Norfolk Southern's B-Line

Through Manassas Gap

Norfolk Southern's B-Line between Front Royal, Virginia, and Manassas, Virginia, is a line that has largely shaped not only the current makeup of the railroad scene in Virginia, but also the states economic and social prowess.

Originally constructed by the Manassas Gap Railroad, this rail line once stretched all the way down to Harrisonburg, Virginia, and was instrumental in the Union Army's Shenandoah Campaign orchestrated during the Civil War. After a series of corporate mergers placed this line into the control of the massive Southern Railway empire, this once busy mainline became a sleepy branch line passionately known as the Harrisonburg branch. The local train that would traverse the line during this era was simply known as the "Valley Queen" by crews and was responsible for serving the communities of Gainesville, Edinburg, Mount Jackson, Strasburg and many others.

In the 1980's, a devastating crash occurred on the former Pennsylvania Railroad at Chase, Maryland, between an Amtrak train and a freight train which ended up costing the lives of dozens of people. After this incident, the government pressured Conrail to end freight operations over the Northeast Corridor which basically was the final nail in the coffin for the once mighty Potomac Yard which the Southern served. With this major interchange point between the Southern and Conrail gone, Southern's successor, Norfolk Southern, decided to upgrade the former Harrisonburg Branch to mainline standards to begin running higher priority trains to the new Conrail interchange at Hagerstown, Maryland. However, the line west of Front Royal down to Harrisonburg was not included in this upgrade and was slowly being abandoned in sections due to a lack of business. The final local train on this stretch of the line, dubbed the B-Line Extension, ran in early 2020 and the line has been railbanked ever since.

Nowadays, this line is quite busy and sees about a dozen or so through freight trains a day as well as a few locals. The line is still very scenic however and there are plenty of great places to take pictures along the right of way. In fact, numerous rural stations still stand along the route today specifically in the towns of The Plains, Front Royal, Strasburg, and Edinburg. However, the line west of Front Royal remains inactive and it is not known if the line will ever be used again.

NS B-Line Train Albums

NS 12R

Recently rebuilt AC44C6M #1557 leads westbound manifest train 12R through Bethlehem Road Crossing just west of Manassas, Virginia, at 7:31 P.M. on Monday, August 22nd, 2022. Although it doesn't appear like it, the land to the right of the mainline is being prepped for the installation of a new spur to serve either an electric substation or warehouse.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS 275

SD70ACe #1197, ES44DC #7574, and rare SD70ACe #7300 lead eastbound PSR intermodal manifest train 275 through the John Marshall Highway grade crossing in Thoroughfare, Virginia, at 8:05 A.M. on May 31st, 2023. An almost all EMD lashup, 275 is about halfway done with it's usual two day trek from Enola Yard just outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Portlock Yard in Norfolk, Virginia. A consistent morning train, 275 can commonly be seen between 6:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. and can easily be identified by its half and half consist of stacks and time freight.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS 289

Kansas City Southern EMD SD70ACe #4145 leads southbound intermodal 289 through the John Marshall highway grade crossing just west of Haymarket, Virginia, at 4:54 P.M. on May 25th, 2024. The trailing unit is NS ES44DC #7568, an older GEVO built in June of 2006. NS 289, former NS 201, runs from Croxton, New Jersey, to Rossville, Tennessee. After catching him here at Thoroughfare, I chased him to Catlett on the Washington District. Who knows the next time, if ever, when a Kansas City Southern locomotive leads in Northern Virginia.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS 741

Norfolk Southern AC44C6M #4397 and three other locomotives clear the curve near the summit of Linden Hill with empty coal train 741 near Linden, Virginia, at 5:06 P.M. on Saturday, October 15th, 2022. Coal trains are increasingly infrequent on the Washington District and B-Line so whenever I have a chance to see one, I take it. In this instance, I was returning home after spending the day on the CSX Metropolitan and Cumberland Subdivisions and heard this guy was coming so I took a detour and caught him on the overpass. Lighting ended up being pretty cool which was a bonus.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

A trio of Norfolk Southern locomotives led by AC44C6M #4189 leads empty coal train 741 westbound at the B3.0 just outside of Manassas, Virginia, at 4:14 P.M. on Sunday, May 15th, 2022. The tracks in the background make up the rock yard that serves Vulcan's Graham Quarry. A few times a week Vulcan will send out their switcher, an old end cab SW series locomotive, to work the yard.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

Norfolk Southern AC44C6M #4400 pushes on the rear of westbound empty coal train 741 as it clears the crossing at Rixlew Lane just outside of Manassas, Virginia, at 2:10 P.M. on Thursday, March 24th, 2022. Heading to Shire Oaks, Pennsylvania, and later Bailey Mine, this train will traverse the rest of the B-Line, then the H-Line, Lurgan Branch, and finally the Pittsburgh Line.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

A friendly Norfolk Southern crew member waves outside the window of AC44C6M #4321 as the Wabtec C44-9W rebuild pulls empty coal train 741 westbound approaching Ashton Avenue in Manassas, Virginia, at 6:15 P.M. on Monday, August 30th, 2021. Possibly the most common coal train on the Washington District, 741 runs approximately once a week and can be seen at anytime on any day. Recently however, 741 has been coming very frequently during the day which is always a treat for a coal train lover such as myself. Coal trains on the Washington District are also quite unique in that they usually have pushers attached to the rear. These pushers continue to be utilized until being taken off at the terminus of all northbound empty Norfolk Southern coal trains at Shire Oaks, Pennsylvania.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS 779

SD70ACC #1843 is on the point of westbound empty coal train 779 as it clears the curve at Bethlehem Road on the outskirts of Manassas, Virginia, at 4:31 P.M. on Wednesday, April 27th, 2022. Originating at Duke Power's Roxboro Steam Plant located on Hyco Lake near Roxboro, North Carolina, this massive train passed with four mid train DPU's and a single engine on the rear. These 779's are some of, if not the longest, trains on the B-Line and can sometimes total over 200 cars. This specific train had 882 axles and stretched over 2 miles long.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS K87

On some rare occasions, K87, the Alexandria switcher, can run as a relief move for one of the other locals. On Thursday, February 24th, 2022, K87 would do just that, running the route usually worked by K94. That day, K87 was tasked with delivering one loaded refrigerated boxcar full of potatoes to Martin Brower Distributers in Wellington, Virginia. Here we can see K87 at 3:48 P.M. with Norfolk Southern SD60E #6987 on the rear crossing Ashton Avenue in Manassas, Virginia, on its way to Martin Brower with the "fry box". Interestingly, K94 would run later but I guess this car needed to be at Martin Brower before K94 would go on duty later that day.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS K94

Norfolk Southern K94 reverses across Ashton Avenue in Manassas, Virginia, with three loaded refrigerated boxcars for Martin Brower Distributors in Wellington, Virginia, at 6:57 P.M. on Tuesday, July 26th, 2022. Two SD60E's were tasked with today's chores but instead of operating in the usual push pull formation, both were placed on the rear of the train. It's nice to catch this train in the summer because that's really the only time it can be photographed with decent lighting.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

The B-Line of The Past

NS 203

In a surprising turn on events, here we can see Union Pacific ET44AH #2610 on the point of Norfolk Southern intermodal train 203 as it crosses Ashton Avenue in Manassas, Virginia, on Tuesday, July 26th, 2022. Foreign power on the B-Line, especially recently, hasn't been as rare as it once was but foreign leaders are still far and few. It seems every train with a foreign leader on it is either a night run or the locomotive gets taken off at Hagerstown or Lynchburg.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS 211

ES44AC #8116 leads Norfolk Southern stack train 211 eastward across Ashton Avenue in Manassas, Virginia, on Friday, June 18th, 2021. 211 is one of two normal afternoon Norfolk Southern trains as well as 227. There used to be three consistent weekday trains, 211, 214, and 227. 214 has since been cut back and 227 now runs at random times. Only 211 still runs at the same time consistently.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS 214

Norfolk Southern SD70ACe #1185 is the first locomotive that emerges around the curve past the ruins of Chapman's Mill on Tuesday, July 6th, 2021. This scene can never be repeated as the train pictured here is none other than 214 and only had a few more months to operate before being cut back to operating between Jacksonville, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia. Chapman's Mill is near Thoroughfare Gap, Virginia, just west of Haymarket, Virginia.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

NS 227

Norfolk Southern SD70ACe #1150 rumbles across Rixlew Lane in Manassas, Virginia, with mixed intermodal/manifest train 227 on Wednesday, February 16th, 2022. With the adoption of PSR, 227 has gone from hauling all intermodal containers to now hauling timed freight with stops at Crewe, Lynchburg, and a new destination of Enola Yard in Pennsylvania. Before PSR's implementation, 227 terminated at the Virginia Inland Port just north of Front Royal.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

A trio of Union Pacific engines lead Norfolk Southern train 227 westward on the B-Line approaching Ashton Avenue in Manassas, Virginia, on Tuesday, July 27th, 2021. These three locomotives had arrived in Norfolk on a loaded coal train and were then attached to 227 for the northbound trip to Enola, Pennsylvania.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

Norfolk Southern C40-8 #8755 and C39-8 #8575 are the two iron horses given the duty of leading the historic first run of stack train 227 through Riverton Junction, Virginia, on February 4th, 1997. As of 2022, 227 and southbound counterpart 228 still run daily but now haul timed freight as well as intermodal traffic. Here's to many more years of 227 and 228 serving this great state!

*Mason Y. Cooper Photograph**Nick A. Jobe Collection*

NS E87

Norfolk Southern GP38-2 #5113 pulls into Strasburg, Virginia, with local train E87 on Saturday, November 16th, 1985. This 5 unit local train originated in Manassas, Virginia, and was probably either heading to Strasburg Junction just west of this spot to interchange with CSX or head down south to Harrisonburg, Virginia, which was the terminus of the B-Line at this date. Note the business to the right with multiple cars spotted adjacent to the building, this may have been a printing company which received boxcars of paper. Also, note the second GP38-2 still decked out in Southern Railway's Tuxedo livery. Norfolk Southern was rather quick at repainting all equipment to the black and white horsehead scheme unlike CSX.

*Mason Y. Cooper Photograph**Nick A. Jobe Collection*

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