Virginia/Railroads
This wiki intends to document all active railroads in Virginia as named districts and subdivisions along with links to their route=railway relations, as well as the status of their ongoing TIGER Review. These relations are largely extant in OSM, but their TIGER Review is not well wiki-documented. Introductions to OSM's basic rail tagging scheme are Railways and railway=*. Please see United_States/Railroads#Editing_Railroads_starting_from_TIGER_data, as TIGER rail data were imported across the USA in 2007-8. TIGER Review, cleanup and this kind of state-level wiki documenting such progress are ongoing, these nationwide efforts will likely continue at least until the 2030s (at our current pace of TIGER Review). The rail-specific renderer OpenRailwayMap (ORM) has yet-more-specific tagging conventions, found at OpenRailwayMap/Tagging. Railroad tagging conventions particular to North America are at OpenRailwayMap/Tagging in North America (under construction). Current efforts in this wiki are documenting TIGER Review in all Virginia route=railway relations. Future efforts will better distinguish "industrial" rail (from existing main and brach rail), document yards, disused, abandoned railways and "railtrails," as well as convey active passenger services in the state like Amtrak®, Virginia Rail Express and Tide Light Rail.
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transport publishes a relatively recent statewide rail map that OSM may use as a useful overview.
Due to recent wiki and associated software upgrades, the map details are not-quite-correct. To fix, please select "Transport Map" from the upper-right "layers stack" icon to see Virginia's rail infrastructure networks; zoom in to see tracks and stations. As this is a "live" slippy map, it can be panned and zoomed.
Data Sources
Manual cleanup of Virginia railroads from the TIGER import is underway, so we are beyond the point where an additional large geometry import would be helpful (rather than a hindrance). This Overpass Turbo query displays Virginia's unreviewed TIGER rail, now (mid-2020) over 2700 ways. There are >100 route=railway relations in Virginia, this Overpass Turbo query displays them and allows one-button-easy Export to JOSM. Mid-2020, these data are ~5000 ways, "about half" (>2700 ways) have tiger:reviewed=no and ~500 have no usage=*. Eventually, those relations (with their TIGER Review status) harmonize in these wiki tables; we work on that now. The following may serve as good references to help improve these data.
Virginia has published the railroads in the state as a Shapefile at GISData.Virginia.gov, generated from 2002 aerial images and other existing maps. The data are likely in the public domain, please verify.
| Shapefile field | OSM Tag | Description | Values |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIPS | N/A | FIPS county code | 51001, 51003, etc |
| FCC | service=yard (B3) or service=spur (B2) | Census Feature Class Codes | B1, B2, B3, B4, B47 |
| EDITOR | N/A | Perhaps user who edited feature | "AB", null |
| OPER_EDIT | ?? | abbreviation (usually Reporting mark) | BB, BCR, C&A, CHW, CSXT, CWR, GVT/Military, NCVA, NPBL, NS, SV, VSRR, WMAT, WW, |
| OPER_VGIN | N/A | badly-formatted name | "CSX RR Dahlgren Spur", "CSX Railroad", "Chesapeake Western Railway", "Clinchfield Railroad", "Conrail Railroad", "EDIT, "EDIT_EXTENSION", "Eastern Shore Railroad", "Interstate Railroad", "Metro Railroad", "Norfolk Portsmouth Belt Line R", "Norfolk Southern Railroad", "Post Railroad", "Princess Anne Railroad", "Railroad", "US Government Railroad", "WMAT", "Winchester and Western RR" |
| HEARTLAND | usage=tourism? | For tourism? Perhaps Heartland Corridor? | "Y", "N", null |
| PASSENGER | N/A | For passenger use | "Y", "N", null |
| MILITARY | usage=military | For military use | "Y", "N", null |
Other sources of railroad data:
- Federal Railroad Administration GIS - a quick source of Operator, Subdivision, and Level Crossing data, compatible with OSM's ODbL.
- This bts.gov link, goes to arcgis.com. From Blue circle-1, choose SUBDIV, RROWNR or TRKRGHTS. From Blue circle-2, optionally select options from Types and/or Options then click the rectangular blue OK button at the bottom. Wait a long time at wide zooms or zoom in for faster performance. Choose OSM as a basemap, handy to compare progress / improvements.
- CTA Railroad Network - only claims accuracy to 100 meters
- US Census 2010 TIGER
- National Atlas (dead link)
Most likely the VBMP data (which? where?) are quite spatially accurate, they were created from 15- and 30-centimeter resolution aerial imagery.
Status of Individual Railroads or Routes
Status is sorted alphabetically first by current operator=*, then by name of route. Guidelines for proper usage=* are given where they've already been determined.
The Status column is an overall summary for the named route. The Status: line in the Notes cell is for brief notes on what has already been done on that line, and what is still known to be required.
Values used in the Status column are based on table cell templates, and have the following suggested meanings:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| no |
No review has been performed at all. |
| maybe |
Initial TIGER Review of the main route for name=*, operator=*, reporting marks=* and creation of the route=railway relation only have been done. No corrections to alignment or other details. Tag tiger:reviewed=no has been removed. |
| partial |
Some finish work has begun, including verification of alignment of main route, existence and alignment of spurs and yard tracks, and naming of all critical operating sites such as yards and junctions. |
| yes |
All basic work to complete tagging on elements of the route, including verification of name=* and operator=* values on main tracks is complete for the full route as a route=railway relation, including its name=*. Existence and alignment of all spurs, yard tracks and junctions with correct and current name=*s and tags are completed and verified. Only additional detail work remains, such as noting and naming all Control Points, spur_junctions and other minor infrastructure and facilities. |
Buckingham Branch Railroad
operator=Buckingham Branch Railroad
Also add Goshen Industrial Track, North Anna Industrial Track.
A 2007 Employee Timetable is available online for reference on the two ex-C&O divisions.
In addition, the BB folks are a bit more forthcoming with useful information than most on their website.
| Status | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no |
C&O |
11264649 11264649
|
Buckingham Division Bremo Bluff, VA to Dillwyn, VA |
Status: ? |
| no |
C&O |
North Mountain 2259843 2259843, Washington 2259854 2259854,Piedmont 2259847 2259847
|
Richmond & Alleghany Division Northeast Richmond, VA to Clifton Forge, VA |
Status: ? |
| maybe |
PRR |
11218180 11218180
|
Norfolk Division Northwest Virginia Beach, VA to Norfolk, VA |
Status: Added name, operator, and basic route relation only. Saw @Natfoot was also working on more cleanup as well. Chuck (talk) 15:53, 19 June 2020 (UTC) |
| no |
SOU |
9841674 9841674
|
Virginia Southern Division Burkeville, VA to Clarksville, VA |
Status: ? |
Chesapeake & Albemarle
name=Main for mainline route, 9851099 9851099 southbound mainline of the original, historic Norfolk Southern, from Chesapeake to Edenton (abandoned at Chowan bridge and beyond).
operator=Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad Company
Status: "Maybe." Main route name and relation only complete so far. Chuck (talk) 16:54, 19 June 2020 (UTC)
Commonwealth Railway
name=Coastal for mainline route 11264647 11264647, the east end of the old AD/NF&D, from Suffolk to West Norfolk. Sole route of access to APM Terminal, both CSX and NS have trackage rights from Suffolk.
Status: "No." Zero work started, usage=* isn't even set to get it appearing correctly in ORM. Chuck (talk) 16:26, 29 June 2020 (UTC)
CSX Transportation
Here is an Overpass Turbo query which returns all Virginia railway tagged operator=CSX. This may or may not accurately capture "what you might want" OSM's data to be, but rather what those data are at the time the query is run. Such queries are easy to edit and re-run with new parameters.
| Status | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no |
ACL |
2203672 2203672, 7426293 7426293
|
North End Subdivision Rocky Mount, NC to NW Richmond, VA |
Status: ? |
| no |
C&O |
2259845 2259845
|
Peninsula Subdivision Newport News, VA to east Richmond, VA |
Status: ? |
| no |
C&O |
2259849 2259849
|
Rivanna Subdivision East Richmond, VA to east Gladstone, VA |
Status: ? |
| no |
C&O |
2259830 2259830
|
James River Subdivision Gladstone, VA to Clifton Forge, VA |
Status: ? |
| no |
C&O |
2246707 2246707
|
Alleghany Subdivision Clifton Forge, VA to Hinton, WV |
Status: ? |
| no |
RF&P |
2259098 2259098
|
Richmond Terminal Subdivision NW Richmond, VA to Washington, DC |
Status: ? |
| maybe |
SAL |
2255447 2255447
|
Portsmouth Subdivision Weldon, NC to Portsmouth, VA |
Status: Limited work begun, Portsmouth at NPBL Diamond and Old Portsmouth Yard complete. Endpoint of actual route verified ask asked by previous route relation editor. Line segment numbers dug out of FRA crossing reports and added. Otherwise, only relation, name, operator, etc done. |
| no |
SAL |
2259095 2259095
|
Bellwood Subdivision Centralia, VA to downtown Richmond, VA |
Status: ? |
| no |
SAL |
2259097 2259097
|
Hopewell Subdivision Bellwood, VA to Hopewell, VA |
Status: ? |
| no |
SAL |
2259098 2259098
|
Richmond Terminal Subdivision Downtown Richmond, VA to NW Richmond, VA |
Status: ? |
Also add:
Airbase Industrial Track (CSX), Amoco Industrial Track (CSX), CV Subdivision (CSX), Clopton Lead (CSX), Covington Industrial Track (CSX), Dahlgren Branch (CSX), Fremont Branch (CSX), Glasgow Industrial Track (CSX), Haysi Branch (CSX), James River Industrial Track (CSX), Kingsport Subdivision (CSX), Main Line (Philadelphia to Washington) (AMTK), Nora Branch (CSX), Pennington Gap Branch (CSX), Potts Creek Industrial Track (CSX), RF&P Subdivision (CSX), Shenandoah Subdivision (CSX). Use the route=railway "relations" OT query (above) to get a superset of data containing these relation #s.
Delmarva Central Railway
name=Bay Coast Railroad for mainline route (not sure if this is correct; may be an old name that needs revising)
operator=Delmarva Central Railway
| Status | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| maybe | PRR, NYP&N, BCR, ESHR | The single way is entered |
Bay Coast Railroad Hallwood, VA to Maryland boundary |
Status: Maybe. A way that was tagged railway=abandoned + operator=Bay Coast Railroad represented the entirety of the line from Pokomoke City (Maryland) through Accomack County and south to Cape Charles. The state rail map linked above (2019) says that this is active DCR line from Hallwood north to Maryland (now represented as the way noted in this table) and "out of service" south of Hallwood to Cape Charles. Visual imagery (Esri World Imagery) suggests this line has tracks along the entire peninsula (from Maryland south to Cape Charles). Accordingly, this line was split at Hallwood (Main Street), set to railway=disused south of there and railway=rail + operator=Delmarva Central Railway north of there to Pokomoke City (Maryland). Tags (name, operator, rail...) and the edge of active / disused may still need to be "tuned up" on both of these ways. Very little else has been done. |
DCR also operates Delmarva Secondary line 2258990 2258990 from Pokomoke City (Maryland) north to Salisbury (Maryland) and Newcastle (Delaware), out-of-scope for this Virginia wiki.
Fort Eustis Military Railroad
operator=Fort Eustis Military Railroad
usage=military for the line from the gate to the wye, the training branch, and the utility rail branch all the way down to Harrison Rd. Some basic info on usage=* can be found at OpenRailwayMap/Tagging in North America/Route Importance Examples#Fort Eustis Military Railroad (dead-end, Military Owned and Operated), this line is one of the tag examples there.
Further info to start on the line at Fort Eustis Military Railroad.
Status: Appears to be due for a complete go-through. I corrected two bridge names on Harrison Rd, just because I'm personally familiar with the project, but have not started work on the rest of the base yet. Can contact me with any specific questions, am fairly familiar with this installation. Chuck (talk) 16:52, 11 June 2020 (UTC)
Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line
operator=Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line
- Has always been a joint-owned terminal railroad since its creation. Currently owned 57% by NS and 43% by CSXT.
- Info availability isn't great for NPBL, they're small and not terribly communicative.
- The 1947 system map available here is still surprisingly relevant and informative.
| Status | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yes | N&W, C&O/CO, SOU, NYP&N, AD, ACL, NS, SAL, ERR (or none!) | 11213094 11213094
|
ERR Main Line Pinner's Point, VA to NS Junction |
Status: Fully complete. South/Elizabeth River branch (ERR Main Line on NPBL recent crossing documentation) is done. Cleanup and verification done on ALL yards and spurs where NPBL is the primary operator. Chuck (talk) 15:08, 19 June 2020 (UTC) |
| yes | N&W, C&O/CO, SOU, NYP&N, AD, ACL, NS, SAL, ERR (or none!) | 11210433 11210433
|
Sewells Point ?, VA to ?, VA |
Status: Fully complete. Added the trackage rights along NS, including all the way up the former VGN to NPBL's isolated Sewells Point trackage into NIT. Cleanup and verification done on ALL yards and spurs where NPBL is the primary operator. |
Norfolk Southern Railway
operator=Norfolk Southern Railway
NS names by "Districts" not "Subdivisions".
| Status | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| partial |
N&W, NS, VGN |
11163486 11163486
|
Norfolk Terminal Norfolk, VA to Chesapeake, VA |
Status: All main line names and routes (including branches) are done. Mainline alignments largely verified, mainline control points added, branch line control points on all but the scraps of B/A branch added. Lots of spur and yard cleanup left on all portions, for instance the tracks for Carolina Yard are almost completely missing. |
| maybe |
N&W |
1440606 1440606
|
Norfolk District Chesapeake, VA to Crewe, VA |
Status: Started, but it's still very much a mess, both geometry and the relation. There's a lot of work to do on this one compared to within Norfolk. Chuck (talk) 16:18, 29 June 2020 (UTC) |
| maybe |
AD |
2258992 2258992
|
Franklin District Suffolk, VA to Edgerton, VA |
Status: Naming and route fixed, Tiger tag removed. Still needs updating to change the western part of the line to disused, and a lot of other work. |
| no |
N&W |
Blue Ridge District Crewe, VA to Vinton |
Status: ? | |
| no |
SOU |
Richmond District Burkeville, VA to West Point, VA |
Status: ? | |
| no |
VGN |
Altavista District Abilene, VA to Roanoke, VA |
Status: ? | |
| no |
N&W |
Durham District Lynchburg, VA to Roxboro, NC |
Status: ? | |
| no |
N&W |
Roanoke Terminal Vinton, VA to west Roanoke, VA |
Status: ? |
Districts west of Christiansburg, up the Shenandoah Valley, and the whole ex-SOU Main still need to be entered into tables, as well. Please include (and separate into "District Tables"): Altavista District (NS), Appalachia District (NS), B-Line (NS), Berkley/Albemarle District (NS), Big Creek Branch (NS), Big Prater Creek Spur (NS), Big Toms Creek Branch (NS), Blacksburg Branch (NS), Blue Ridge District (NS), Bradshaw Spur (NS), Buchanan Branch (NS), CW-Line (NS), Calvin Spur (NS), Catawba Branch (NS), Chesapeake Western (NS), Christiansburg District (NS), City Point Branch (NS), Clinch Valley District (NS), Clinch Valley Extension (NS), Clover Spur (NS), Cloverdale Branch (NS), Coal Creek Branch (NS), DW-Line (NS), Danville District (NS), Dismal Creek Branch (NS), Dixiana Branch (NS), Dry Fork Branch (NS), Dumps Creek Branch (NS), Durham District (NS), Garden Creek Branch (NS), Glamorgan Branch (NS), Hagerstown District (NS), Halsey Spur (NS), Heartland Corridor (NS), Hill Top Branch (NS), Holton Spur (NS), Jacobs Fork Branch (NS), Knoxville District Middlesboro Line (NS), L-Line (NS), Lamberts Point Branch (NS), Levisa Branch (NS), Pardee Branch (NS), Petersburg Old Line (NS), Pine Branch (NS), Pocahontas District (NS), Potts Valley Branch (NS), Pulaski District (NS), Radford Branch (NS), Richmond District (NS), Roanoke District (NS), Roda Branch (NS), Sewells Point Branch (NS), South Branch (NS), St. Charles Branch (NS), Upper Elk Creek Spur (NS), Washington District (NS), Whitethorne District (NS), Winston-Salem District (NS). Use the route=railway "relations" OT query (above) to get a superset of data containing these relation #s. Accordingly, this (NS) will be by far the most complex section of this wiki, containing many tables. The benefit is aiding the wiki reader by logically organizing Virginia NS rail.
North Carolina and Virginia
operator=North Carolina and Virginia, reporting_marks=NCVA
Little is known.
Status: None. Line around Norfolk and southerly into North Carolina.
Shenandoah Valley
operator=North Carolina and Virginia, reporting_marks=SV
Little is known.
Status: None.
Virginia Port Authority
operator=Virginia Port Authority, reporting_marks=VAPX
| Status | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| maybe | VGN | 11211841 11211841
|
NIT Lead Sewell's Point Branch (NPBL, NS) to Norfolk Intermodal Terminals |
Status: Maybe. |
Winchester & Western
operator=Winchester & Western, reporting_marks=WW
Little is known, though 11264694 11264694.
Status: None.
Editors and Community
If you are working on railroads in Virginia, and are willing be listed and to help other local editors, please add your information below with your areas of interest and signature for contact. If we're able to build a state rail community this way, it might make it easier for us to work through the large amount of work left to do in VA.
- Chuck (talk) 19:26, 15 June 2020 (UTC) most familiar with railroads in central and eastern VA (lot of local familiarity in that region). Currently starting in Hampton Roads and working my way out and west to attempt to get as much main line TIGER review done as possible. Also working on the wiki here, on improving OpenRailwayMap/Tagging in North America, and have started developing a tagging preset for JOSM specifically for North America that is consistent with our rail tagging wiki, in an attempt to make us faster and more consistent.
- Stevea (talk) 20:09, 29 June 2020 (UTC) Contributor to United_States/Railroads, state-level wikis (especially California/Railroads), TIGER rail improvement sprinkled about the fifty states, also improving OpenRailwayMap/Tagging in North America. I lightly edit Virginia rail in OSM, making some contributions to this wiki like adding Relation columns to tables and sprinkling in some Overpass Turbo queries where they might be helpful.