October 24, 2023.
Shenandoah Valley Railroad (SVRR) on the former Chesapeake Western between Staunton and Pleasant Valley on a gorgeous autumn morning in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
DGVR 5940 (GP9) was the power for SVRR's local that week. The 5940 was originally built for the Chesapeake & Ohio in 1955, and was repainted by DGVR in 2018, resembling it's original C&O blue and yellow paint scheme. The 5940 is one of three classic 1950s locomotives on SVRR, still pulling revenue freight on a daily basis.
On this sunny autumn morning, SVRR departed from Staunton, VA around 8:00am with several hoppers from the Buckingham Branch Railroad interchange in downtown. On the trip north to Pleasant Valley, they picked up tankers at Quarles Fuels in Verona, and set off covered hoppers at Houff Corporation in Weyers Cave. After setting off covered hoppers, they continued north through Weyers Cave, heading to the Norfolk Southern interchange in Pleasant Valley (south of Harrisonburg). SVRR picked up four tankers from the interchange, and headed back south to Staunton, working Houff Corporation and Quarles Fuels on the return trip.