THE FRONT ROYAL SHIFTER THE FRONT ROYAL SHIFTER  |
Norfolk & Western's train S41S, the Front Royal Shifter, served the major industries around the town of Front Royal VA. Train S41S, a.k.a. the "TOM CAT" held rights to work plants and sidings as far north as Rippon WV. The train officially originated at Shenandoah VA, running to Front Royal to begin the day. At certain times of the year the train crew taxied to Front Royal to save time in begining the day's business. The largest customer for the Shifter was American Viscose, (later known as Avtex) at Front Royal. Avtex accounted for several millions of dollars worth of traffic for N&W and was the first priority for service each day for the Front Royal Shifter. |
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Norfolk & Western's train #HR-95 slows as it passes the home signal at the north end of the siding at Front Royal. The train will be cut in two and the crew of the Shifter will set off cars destined for delivery to American Viscose. In addition to #HR-95, the shifter also received cars off Norfolk & Western trains #HR-51, #RH-88 and #RH-52.
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Photos (clockwise from the upper left): - The Shifter sorts out sulfuric acid tank cars for General Chemical. The concrete base for the steam era water tank can be seen to the right. - Train S41S pulls a string of coal empties out of Avtex. - The final unit in N&Ws order for GP38ACs, the 4159 pulls cars out of the south gate of Avtex. - Putting together its train at the south end of the siding at Front Royal, train S41S will soon begin the return trip to Shenandoah. - The placards on sulfuric acid tanks indicated the cars required special handling. One stands on the mainline while the Shifter sorts out cars just to the south. - A GP35 working on the Shifter pulls cars off the overload track south of the north gate of Avtex Fibers.
Photos (clockwise from the upper left): - It never rains on the N&W, that's liquid sunshine! Train HR-95 rolls past the passenger platform at Front Royal station. - Train RH-88 pulls out of siding after setting off cars for the Front Royal Shifter. - Train HR-95 speeds past the Front Royal station. - Extra 1745 South, with a visiting UP unit in the consist, passes the Front Royal shifter near the north gate of the Avtex plant. - Train HR-95 passes the Shifter waiting on the house track at Front Royal station. N&W train HR-51 rolls around the curve near the station in the early evening light. On this day the Front Royal Shifter is waiting as HR-51 is over-tonnage for the track ahead and will reduce using the overload track. The Front Royal Shifter will then pick up this extra tonnage and follow HR51 to Shenandoah.
Photos (clockwise from the upper left): - During those times of the year when the "Tom Cat" originated the day at Front Royal the motive power was available for a photo study. Four axle power was favored, although the large six axle units were used. GP30 536 was an example of one of the four axle locomotives that could be found on the shifter. - It is 1971 and N&W is still running a few passenger trains...none on the Shenandoah Division. Still, GP-9 519 still has its steam generator when passenger duties call as it lays over on the house track at Front Royal. The GP9 was the most commonly used type of locomotive on the Shifter. - N&W's standard road engine in the late 1970s was the SD40-2. When not needed elsewhere these would on occasion appear on the shifter. - A real duck out of water were the big, powerful and very heavy SD45s. A real danger in working in the Avtex Fibers was that the big units would turn over a rail on the questionable plant trackage. - The perfect spot to take a photo on the Front Royal Shifter power when it was spotted on the team track was high up on the bank at the plant fence...Just be sure not to do it when it is wet as the clay will stick to your shoes and you will be several inches taller by the time you get back to your vehicle. - The 826 had an especially spartan paint and lettering scheme, even for a N&W GP9. Although they developed less horsepower than the newer models, they were the favorite locomotive model of crews working on the Shifter.
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Train #V88 is called in the early morning hours at Front Royal station and works the industries on the former N&W tracks from Riverton Junction northward to Ashby. This includes Riverton Stone at Carson, Roanoke Cement and E.I. Dupont at Cedarville, Sysco, Toray Plastics and Ferguson Pipe at Success. Work is usually completed by early afternoon at which time the crew resturns and ties up at Front Royal station. Cars are normally delivered to #V88 by Shenandoah VA to Hagerstown MD trains #V86 and #V87. A caboose NS 555088 is used by the crew, usually leading on northward movements.
Photos :On July 19,2005, the second day of operation, Train #V88 rolls northward over Bridge No.660 at Riverton Juction VA to begin the days assignment. Power on these first trains was former Conrail SD70 2579.
Train #V88 passes the northbound home signal at Riverton Junction at 11:15AM on August 30, 2005. Motive power on this day is SD40-2 3418, the former Conrail 6510.
Photos :It almost seems like old times as former Norfolk & Western SD40-2 1650 lays over on the team track at Front Royal station at 7:45AM on August 5, 2005.
Caboose 555088 arrived for work with a full coat of grafitti as evidenced in this morning at 7:45AM on August 20,2005. The cabbose is spotted on the house track at Front Royal station between duties.
With the conductor of train #V88 on the caboose, the crew holds for train #15T
to pass at 8:43AM on July 19, 2005 before running north with a delivery for
Roanoke Cement.
NS train #V87 passes train #V88 at 8:12AM on August 2, 2005. The local has
dropped cars for delivery by #V88 at Ferguson Pipe. Train V#87 is now runing
to the south end of the siding at Front Royal where it will pick up empties
left the previous day by #V88 and then forward them to Shenandoah.
