Elkhorn Grade Electrification

N&W LC-1 No. 2501 on the Elkhorn grade in 1915

Overview

Owner

Norfolk and Western Railway

Locale

Virginia, West Virginia

Service

Depot(s)

Bluestone, West Virginia

Rolling stock

N&W LC-1, N&W LC-2

Technical

Line length

52 mi (84 km)

Track gauge

4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

Electrification

11 kV 25 Hz AC

Route map

Original electrification, completed in 1915

Legend

to Norfolk, Virginia

0 mi

0 km

Bluefield

Bluefield Yard

3.62 mi

5.83 km

Graham

to Norton, Virginia

7.15 mi

11.51 km

Falls Mills

8.39 mi

13.5 km

Flat Top Yard

11.39 mi

18.33 km

Bluestone

Cooper Tunnel

12.9 mi

20.8 km

Cooper

14.35 mi

23.09 km

Ruth

Elkhorn Tunnel

14.95 mi

24.06 km

Coaldale

17.05 mi

27.44 km

Maybeury

18.85 mi

30.34 km

Ennis

20.45 mi

32.91 km

Elkhorn

21.85 mi

35.16 km

Powhatan

22.75 mi

36.61 km

Kyle

23.55 mi

37.9 km

North Fork Junction

24.05 mi

38.7 km

Keystone

25.15 mi

40.48 km

Eckman

26.15 mi

42.08 km

Landgraf

27.55 mi

44.34 km

East Vivian

28.25 mi

45.46 km

Vivian

28.75 mi

46.27 km

Vivian Yard

to Kenova, West Virginia

					Substation

This diagram:

The Elkhorn Grade Electrification was a project undertaken by Westinghouse in 1913–1915 to electrify a 27-mile (43 km) section of the Norfolk and Western Railway's Bluefield Division in Virginia and West Virginia. Electrification was extended in the 1920s, reaching 52 miles (84 km) before the N&W abandoned it in 1950 when a new Elkhorn tunnel was built with an easier grade and a double track mainline.

Background

In the early twentieth century the Bluefield Division of the Norfolk and Western Railway featured a forbidding two percent average grade. Multiple 2-6-6-2 Class Z1 "Mallet" steam locomotives labored hauling 3,000-short-ton (2,700 t) coal trains up and down the grade. Although most of the route was double track, it narrowed to a single track at the Elkhorn Tunnel, which was 3,100 feet (940 m) long and itself on a 2+1⁄2% grade. Steam-powered trains were limited to 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) in the tunnel, and delays were common.

History

Working with Westinghouse, the Norfolk and Western electrified a 27-mile (43 km) segment between Bluefield, Virginia and Vivian, West Virginia. The N&W constructed a power plant at Bluestone, West Virginia, along with maintenance shops for the electric locomotives. Substations were located at Bluefield, Vivian, Maybeury, and North Fork. The electrification system was 11 kV at 25 Hz. Aside from the Elkhorn Tunnel the entire system was double or triple track. Including sidings, yard trackage, and branches to coal mines, 90 miles (140 km) were under catenary.

The effect of the electric operation was immediate and measurable. In June 1914 the electrified district handled 272 trains averaging 2,896 short tons (2,627 t) of coal. Each train required three Class Z1 locomotives. In June 1915, with electric operation only partially implemented, this rose to 397 trains averaging 3,054 short tons (2,771 t), a 60 percent increase. In normal operation two LC-1 boxcabs could handle each train.

Pleased with the results, in 1915–1916 the N&W electrified another 6 miles (9.7 km), from Bluestone Junction to Clift Yard and to Pocahontas. After World War I several more extensions followed on the west end, raising the mileage to 52 miles (84 km).

Vivian–Iaeger
Welch–Wilcoe

After World War II the N&W decided to abandon electrification on the Bluefield Division. The railroad constructed a 5-mile (8.0 km) $11.9 million double-track bypass of the Elkhorn Tunnel. The reduced grade eliminated the need for electric traction. The bypass was dedicated on June 26, 1950.