Eastern Railroad Discussion > Old Fort Loops rebuild updates

RJ Corman crews have been working hard starting at West Old Fort as they begin the process of re-building the loops in western NC.  These photos show the first curve out of town that was completly washed out during Helene.  Graded and ready for track.  Corman has four crews working at various points on the mountain that will leapfrong each other as sections are done.

 

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Yesterday I ventured up to the S113.9 and Corman has moved the mainline over as they re-build the bank along Mill Creek.  This area wasn't washed badly, but they are being proactive in trying to shore up the ROW.

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A couple of shots from mid June.  Zooming in on the first photo you can see the bridge in the distance thats been knocked to the left.

Second shot shows the approach on another bridge washed out.  In all, there are at least four bridges that need work on the lower part of the loops.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/25 17:39 by Asheville_G.

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Thanks so much for updating this area for our membership.  Great and interesting photos.
joe

Great shots at the progress so far. Really glad to see that this section is being rebuilt.

Kim Heusel

What a unique and fantastic piece of railroad.  I look forward to hearing about trains traversing the loops again in the near future.  

I said it before and will again:  The cost of not addressing the damage from Helene would have been exponentially more than the costs they are incurring now to make these repairs.  Whether this is a bet on selling access to the state of NC in the future or perhaps NS deemed it necesasry for themselves to maintain this link in their network - the time to make these repairs is now, and not at a future date with a much higher price tag.

The devastation is unimaginable. In April 1974, I toured the loops by car. In January 1975, I rode SOU #4 all the way from Ashville to Salisbury. In August 1975, I rode a special from Winston Salem to Asheville via the loops.  I be happy to see them after they are rebuilt.
ALLEN

> a special from Winston Salem to Asheville

Not many people still alive can say they rode a passenger train from W-S to Barber Jct, and the way things are going I doubt any more ever will. Six-foot pines between the tracks, at least one road crossing paved over, the NS took out the switch to the line at 9th St in W-S. 

Great coverage.  Much appreciated.  Keep us posted.  Now to convince NS to host public excursions Asheville to Old Fort for a grand opening.   And likewise CSX Erwin to Marion.  

I am really surprised NS is rebuilding.  The rail trail folks were drooling for that property.

Oh yes, some post-Helene satellite imagery is beginning to show up on Google Maps, such as the area immediately west of Old Fort along Mill Creek. 

Vampires.

Victor Baird

Tominde Wrote:
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  The rail
> trail folks were drooling for that property.

I've definitely been following both CSX and NS on their rebuilding of both lines that were impacted by Helene on the Youtube channels.   I believe "Designs in orbit" just released the 30th update video on the Blue Ridge sub.   Just fascinating!    Does any insider know roughly when the rebuilds for both lines will be done completely?   CSX looks to be getting very close as theyre moving rock trains in now 

CSX - Around Labor Day
NS - Valentine’s Day

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