After Labor Day weekend of 2009, my weekly work schedule was radically modified. From then on I worked day shift hours, and had much larger contiguous chunks of free time. I had a longer leash ... I could take the time to go places and do things I had not had time for.

I decided to pick one place to go that I really missed, and that place was Strathmore, Virginia. The driving and hiking time required to get there had put it out of reach for over three years.



On the way, I stopped at Elk Island to catch this eastbound coal drag dusting the line.



Getting to Strathmore required driving to Shores, which is itself a very nice spot along the James River. This stretch of the river is known as the Seven Islands. The river breaks into small rocky streams that meander through the woods.



Strathmore was once the southern terminal of the Virginia Air Line, and is now the interchange yard for the Buckingham Branch Railroad. Old foundations and footings in the weeds show where locomotive servicing facilities once were. The water standpipe and sand towers are still there.



The old Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad is still very much in evidence at this remote spot along the river.