Afton, VA Print E-mail

 

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Welcome to the NS & Buckingham Branch Live Stream Audio

 

This feed provides railroad audio around the central Shenandoah Valley and covers multiple railroads. 

 

The radio ranch is situated near the top of Afton Mountain along I-64 in Afton, VA. The feed is powered by a Motorola Radio with signals fed from a DPD Productions Traintenna mounted on a 20' rooftop mast. LMR-400 feedline was used to connect the antenna to the receiver. Due to it's high elevation, reception is consistently strong and some days transmissions are heard from well over 40 miles away. The feed provides audio for two Norfolk Southern mainlines as well as two shortline operations, the Buckingham Branch Railroad and the Chesapeake Western (NS Subsidiary around Harrisonburg, VA)

 

Channels Monitored by this feed:

Buckingham Branch Railroad  - Road Channel 23 - 160.455

Norfolk Southern Washington District - Road Channel 56 - 160.950 

Norfolk Southern Roanoke District - Road Channel 22 - 160.440

Chesapeake Western (NS Subsidiary) - Road Channel 72 - 161.190

 

Buckingham Branch Railroad 

The Buckingham Branch leases the former C&O (now CSX) mainline between Richmond, VA and Clifton Forge, VA and it crosses Afton Mountain just a stones throw from the radio ranch. BBRR locals as well as CSX overheads and Amtrak's Tri-weekly Cardinal make up the daily traffic. Most of the reception of this line is from the west side of Charlottesville over the mountain into Waynesboro and west to Staunton.  

  Defect Detectors:

191.5 - Oakland, VA 

Railfan Map / Signal Locations:

  BB Richmond & Alleghany Sub 

BB North Mountain Sub

 

Norfolk Southern

The Roanoke district runs between Shenandoah, VA and Roanoke, VA along the western slope of the Blue Ridge and snakes it's way through the Shenandoah and Roanoke Valleys. This line sees approximately 6 through trains as well as a number of locals, empty oil and coal trains and frequent reroutes from other parts of the system. Common train symbols include 15T/16T, 37Q/38Q, 201/202, 777, 747, 67X, and Vxx locals. Most reception of this line is from the Shenandoah area south through Waynesboro and Stuarts Draft. Some coverage of the CW operations around Harrisonburg can also be heard.

  Defect Detectors:

103.9 - Shenandoah, VA

119.8 - Island Ford, VA

134.4 - Samson, VA

148.1 - Lyndhurst, VA

Railfan Maps / Signal Locations: 

NS Roanoke District   

 

The Washington District runs between Alexandria, VA and Lynchburg, VA along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge through Virginia's Piedmont region. This is the former SOU mainline and can see a high volume of traffic throughout the week. Common train symbols here include 203/204, 211/212, 213/214, 228/227, 290, 35Q/36Q, 11R/12R, Amtrak 19/20, Amtrak 13/14/15/16 Regionals as well as other local and extra traffic. Most reception of this line is around the Charlottesville area with some coverage to the south. 

Defect Detectors:

  105.5 - Proffit,  VA

115.8 - Hickory Hill, VA

Railfan Map / Signal Locations: 

NS Washington District (south end)