Norfolk Division questions

[NW Mailing List]

The Old Main Line (through Farmville) and the Belt  Line
(through Virso and Abilene) were in effect double  track,
although separated by miles. It wasn't cast in  concrete, but as
a rule of thumb,  the passenger trains  traveled the Old Main Line
through Farmville,  so did westbound  freights, but eastbound freight
traffic from the Blue Ridge District and coal  traffic off the former VGN 
at Abilene used the Belt Line. The flow  of traffic Pamplin - Abilene -
Burkeville was predominately east.  
 
There had been a 9296-foot passing siding at Maloney,  7  miles east
of Pamplin and 9 miles west of Abilene, but it was taken out in  the
60's.  With the additional flow of westbound traffic resulting  from
the abandonment of the Old Main Line,  NS decided NOT to  restore
Maloney reasoning there'd be no time saved in staging meets  there.
 
Louis Newton had been assigned at Crewe and he recalled an  incident
where eastbound traffic had to be diverted from the Belt Line to  the
Old line.  There was no Traffic Control on the Old  Main Line, so a
train order was issued for No. 99 to meet No. 92's symbol at  Prospect,
an 8,340 foot passing siding.   It wasn't discovered  until both trains
arrived at the meeting point that each had more cars than the  siding
would accommodate, resulting in a time-consuming  "saw-by".  
 
                                                              Harry Bundy
                                            
 



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