Category Archives: railroad

Train Derailment

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Richmond fire crews responded to Tredegar Street after a train derailed Tuesday early evening, causing 16 cars of a freight train to go off the track. No injuries were reported and fire crews did not find any hazards, according to a tweet from the Richmond Fire Department. Click here for NBC12 story.

Neighbors did hear about this earlier, but are still wondering if there will be more media coverage, given the potential for pollution.

Click here for an earlier (2014) post about the risks from train accidents near the neighborhood.

CSX Closing Belle Island Parking Lot

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RVAHub.com is reporting that CSX is closing the Belle Island parking lot, located just down the hill. From their article:

CSX which owns the property beneath the trestles has blocked off access, thus eliminating approximately half the available parking.
The paved lot is still accessible but parking is no longer allowed in the gravel lot as you see here in an old Google Maps screenshot.
We reached out to Park Superintendent Bryce Wilk about the situation and there wasn’t much more information to share, “The parking area is under CSX ownership and is closed until further notice.” Wilk did also state that Venture Richmond, PRCF (Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities) and CSX are working together to find some solution. Details of the possible solution aren’t available at this time.

For Oregon Hill residents, this is very troubling. It’s not so much about the parking, since residents mostly walk down to the riverfront. For years neighborhood leaders have brought up more mass transit and shuttles to alleviate parking crowding at the Belle Island parking lot.

There is the concern that the City or Venture Richmond will try to force parking closer to Oregon Hill. In the past there have been suggestions that the portion of the North Bank Trail directly south of Oregon Hill be turned into parking. Regardless, residents expect more park visitors to park near the Overlook in order to use the park.

Even more worrisome is the possibility of losing public access. For generations, Oregon Hill residents have been able to walk more or less straight down to the James River, with little regard for railroad interference. Certainly, current Oregon Hill residents want to keep that ability.

Riggan’s Canal-Blueway Plan

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Phil Riggan, who now writes the “Why Richmond, Why?” column for the Richmond Times Dispatch, earlier this week presented his final project for his VCU studies, a plan for making the Kanawha Canal between Oregon Hill and Bosher’s Dam into a recreational ‘blueway” for the James River Park system.

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Click here for a copy of his presentation. A full written report/plan should be available in the near future after Riggan makes some final edits.

A couple of points about the plan- It was made with the help of the Friends of James River Park and the James River Outdoor Coalition. Nathan Burrell, the Director of James River Park, afterwards remarked that he thought it was actionable and doable now, as long as there was permission of stakeholders (CSX, Department of Public Utilities (DPU), and others) and available financial resources. It has already received letters of support from the James River Association and the Falls of the James Scenic River Advisory Committee.

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Riggan knows about the 1988 canal restoration plan (the one that Venture Richmond ignored) and says he has included it in his final report. It is noteworthy that his plan starts with “Mile 1” at the start of the North Bank Trail near the S. Cherry cul-de-sac, and not “Mile 0” near the Lee Bridge. Riggan’s plan recognizes that DPU needs to complete engineering in order to get the water level right for recreational traffic (elevation verified at 83 feet). Some Oregon Hill neighbors are suspicious that perhaps that was the real goal of the Tredegar Green amphitheater, to damage the historic Kanawha Canal to the point where now the terminus of the “rewatered” canal is at “Mile 1”. That said, Riggan’s plan comes from a recreational paddling sport perspective and if it is successful, it may increase pressure for FULLY renovating, re-watering, and re-connecting Richmond’s historic canals.

“Our River at Risk” On Wednesday

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From Richmond.com article:

Many of us in Richmond watched the train tank cars burn as they rested precariously on the banks of the James in Lynchburg and could easily envision the same type of accident happening here in the capital city. What if a few of those highly flammable tanks dropped off the nearly three-miles long CSX Viaduct onto Brown’s Island during Friday Cheers or the Richmond Folk Festival?

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(Editor’s note: see earlier posts on this subject by clicking here and here.)

The article continues:

For the next session of the General Assembly, the JRA will be pushing for stricter management and oversight and will be asking the public for support for the following issues:
-Rail transport of highly volatile Bakken crude oil from the Midwest. Crude oil by rail transport has increased 450 percent over the past five years. These trains are carrying over a million gallons of crude oil through our watershed two to five times per week. Governor McAuliffe convened a rail safety task force which will solicit input from industry stakeholders, local governments and members of the public and produce a report of recommended state and federal actions to prevent railroad accidents and ensure that Virginia is prepared as possible to keep communities safe in the case of a future incident.
-The James River watershed is home to coal ash ponds capable of holding 5 billion gallons of coal ash stretching from the headwaters to the mouth of the river. Despite being a highly toxic material, Virginia does not regulate coal ash as a solid or hazardous waste product and is not acting to stop contamination from coal ash ponds.
-The storage of the majority of chemicals in Virginia is not covered by any regulatory program. Review current industry practices and determine range of standards. Fill any gaps identified in the existing industry toxic storage policies and procedures with standards that ensure adequate safeguards and inspections for the storage of all chemicals.

According to a release, “We must learn from these events and take immediate action to protect public safety, the environment, the economy that the river supports and its recreational value. Our safety requirements and procedures need to be up to date to address current threats and to prevent a crippling event from happening in the future. Now is the time to begin the conversation on how to protect our waterways and our citizens from the threats posed by the storage and transport of hazardous materials.”
If you’d like to have your voice heard, join the forum Wednesday, Nov. 12, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Virginia War Memorial. Your James River needs you.

Train Derailment Explosion Risk

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In the wake of the Lynchburg explosion, more people are looking at maps.

http://portlandtribune.com/sl/226325-88900-map-pinpoints-route-of-oil-trains-through-region

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A couple of comments-
While I am concerned about train derailments, I am not freaking out because of this map. And in the event of a spill or explosion, I would hope the slope of Oregon Hill would protect the neighborhood from the worst of it. As it is, I am much more immediately concerned about resulting river pollution. This may or may not be scaremongering, but it is a subject worth more attention. I understand the James River Association will be sharing more information soon.

Time to Revisit Dreams of High Speed Rail?

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Riffing off a post from three years ago, will we see a resurgence in high speed rail hopes?

This past Friday, FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo spoke Friday at a Virginians for High-Speed Rail event in Richmond.

Szabo challenged officials in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to develop a plan for service along the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.

And, tomorrow, there is an opportunity to advocate for better transportation. On Tuesday, June 24 from 12 noon to 6 pm, there is a PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE meeting of the Richmond Area Metropolitan Planning Organization at 9211 Forest Hill Avenue, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23235. Planning staff from the MPO will be present at the meeting to explain the draft FY 12 – FY 15 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) document and to answer questions. The draft TIP document, still subject to review, is posted on the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission website, www.richmondregional.org.

Riverfront Railroad History

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Andrew McRoberts has written an interesting article in Richmond.com on the “Reasons Richmond Should Love the CSX Railroad Viaduct”.

Excerpts:

The C&O (now CSX) Viaduct is enormously long (about three miles in length). It starts beneath the Robert E. Lee Bridge near Oregon Hill Overlook, and stretches all the way to Nicholson Street and the former Fulton Yard (across Route 5 from Rockett’s Landing in far eastern city of Richmond). It allows a nearly at-grade (level) train crossing of downtown Richmond along the James River and the Great Shiplock for much of its length.

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In 2014, the viaduct is celebrating 113 years in its existence. And, as you know if you ever visit the riverfront downtown, the viaduct is still in active use by CSX Corporation

Like much of Phil Riggan’s articles in Richmond.com on the James River, this deserves reading.

I can’t help but wonder if this is a bit of public relations on CSX’s part, given recent concerns stemming from the Lynchburg explosion.

But, getting back to the history…The C&O Railroad Viaduct is a treasure, and Richmond residents should be aware of other important railroad history that is now threatened within sight of the Viaduct. A remnant of the Tredegar Branch railroad connecting the iron works on Belle Isle with Tredegar is slated to be destroyed by Venture Richmond for yet another amphitheater. These tracks sit on the towpath of the historic James River and Kanawha Canal. Venture Richmond’s plan is to lower the towpath below the historical level of water in the canal and in the process of irreparably damaging the canal, the old railroad line will also be scrapped. Alternatives, such as putting Venture Richmond’s largest stage on Brown’s Island, already leased to Venture Richmond, were ignored. It is unbelieveable that Venture Richmond is destroying the Tredegar Branch railroad remnant that is within the Tredegar Historic Site.

WTVR News: Officials discuss rerouting trains around Richmond that transport volatile oil

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WTVR CBS 6 recently had a new report on talks with the railroad company and government officials about possibly rerouting the trains that carry the volatile oil around Richmond. This follows the recent disaster in Lynchburg.

Excerpt:

Fire officials define the “worst case scenario” for this situation would involve 33 train cars derailing in Shockoe Bottom.

If that were to happen during peak business hours, the impact could stretch to a half mile radius encompassing hundreds of thousands of people.