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Over the last few days my family and I were down in Gettysburg. While we were there, we took a trip down to Harper's Ferry (West Virginia) and what an amazing place that is. We went there for its history, especially in so far as the Civil War is concerned; however, I didn't realise there was a Railway there operated by CSX as well as the "old" line and Station.
Anyway, here are some shots of that trip pertaining to the railroad:
Considering my "love, well fascination" of trestle bridges, having the opportunity to see one up close (very very close) was perfect. Now I have a great reference for the building of my trestles. With that being said, my Trestle Bent Jig arrived today, so I am thinking about starting production of the bents in the next few days.
I'm just across the river from Harpers Ferry in Virginia. I'm sorry I didn't know you were going to be so close. It would have been good to meet you face to face Tony. Are you still in the area?
Really? Darn, I wish I had have know - it would have been good to meet you in person. No, we returned home on Wednesday but that isn't to say I wont be down that way again before the end of the year so long as the weather holds.
Have to say I am envious of you, you live in a beautiful area without a doubt. I would love to live down that way, Virginia or West Virginia, especially being so interested and previously involved (Living Historian) with the Civil War.
Not as historically relevant, but if you do get down there again you should plan a 1/2 day visit to Point of Rocks, MD. They also have a nice train station.
Sorry for the delay in replying - just saw your post. To answer your question I don't know if they are super elevated or not, they looked normal to me though.
Yes. The superelevation is visible on the photos. This route is the CSX Main between Baltimore / Washington and Pittsburgh PA, and the Amtrak Capitol Limited (Superliners) stops in Harpers Ferry in each direction, daily.
As you can see from Tony's photos, the area is loaded with Historical stuff and glorious Potomac - Appalachian scenery. It's no wonder the B&O Capitol Limited and Columbian trains were assigned dome cars during the Streamliner era.
So an obvious question from me - how can you tell if the track is super elevated? What am I looking for in the photo's and what is the difference between super elevated and "standard"?
I know, a newbie question - sorry
Wish we had have known about the Amtrak Superliners stopping there, we might have stuck around to see them. Maybe next time
Tony: When you look at a curve, if the outside rail is higher than the inside rail there is superelevation. If both rails of the curve appear flat or the same hight, there is no superelevation. Superelevation varies depending on track usage and maximum authorized speed. In the Northeast corridor the differential can be 6", on a 10MPH Secondary there would be no differential. The photo at the station, facing the tunnel, the track curves to the left. the inside of the curve is the left rail, also called the low rail, and the outside or high rail is on the right.
Tony: Most model railroads do not use superelevation, for obvious reasons, however, there have been how to articles published in Model Railroader and other outlets. I superelevated the curves on my previous layout, with mixed results. I also had a problem on one curve, with reverse superelevation [ The outside rail was lower than the inside rail], due to a warped L girder. I'm not sure I will use it on the new railroad.
