Virginia Rails

Enjoy contemporary action with CSX and Amtrak trains at the hot spot locations of Ashland, and Doswell, Virginia. Located on the busy former Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad north-south mainline, you will see a great variety of freight and passenger train action. What makes Ashland so special? The double track mainline runs right through the center of town, with streets on both sides of the line. There are quaint buildings and a small college not to mention the Ashland depot which still serves as an Amtrak stop. Ashland is about 15 miles north of Richmond, and Florida trains, as well as trains to Richmond and Newport News pass through and make stops in Ashland.

We were going to make the entire tape a hotspot tape on Ashland (Featured in Kalmbach’s Hotspot book), but decided to go one step further and include Doswell along with Ashland. Doswell is about 6-8 miles north of Ashland, and there is an old depot (now a CSX crew building), and a diamond where the old Chesapeake and Ohio Line crosses the former RF&P. An abandoned tower guards the crossing. There is also a small CSX yard, and a couple of trains originate here, plus there some trains connect to the other line. The action has its peaks and valleys, with trains running in spurts, but generally you see about 25-30 trains during daylight hours. More than 2 days are covered in the video. In addition to regular freight and passenger trains, we will see special trains, like the Tropicana Juice Train, the Rock Train, the trash train, and Amtrak’s Auto Train. This is contemporary Railroading at its best, in an area that is seldom seen on rail videos.