Northbound Amtrak Lynchburg NEC Regional, #176, crosses the James River on time, leaving behind the City of Lynchburg and enters Amherst County, on its way to Boston, MA. Stone piers in the foreground once carried the original line of the Southern Ry. (nee Orange & Alexandria) into Lynchburg. Line was abandoned in the mid-Thirties and the steel taken out for the war effort. Trestle in the background opened on March 1, 1911, as part of the Southern's Lynchburg cut-off to avoid the tortuous routing and grades of the Old Main. The first passenger trains operated over it on April 16, 1911.
To see pix of the old bridge still standing (it was called the "Orange Bridge") visit these sites.
http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/norfolksouthern/F1/ns5729.JPG and
http://www.lynchburghistory.com/details.php?gid=146&pid=6816
As an aside, the CSX control point at the west end of double track through Lynchburg is called "Southern Crossing".
