What to do within a few hours of Norfolk, VA

atsfm177 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:40 pm

I've been working the last week in Norfolk and find that I now have an unplanned free weekend. Am looking for suggestions of Railroad related things to do within a few hours of here. I know about and have been to Fort Eustis, and I don't think I have it in me to drive to Roanoke and back in one day. I'm not into just watching long double stacks and coal drags leave the port (I get to do that during the week), so am more interested in preservation kind of things.

Please help me ward off cabin fever. -)

Greg

Richard Glueck · **Posted:** Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:01 pm

There are two C&O Kanawhas on display nearby; one in Newport News, the other in Richmond.

tomgears · **Posted:** Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:33 pm

You are not all that far from the B&O Museum, worth the trip for sure.

Gary Gray · **Posted:** Fri Apr 16, 2010 11:47 pm

Greg, You're about 4 1/2 hours from Roanoke by either route. You might want to consider coming up and staying overnight. We've got VMT and the Link Museum. I can also easily arrange the "Grand Two-Bit Tour" of 9th St and the formerly "Lost", now found engines. If you take the straight route, you will also be close enough to hit the Crewe RR Museum, and if you are interested, several Civil War sites.

Regards

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

If you are into tracking old haunts, the original Norfolk Southern ran an electric service around the beach area with some occassional freight service, all gone, but a trip around the road might bring up clues of its existance. The city is proposing making a light rail on that service.

atsfm177 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 17, 2010 9:54 am

While I do have a mostly free weekend, I still have a fair amount of work ironically reconciling inventories of removed and remaining railroad tracks around Hampton Roads, so as much as I want to do Roanoke, not happening this weekend. AREMA has offered a class I want to take in Roanoke, so am going to try and schedule that before I retire.

I already have a trip to the DC area next month and haven't been to the B&O museum since the roof collapse so that is on the schedule for May.

I have been checking out a number of abandoned RoWs this trip, especially those that served the military (what around here doesn't) but am not sure which ones you refer to. I did notice on my drive into downtown the other night the light rail system they are building. Haven't researched its route of destinations yet.

Greg