Annual Meeting of the James River Division May 16 2026
Location: Crozet United Methodist Church
We will meet in the church Fellowship Hall.
Details about the Meet
Time: Doors open at 9:30 a.m. and we start at 10:00 a.m.
JRD Annual Meeting: Election of officers
Clinic: History of the Crozet Tunnel (1849 – 1949) – Gerard Fitzgerald
JRD member Gerard Fitzgerald will present the history of the Blue Ridge Tunnel, better known as the Crozet Tunnel. The clinic will briefly explore the history of the tunnel’s construction by enslaved people and Irish immigrants, the importance of the tunnel for military operations during the American Civil War, the growth of railroads in Virginia and the American South during the late 19th and early 20th century, and the eventual replacement of the original tunnel by an adjacent and larger tunnel by the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad in 1944 during World War II.
Modular Display: Gerard will bring a small modular section of his new Olby layout to the meeting as a display to show what he is building through a modified bookcase design.
Modeling Theme: Pulpwood Car
Other Activities: Door prizes, white elephant table, 50-50 raffle, coffee and donuts.
Lunch: On your own with a number of restaurants located within a few blocks from the church.
Afternoon Tour of Crozet Tunnel
Gerard will act as our guide for an on-site tour of the eastern end of the Crozet Tunnel. The tour will start at about 1:30 p.m. Participants will meet in the Afton parking lot (Google Maps: “Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail, East Trailhead”). The Afton parking lot is about 15 minutes from the church. The tour will be brief enough to include time to return to visit the layout tour (see below).
Per the “Go Hike Virginia” website ( https://gohikevirginia.com/blue-ridge-tunnel-hike/ ), the hike from the Afton parking lot is mostly flat on a crushed gravel trail and is fully-accessible. There are porta-potties at the trailhead. The hike to the tunnel entrance is about 0.6 miles. On this hike,there will be views of the active railroad line to the left of the trail, which is the re-route to the larger tunnel that replaced the Blue Ridge Tunnel in 1944. The website recommends bringing a flashlight when touring the tunnel, and as we’ve learned from those who have visited the tunnel, expect the tunnel area to be damp/wet.
Layout Tour
Steve Raque’s Industrial Switching Layout
Steve’s layout will be open from 1:30 until 4:30 to give ample time if people want to go to the tunnel and then come to the layout. There is ample street parking. Please come to the front door.
The layout is an industrial switching layout representing Neville Island, which is just downstream on the Ohio river from Pittsburgh. Timeframe is from the start of Penn Central until the start of Amtrak (1968 - 1971). The island had two industrial railroads serving blast furnaces, a coke plant, chemical plants, steel fabricators, a cement plant, ingot mold foundry, and a ship builder. The P&LE also ran into the interchange yard on the island. All visible track is hand-laid with flex-track in the staging level.
