Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS Manassas & Gainesville, VA Aerials

A week ago Friday I captured northbound NS 290 down in Orange, VA around 11:15 am. Today, a week later, I again caught NS 290, this time at the wye in Manassas. Yes, I verified the train symbol each time while on the ground using a RR radio.

1. NS 290 transitions from the former Southern mainline to the B-Line a little before noon. The small but busy Manassas yard can be seen at the wye.

2. NS 290 waits on the main at Gainesville, VA for NS 228 which has had to stop and flag the grade crossing on VA 55, four miles to the west.

It has been a challenging couple of days for the NS on the B-Line. Yesterday afternoon, a westbound freight hit a landscaping trailer at US 15 in Gainesville. No injuries, but the ensuing investigation blocked two highway crossings for more than two hours, badly snarling auto traffic.

Early this morning, NS 213 limped into Manassas and stopped just short of the wye with lead engine issues. There it sat for well over two hours, again blocking three busy grade crossings. NS P63 finally put a new lead engine on the consist.

Later in the morning, the malfunctioning grade crossing protection west of Gainesville caused at least two stop and flags and more traffic congestion.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/14 17:19 by cinder.

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Again, cinder, very nice.

How's the new US 29 overpass at Gainesville coming along?

Looking at the Manassas photo, it's hard to believe that the southwest leg of that wye used to be even sharper than it is today. NS eased the wye sometime after it moved its northeastern interchange with Conrail from Potomac Yard to Hagerstown and the B Line roared to life. Looking at Historic Aerials, it looks like the wye relocation was taking place in 2003. http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=2000&lon=-77.47110748291&lat=38.751220703125&year=2009



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/14 13:24 by knotch8.

OK knotch8, here are your answers.

1. The grade separations in Gainesville will be done next year. Here is a picture taken at noon today.

2. This is a 10-year-old aerial of the wye in Manassas. The path of the tighter curve was more visible in 2004.

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Fantastic shots. You must have placed an order for such a nice day. Thanks for the info.

Jim

Cinder, love your aerial shots. Looks like there is a lot of industry there besides the trains.

cinder, you are the go to man for aerial photography in my opinion.
john

That Gainsville grade crossing work is enormous and likely hugely expensive.....

Gainesville sure have changed in the past 20 years. I remember sitting at 7-11 watching trains go by. Earl is out...

Interesting stuff. # 3 is classic sprawl.

I have to agree interesting photos, like the locations and angles. Well done.
Alan

Thanks, cinder, your aerial of the Gainesville construction is phenomenal.

For those not familiar the area, his photo is looking almost due east. Here's a Google Maps aerial of the same location, looking north: http://goo.gl/maps/Sotrg The highway at the top is I-66. The northeast/southwest highway is US 29. There also appears to be a new grade-separated intersection for the US 29/Linton Hall Rd intersection. As MEKoch says, I'm sure this is hugely expensive, but is long-overdue and much-needed.

Thanks again, cinder, for the excellent photos.

VERY NICE....!!! Thanks for posting.