Mid-October to mid-November is the harvest season for soybeans in Virginia. The grain elevator at West Point usually sees little traffic most of the year, however the place is humming during harvest. On November 11, 2012 northbound NS local V30 is exchanging a cut of empties for a cut of loads as it makes its way to the end of the line at the yard in West Point. Upon arriving at the yard, traffic from Richmond will be dropped and the train will turn and head back to Richmond with the loads of soybeans and traffic generated by the huge paper mill located downtown. Currently, during the week, the train to West Point and back is a nocturnal operation. On Sundays, V30 is called off the extra list and is a daylight operation, leaving Richmond around 0900 and returning in late afternoon.
