Commonwealth Railway
Encyclopedia
The Commonwealth Railway, Inc. is a Class III
short-line railroad operating 16.5 miles (26.6 km) of track of a former Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway
line from Suffolk, Virginia
, to Portsmouth, Virginia
. The main office is in the Wilroy area of Suffolk. Commonwealth Railway is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and is a part of Norfolk Southern's "Thoroughbred Shortline Program". They interchange with Norfolk Southern in Suffolk.
An important industry on the line is the BASF
Chemical plant in the West Norfolk area of Portsmouth. The plant is usually switched by locomotive #444, a GP16
class locomotive rebuilt by Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
in the early 1980s. The main locomotive is #517, a CF7
rebuild of an EMD F7
performed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
in the 1970s.
Another important industry is APM Terminals, which is a modern shipping container port in Portsmouth, VA along the Elizabeth River. This port was leased by Maersk to the Virginia Port Authority
in late 2010. Commonwealth Railway is the only rail line to access the port. Another port is planned for Craney Island
. With the opening of this new container port, two EMD SW1500
type switch engines were added to the roster. To handle the container traffic to and from the port, the Commonwealth Railway line through the city of Portsmouth has been realigned down the medians of I-664 and SR 164, at a cost of $60 million. A small marshalling yard has been built in the Baileytown area of Suffolk. Double-stack container service
started in December 2010. A second phase, paid for by $9 million in federal stimulus funding, will further improve port access and is expected to be completed in September 2011.
Class III railroad
A Class III railroad, as defined by the Surface Transportation Board, is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $20 million . The term only applies to United States railroads, but is sometimes applied to other countries...
short-line railroad operating 16.5 miles (26.6 km) of track of a former Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway
Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway
The Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway which operated as the Atlantic & Danville Railway prior to 1962, at one time operated 250 miles of track between Portsmouth and Danville, Virginia. There was also a 50 mile branch from near Emporia to Claremont on the James River plus several shorter...
line from Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...
, to Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
. The main office is in the Wilroy area of Suffolk. Commonwealth Railway is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and is a part of Norfolk Southern's "Thoroughbred Shortline Program". They interchange with Norfolk Southern in Suffolk.
An important industry on the line is the BASF
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
Chemical plant in the West Norfolk area of Portsmouth. The plant is usually switched by locomotive #444, a GP16
GP16
The Uceta GP16 was a series of rebuilt diesel-electric locomotives, a result of a remanufacturing program initiated by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in an effort to spare the cost of purchasing new motive power in the late 1970s...
class locomotive rebuilt by Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a former Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971...
in the early 1980s. The main locomotive is #517, a CF7
CF7
A CF7 is an EMD F-unit railroad locomotive that has had its streamlined carbody removed and replaced with a custom-made, "general purpose" body in order to adapt the unit for road switching duty. All of the conversions were performed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in their Cleburne,...
rebuild of an EMD F7
EMD F7
The EMD F7 was a Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors and General Motors Diesel . It succeeded the F3 model in GM-EMD's F-unit sequence, and was replaced in turn by the F9. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La...
performed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
in the 1970s.
Another important industry is APM Terminals, which is a modern shipping container port in Portsmouth, VA along the Elizabeth River. This port was leased by Maersk to the Virginia Port Authority
Virginia Port Authority
The Virginia Port Authority is an autonomous agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns the Port of Virginia...
in late 2010. Commonwealth Railway is the only rail line to access the port. Another port is planned for Craney Island
Craney Island (Virginia)
Craney Island is a point of land in the independent city of Portsmouth in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia in the United States. The location, formerly in Norfolk County, is near the mouth of the Elizabeth River opposite Lambert's Point on Hampton Roads. It is managed by the U.S...
. With the opening of this new container port, two EMD SW1500
EMD SW1500
The EMD SW1500 was a diesel locomotive intended for switching service and built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between June 1966 and January 1974. 808 examples were constructed. It was closely related to the less powerful EMD SW1000 model, forming a line of switchers powered by the new...
type switch engines were added to the roster. To handle the container traffic to and from the port, the Commonwealth Railway line through the city of Portsmouth has been realigned down the medians of I-664 and SR 164, at a cost of $60 million. A small marshalling yard has been built in the Baileytown area of Suffolk. Double-stack container service
Double-stack rail transport
Double-stack rail transport is a form of Intermodal freight transport where intermodal containers are stacked two high on railroad cars. Introduced in North America in 1984, double stack has become increasingly common, being used for nearly 70% of United States intermodal shipments...
started in December 2010. A second phase, paid for by $9 million in federal stimulus funding, will further improve port access and is expected to be completed in September 2011.