~~~---- , ""1 I , -;:--7<-o""R-oa""n""o.,.ke---+1-----<,_"f...:: '"':...-----l------- ::t ---T:Hagersfown ~ ,, 11~ ~ ~'"~Y ~ ~ ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,I Loch laird ,, I ~ , ~ To Lexinqfon - LJ__, ,I ,, I ~~~~~--------~~~------------~~ ,, r-n ~ ~ ~ To He~ qersfown - ,, I _.... To Roanoke []3--fl ,, Buena VtsfaJ , • ~"X 00'"""/...::; <" C.IC. Ter r ifory , J'.?, , <"~ Time fe~bl e Clnd --------- , ~,~ fre~in o rder ferr ifory ,II OQ"-? ,, ,, ,,. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, I ,I Typ ical le~youf of various I ~fions according fo legend • Glasgow ~ lib ~ ~---1 ----------------~... ~~~~-- -----------------~, ---~~/"~~------ --~~~==~~- --------------~~~~~T<~o7.H-aq-e~+own""" - -To Ro"nokell ,.··v)"/'c::,y/;;01 Diagram of the division showing the C.T.C. territories and typical track layouts 310 RAILWAY SIGNALING June, 1944 Hand-throw stand with an electric lock on an out lying switch in C.T.C. northbound and 3,000 tons south bound over these ruling grades be tween Shenandoah and Hagerstown. For trains handling more than the rated tonnage, helper locomotives are provided for northbound trains be tween Ingham and M.P. 98. Thus on account of the grades and extra helper locomotive moves, centralized traffic control was installed on the 34 miles of single track between the north yard switch at Shenandoah and the north passing track sw~tch at Ben tonville. These new facilities include that this is not the ruling grade south of double track. Branch line trains semi-automatic signals and power bound. The new section of second of the Chesapeake & Ohio, one each switch machines at the north yard track extends throughout the heavy way daily, use the Norfolk & Western switch at Shenandoah and at the pass grades between Cold Spring and main line between Glasgow and Loch ing track switches at Ingham, Stanley, Vesuvius, 10.5 miles. Laird. The junction switches at Luray, Vaughn, Rileyville and Ben The Class Y-6 compound mallet Glasgow and at Loch Laird, as well tonville. locomotives, with 152,206 lb. tract as a crossover between the main line ive power simple and 126,838 lb. and siding at Glasgow, are power C.T.C. Control Machines compound, are rated at 3,000 tons operated and included in the C.T.C. northbound between Roanoke and In the track layouts at the ends of The dispatchers' offices for the en Shenandoah, this tonnage being de double track at Vesuvius and Cold tire Shenandoah District are located termined by the ruling grade previ Spring, the switch points are 30 ft. in Roanoke. One dispatcher operates ously discussed. The operating prac long and the frogs are No. 20 with the the C.T.C. machine for the North tice is to handle about 6,000 tons in divergence divided to make equilat Roanoke-Stuarts Draft territory and each train, with a Class Y-6 helper eral turnouts. Therefore, a train handles the Stuarts Draft-Shenan locomotive at the rear just ahead of movement from the single track to doah section by train orders. A sec the caboose. From 70 to 75 cars of either track of the double track or ond dispatcher, in a different room, coal, or about 100 cars of mixed vice-versa can be made at normal operates the C.T.C.

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