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The small town of Glace, WV, is the location of the first passing siding east of Lewisburg. Glace is at the bottom of the looping grade over the Alleghenies. From here, eastbound trains have to contend with a 2.5% grade to the summit of the grade at Paint Bank, VA. To gain elevation, the railroad built a series of horseshoe curves and Loops, passing through several tunnels along the way. Similar grades can be found on the Southern Railway west of Old Fort, NC, and on the Clinchfield Railroad south of Spruce Pine, NC.
Glace has a couple of industries that are worked by a local out of Lewisburg. Shaver Wood Products loads woodchips and other wood products at the west end of town. Roanoke Cement has a small distribution facility near the east end of town.
In the steam days, a helper engine was based at Glace to assist eastbounds over the mountain. Today, pushers are based at Lewisburg Yard. The photos in this section cover the Loops from Glace to Cove Creek Viaduct.
An eastbound and westbound meet at the west end of the passing siding at Glace. The industry at left is Shaver Wood Products, where woodchip cars are loaded. To the right is "The Rendezvous," an old general store that enjoys the business of the local railroaders. Rumors abound about this little place buried deep in the West Virginia mountains.
An eastbound coal train is digging in for the climb to Paint Bank, VA as it passes the Roanoke Cement facility at Glace. While these three units work hard on the head end, a pusher set is shoving on the rear to keep the train moving. On the hillside above the first car of the train is the mainline in the Loops near Camp Two.
A CSX coal train utilizing trackage rights over the CR&E is approaching Camp Two above Glace, WV. The units have just emerged from Wolf Hills Tunnel and will soon loop around and pass above this location at Ridge. Although the views are often obscured by trees, it is possible to see three levels of track at and above Glace.
Even in the late 1980's, thanks to a law in the state of Virginia, it was possible to see a caboose on every train on the CR&E. Here, Extra 4023 East can be seen passing over itself in the Loops. The head end has just emerged from Pedro Tunnel, while the caboose is passing the old shanty at Camp Two.
Old meets new as two Conrail SD80MAC's drop down through the passing siding at Glace, passing the rusting steam-era water tower. Conrail power appears on run-through trains 136 and 137 between Indianapolis, IN, and Linwood, NC.
Short, straight Cove Tunnel is a favorite location for railfans to photograph eastbound trains climbing the grade. After emerging from the tunnel, this eastbound will cross High Fill and then the Cove Creek Viaduct (shown below).
An eastbound coal train is approaching the Virginia state line as it passes over Cove Creek Viaduct. Down below, out of sight, is the Moncove Lake Bridge on the lower level of the Loops at the east end of Glace.
Here is an under construction view showing the Moncove Lake Bridge (below) and the Cove Creek Viaduct (above). The Moncove Lake Bridge is just east of the east end of the Glace passing siding (just out of view below the rockface). The inspiration for this scene is at Copper Creek on the Clinchfield Railroad, where the CRR mainline crosses the creek on a high bridge while the Southern Appalachia District crosses it on a low bridge.
Here is a 2000 overall view of the Loops between Glace and High Fill. The CSX units are in the siding at Glace. The intermodal train on the S-curve above Glace is westbound past Camp Two. Behind it is another westbound with a blue-and-white Oakway unit crossing High Fill. More scenery has been completed in this area since this photo was taken.
