The following dossier contains descriptions of all Joint Munitions Command production, storage, and distribution facilities from the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant to the east coast. It does not include dedicated JMC demilitarization facilities.
Each document is a guide to the facility location, its purpose, its function and known links within military and civilian arms manufacture, and its connection to this wider network via military-designated strategic rail (STRACNET). These facilities are not wholly dependent on rail for shipping, but the nature of the military equipment they produce guarantees that much of it must move by rail between manufacturing locations and to east coast ports for transport to Israel or supporting US installations and vessels in the region.
These facilities covered here are, from west to east:
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, McAlester, Oklahoma
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, Middletown, Iowa
Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, Independence, Missouri
Pine Bluff Arsenal, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Quad City Cartridge Case Facility/Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois
Crane Army Ammunition Activity, Crane, Indiana
Anniston Munitions Center, Anniston, Alabama
Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Kingsport, Tennessee
Blue Grass Army Depot, Richmond, Kentucky
Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Radford, Virginia
Letterkenny Munitions Center, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton, Pennsylvania
The information found on crypt-pads here have been uploaded below
Our initial focus on the eastern sections of this network is motivated by reporting on specific chains of munitions production involving these plants, as well as their proximity to the east coast ports. If your region is not covered in this breakdown, don’t worry, the work awaits for you as well. Many civilian arms manufacturers, as well as Air Force plants, are also served by STRACNET. Unredacted state by state maps are publicly available at https://www. sddc. army. mil/sites/TEA/Functions/SpecialAssistant/Pages/RailroadsNationalDefense .aspx with many fascinating locations marked. You, too, can see where tracks cross rivers and go through tunnels in satellite images. Our – and your – centralized knowledge base of this fragile infrastructure network will only continue to grow.
We enclose as well our perspective on methods for targeted rail disruption.
This is only the beginning.
TACTICS, METHODS, CAVEATS
This is a roundup of information that is publicly available on the Internet with the right amount of digging. Links will be reproduced at the bottom.
As part of a larger document titled “To Settlers, by Settlers: A Callout for Rail Disruptions in Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en,” anonymous activists provided instructions for a simple but effective method for disrupting rail networks which we have found to be easily replicable. We are including these instructions below. Our comments are included in brackets. This “copper wire method,” as the authors describe it, is also known as a shunt.
“- DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS ON SUBWAY TRANSIT LINES [you will electrocute yourself]
– You can use this method when engaging in group actions to immediately send a signal to stop all train traffic
The steel rails of tracks act as part of a track circuit for something called “automatic block signalling” (ABS). A very low voltage is sent through the rails to track sensors to create a loop in sets of geographic blocks. When a train moves along them, the train axle disrupts or shortens the circuit and sensors pick that up to indicate the block is occupied, automatically closing traffic in that area to other trains.
By using a low gauge [lower number = thicker] copper wire and wrapping it around and then across the rails, one can replicate the tripping of the circuit sensors. Note: you don’t need to locate and connect the actual block sensors. [We recommend around 6 gauge wire for this purpose]
TIPS: the copper needs to be touching areas on both rails that are NOT rusty/oxidized and still conducting. [An easy way to remove rust is white vinegar and a pad of steel wool] Have a lookout for trains and security patrols. Have a plan before you start wrapping. You may need a small tool to clear some crushed rock under the rail before wrapping the wire. Find a good spot, dig out both rails, and wrap one rail first. Remember as soon as you trip the circuit by connecting the wire to both rails the ABS will be tripped indicating something is up. Get out as soon as you can. Burying the cable with crushed rock, snow, or dirt will make it harder to find/spot within the block.”
Additional things to keep in mind with this method are that if you’re near a crossing, this will trigger the crossing arms to come down and the bells and lights to go off.
Another thing to watch out for are trail/game cameras, motion-sensing cameras that are often installed on trees. Two women acting in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en, Samantha Brooks and Ellen Brennan Reiche, were arrested installing a shunt on BNSF tracks in Washington state in 2020 after a BNSF railway officer received an alert on his phone and photo from a game camera near the tracks and called the police. The trail camera photo was helpfully included in an article in The Guardian, meaning you can look at it and draw your own conclusions about where railway trail cameras are likely to be mounted relative to tracks.
Whenever possible, choosing a secluded location that is only accessible by foot is recommended to delay law enforcement response time. We also recommended scouting the target area beforehand.
While it is tempting to bust open the various equipment cabinets and start cutting cables, unless you are very confident in your abilities as an electrician we recommend living to fight another day. You can, however, get very annoying with spray foam, epoxy, superglue – use your imagination.
Another method for rail disruption that has been used by Russian partisans in solidarity with Ukraine against the war effort that is easily replicable is loosening and removing the bolts that anchor different sections of the track together. A simple adjustable pipe wrench with a handle of 24″ or greater is the only tool needed, although a lubricant to ease rusted or stuck bolts is also helpful. Actually separating segments of track can cause train derailments, so think carefully about location and potential collateral damage. Even if not separating the track segments, removing the bolts creates the potential for a serious problem that rail lines will need to spend time, personnel, and money to repair, creating economic and logistical disruptions. If you are aiming to separate track segments without being detected, a conductive wire should be used to join the track segments prior to separation to prevent disruption of the track’s electrical signal, which would alert dispatchers to a problem on that segment of track.
We encourage you to do further research of your own and see what sparks your creativity.
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/12/02/18860816.php [this link also contains maps of California]
theguardian . com/environment/2021/jul/29/activists-sabotaging-railways-indigenous-people
JUSTICE UPRIGHT / JUSTICE REVERSED
The clock is running out.
People of the United States of America: Without our taxes, our votes, our labor, our compliance, there would be no siege on Gaza. The Zionist client state cannot maintain this war of extermination except through our complacency. In our numb routines and toothless civil disobedience, we, too, are foot soldiers of empire. We, too, are following orders while our country fills the white phosphorous shells and signs the checks that pay for them.
We will go to sleep tonight knowing we will not wake up under rubble. What will we do when we wake up? Will we continue to go to work, beg our representatives for action, and wait for news of another “pause”? Or will we pull the weapons from the murderers’ hands?
We turn our eye on the US Army’s Joint Munitions Command: nodes in the network of slaughter producing and moving equipment along strategic rail lines to the ports for transport to Israel. Production and transfer of this materiel within the United States begins at a small number of facilities, connecting to a small number of ports. We have studied this network and found its connective tissues to be weak and scarred. With a little pressure, they will snap.
All that remains is to take action against the merchants of death with the information provided you.
Do not be another sullen conscript in brutality. This world is a grist mill; it churns through the people of this earth who long for liberation. Take vengeance for what blood has been spilled. Strike now, before we drown in it.
Mutiny.
Turn your bayonet on the soft underbelly of empire with all your strength.
Palestine is calling. The best time to answer was yesterday. The second best time is now.
Ever vigilant,
– ELEVENTH HOUR –
XI
Found on Chicago Anti-Report
INFORMATION FROM EACH CRYPTAD
The McAlester Army Ammunition Plant is a government-owned, contractor-run facility located approximately 8.4 miles south of McAlester, Oklahoma on US Highway 69. The facility receives, stores, ships, produces, renovates, and demilitarizes conventional ammunition and related components. McAlester also stores war reserves and training stocks for Army units in the southwest region. The facility produces a range of munitions from 20mm shells to missile warheads. As part of the facility’s logistical duties, it provides maintenance on all rail lines connected to the facility.
The STRACNET-designated rail connector is a Union Pacific line that runs northeast into Kansas alternately passing through rural and more densely populated areas. The first rail intersection is in downtown McAlester with an Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad line. It crosses rail bridges over Coal Creek, Rock Creek, the Canadian River, Lake Eufaula (multiple points), Elk Creek (multiple points), Honey Springs Branch, Wayside Creek, Anderson Creek, and Butler Creek on its way to the next rail intersection approximately 66 miles away near Muskogee.
It crosses several streets at grade in McAlester, Eufaula, Checota, Oktaha, and Muskogee.
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant is a massive, 19,000 acre medium- and large-caliber munition factory located in Middletown, Iowa. The Hellfire missiles, 155mm shells, and 120mm tank shells named in recent leaked Pentagon documents of arms transfers to Israel are all produced at IAAP. For the 155mm shells, the facility receives shell casings from Scranton and high explosives from Holston.
American Ordnance LLC, a division of Day and Zimmerman, is the operating contractor of this facility. Government presence is limited to 25 Army civilians and the military commander.
IAAP boasts a BNSF-certified internal 102 miles of railroad, which should indicate its reliance on rail for transporting its products outside the facility as well. Fortunately, it is served by a single dedicated STRACNET connector to link it to the wider rail network. It joins standard BNSF track in Galesburg, providing a direct link to the connector line leading north to the Rock Island Arsenal.
Trains leave the facility between the commercial truck gate at 155th Ave and 150th Ave, crossing the US-34 bus lanes at grade. The Iowa segment of track runs through the outskirts and town of Burlington, where it then crosses the Mississippi into Illinois via the BNSF Drawbridge. After this point the Illinois segment runs almost entirely through farmland.
Between the state line and Galesburg, the line runs on almost entirely flat terrain and crosses major roads at grade only in and around town centers. Points of interest include the segment of forested track crossing Dutton Lake, the US-34 underpass west of Monmouth, and the bridge over IL-41 west of Galesburg.
Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a small facility in Independence, Missouri focused on the manufacture of small caliber ammunition. Bullets are not a major component of US arms transfers to Israel, but disruption of military infrastructure ahead of possible regional escalation is always better than doing it later. The plant is no longer listed on current STRACNET maps as a noted defense site, however, it was listed as such in declassified material from 1998.
The plant’s short relevant segment of UP track connects it to a BNSF line and the rail hub in Kansas City. Tracks leave the facility at the northwest corner and immediately cross Twyman Road at grade. There is a rail bridge over the Little Blue River near the Little Blue Trace Trail Ripley Junction. The BNSF/UP junction at Eaton is accessible from the end of the Liberty Bend trail in LaBenite Park, if you don’t mind getting your feet wet at Mill Creek. Junction infrastructure is visible in satellite images.
The Pine Bluff Arsenal, located in central Arkansas approximately 8 miles northwest of Pine Bluff and 30 miles southeast of Little Rock, designs, manufactures, and refurbishes smoke, riot control, incendiary, illuminating, and infrared munitions. It is the only place in the western Northern Hemisphere where white phosphorous munitions are filled. The installation’s total area is approximately 21 square miles with 665 buildings, 271 igloos, and more than 2 million square feet of storage space. It also controls about 7.8 square miles of currently undeveloped land.
Pine Bluff Arsenal is government-owned, government-operated and employs between 500 and 600 civilian Department of Defense personnel, with the only military presence employed on the site being its commander. Its workforce has decreased by two thirds in the last 12 years and is likely to be understaffed for the size of the facility. While it contains storage facilities, it is not a depot and should be considered in relation to network concentration points like CAAA and the Blue Grass Army Depot. It has two subordinate JMC commands: Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, Tennessee and Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Radford, Virginia.
The facility does not produce its own white phosphorus and must buy it from Monsanto, the only producer in the US and Canada, through a distributor. It is speculated to arrive via the Port of Pine Bluff on the Arkansas River, which connects to the facility by rail from the Union Pacific yard at the port or by road – through the main Plainview Gate on Hoadley Road or the smaller Williams Gate at the intersection of Mcfadden and Williams.
The Pine Bluff Arsenal sits on a length of Union Pacific railroad that is partially designated as a STRACNET connecting line. The segment of track that goes southeast to Pine Bluff is not designated as part of STRACNET’s rail corridor. The segment of track that goes northwest to Little Rock is the STRACNET connector. This track crosses several roads at grade as it runs northwest to Little Rock, including Wise Road, Stark Gate Road (these both appear to be entrance gates to the Pine Bluff Arsenal installation), and Shelva Road in White Hall; Ussery Road, NCTR Road, and Sheryl Road in Jefferson; Kearney Road, Rhoads Road, and Sheridan Road in Redfield; Oak Road and Hensley Road in Hensley; Clark Road, North Street, Brown Street, 145th Street, Bennie Barnes Road, Slinker Road, and Harper Road in the southeastern outskirts of Little Rock; and Arkansas Highway 365 (multiple points).
The STRACNET connector track crosses five small rail bridges over Barnes Creek, Turkey Creek, Wildcat Creek, Clear Creek, and Pennington Bayou as it travels northwest to Little Rock.
The Joint Munitions Command is headquartered at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, IL on the border between Iowa and Illinois. It is located on a 946-acre island in the Mississippi River and is prone to flooding in the spring or with inclement weather.
The Rock Island Arsenal is a major installation encompassing multiple commands and functions beyond the JMC. Its size and age leaves it as the last remaining facility able to meet certain military manufacturing needs. Highlights in the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center include the only recoil mechanism assembly, investment casting, and foundry facilities of the US Army, as well as the most complete forge capabilities. It employs approximately 250 military and 6000 civilian personnel.
JMC oversees the Quad Cities Cartridge Case facility at Rock Island Arsenal, which produces metal cartridge cases ranging from 40mm to 155mm for naval, artillery, and tank shells. It is located on Rodman Ave in the center of the island. QCCCF is operated by an outside contractor, NI Industries.
Commercial vehicles enter and exit through the Moline gate on the east end of the island. The facility is served by the Iowa Interstate Railroad on the west end of the island, connecting to the north bank by the Government Bridge and to the south back by a rail-only bridge.
Recent large shipments of combat vehicles from the arsenal have taken place entirely by rail, with the support of the Iowa Interstate Railroad. A very specific route is designated in documentation from 1998: the section of the IAIS heading southeast from the arsenal crosses the Rock River north of Colona, where it intersects with a north-south STRACNET connector line of BNSF track that leads south to Galesburg, the main east-west BNSF line into Chicago, and to the dedicated connector to the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. If this connector is no longer actively part of STRACNET’s jurisdiction, it is unlikely that rail shipments would change routes and avoid this perfectly good shortcut.
Between the Highway 92 underpass in Silvis and the BNSF connection in Colona the line crosses the Rock River on a rail-only bridge that is bisected by a small island. The approximately 40 mile connector line runs almost exclusively through farmland. It crosses the following major roads at grade between Colona and Galesburg, from north to south and excluding town centers: IL-84, US Hwy 150, IL-17, and US Hwy 150 again south of Rio. Most minor east-west rural roads are also crossed at grade.
There is a small rail bridge over the Green River immediately southwest of the IL-84 crossing and another over Pope Creek. The intersection with US Highway 150 is sandwiched in between the bridge over the Edwards River to the north and the one over the Mud River to the south, just north of Ophiem. Additional points of interest include the tunnel under Hiawatha Pioneer Trail in Lynn Center and the bridge over IL-34 on the north side of Galesburg.
The Crane Army Ammunition Activity, located in southwestern Indiana approximately 25 miles southwest of Bloomington, receives, inspects, stores, ships, renovates, demilitarizes, and manufactures conventional ammunition, missiles, and related components. It transports 230,000 tons of munitions annually per its own marketing videos and claims processing and shipping munitions orders same-day as one of its core capabilities.
This facility is located on the premises of Naval Support Activity Crane, the third largest naval installation in the world by geographic area, comprising approximately 110 square miles. It employs approximately 3,300 people.
The sole rail corridor connecting this facility to the broader STRACNET rail system is a length of Indiana Railroad (INDR) track, with the first intersection with any non-STRACNET track located in the town of Elnora, Indiana. The installation itself has a sprawling network of rail tracks, but the single point of ingress and egress to the installation’s rail network is a single track stretching between Elnora and the installation.
This track crosses several roads at grade, including Springer, Adaline, Main, Butler, and South East streets in Elnora; County Roads 550 E, 1400 N, 700 E, 800 E, 1100 E, 1200 E, and 1350 E; West, Gum, Elm, Grove, Spring, and East streets in Odon; Indiana State Roads 58 and 135; and US Route 231.
Indiana Railroad locomotive roster as of May 27, 2023:
| Model (& Bldr) | Road No. | Serial | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road slug | 301 & 302 | — | — | #301 has a P3 horn |
| GP40M-2 | 3001 & 3002 | — | — | — |
| GP38 | 3801 | 35411 | — | In a Storage Line at Jasonville; ex-INRD 35; ex-PLE 2039 < CR 7782 < nee PC 7782 |
| GP38-2 | 3802-3804 | — | — | Re-#d from 3822, 3830, 3829 and 3818 < nee CR 8239, 8255, 8254 and 8229 |
| 3805 | 787147-6 | 7/78 | Leased to Robinson Coke; ex-NS 5363 < nee CR 8229 | |
| 3806 | — | — | Re-#d from 36; nee SMA 17 | |
| 3807-3808 | — | — | Re-#d from 3826 and 3838 < nee CR 8245 and 8270 | |
| SD40-2 | 4001 | — | — | Ex-INRD 41 < BNSF 8181 < nee BN 8178 |
| 4002 | — | — | Wears salute to “First Responders”; ex=INRD 42 < nee BNSF 8178 < nee BN 8178 | |
| 4003 | — | — | Ex-INRD 43 BNSF 7234 < nee BN 7234 | |
| 4004 | A3938 | 7/80 | Ex-INRD 44 < BNSF 7229< nee BN 7229 | |
| 4005 & 4006 | — | — | #4005 #wers “Veterans” salute; ex-INRD 45 & 40 < nee BN 181 and 7235 | |
| SD60 | 6004 | — | — | Ex-SOO 6004 |
| 6006 & 6007 | 867164-7, — | 9/87 | Ex-SOO 6006 & 6007 | |
| 6009 | 867164-10 | 9/87 | Ex-SOO 6009 | |
| 6013 | 867164-14 | 9/87 | Ex-SOO 6013 | |
| 6016-6018 | 867164-17 to 19 | 9-10/87 | Ex-SOO (same numbers) | |
| GP40-2 | 6498 | — | – | Short term lease from CSX starting in April 2021, wears CSX Paint |
| SD70M | 7006 | f/n 20016371-31 | 6/03 | Ex-PRLX 2621 < nee NS 2621 |
| 7009 | f/n 20046609-12 | 12/04 | Ex-PRLX 2635 < nee NS 2635 | |
| SD9043MAC | 9001 | 986927-24 | 11/99 | Ex-CEFX 123 |
| 9004 & 9005 | 986927-?? & 33 | 11, 12/99 | Ex-CEFX — & 132 | |
| 9007 | 986927-32 | 12/99 | Ex-CEFX 131 | |
| 9009-9011 | 986927-28, 29 & — | 11/99 | Ex-CEFX 127, 128 & — | |
| 9012 & 9013 | 986927-40 & 13 | 2/00 & 11/99 | Ex-CEFX 139 & 112 | |
| 9025 | 986927-26 | 11/99 | Wears “25th Anniversary”scheme; ex-CEFX 125 | |
| All SD9043MAC 9000 series are on long-term lease from CEFX | ||||
Anniston Army Depot, located in Anniston, Alabama, is the self-described combat vehicle center of the free world. The enormous site employs 3800 people and occupies 25 miles of land, serving primarily storage/distribution and maintenance functions. They are responsible for the storage and distribution of tracked and wheeled ground combat vehicles, towed and self-propelled artillery, assault bridging systems, small caliber weapons, locomotives and other rail equipment, and non-tactical generators. Some manufacturing takes place on the site as well.
Relevant government tenants include the Anniston Munitions Center, a 150-person team directly responsible for many logistics functions and subordinate command of the Blue Grass Army Depot, and a branch of the Defense Logistics Agency Distribution. The major defense contractors on the site are General Dynamics Land Systems, Honeywell, Raytheon and BAE Limited.
The site’s major transportation links are: I-20, Anniston Regional Airport, Anniston Metro Airport, and a STRACNET Norfolk Southern line that connects to the 37 miles of rail internal to the facility. Rail is absolutely essential to the transport of artillery and large combat vehicles. The Port of Mobile and Port of Savannah, this facility’s major seaports, are connected to the depot via interchanges to north-south STRACNET lines at the rail hubs in Birmingham and Charlotte.
Trains leave the facility on the east side, by the Eulaton Gate. The left branch of track that splits off south of the Anniston Amtrak station serves the Anniston Regional Airport and crosses Airport Road at grade. The right branch heads east and first intersects with non-STRACNET track in Bremen, just across the Georgia border. This intersection is roughly equidistant between Anniston and Atlanta.
The eastern segment of track crosses the following roads of note at grade:
– Dearmanville Road
– Pinhoti Trail/Skyway Motorway
– Oxford St.
– KY-66 between Helfin and Edwardsville
– KY-450 north of Edwardsvile
– Depot St, Fruithurst
– KY-49, Muscadine
– KY-290, Muscadine
– Line Road, immediately west of another Tallapaloosa River bridge
A significant portion of this line winds through the Choccolocco Wildlife Management Area and is immediately accessible from the Helfin Spur Trailhead of the Pinhoti Trail. The nearest trailhead to the north on the Pinhoti Trail is at the intersection of 523 Road and the Skyway Motorway. There are small bridges over the Calhuga Creek on the eastern edge of the wildlife management area, Cane Creek north of the KY-450 crossing, the Tallapaloosa River outside Muscadine, and again over the Tallapaloosa River just across the state line.
Trains leave the facility towards Birmingham on the southwest side, past the main visitors gate. They pass through Lincoln and Pell City before encountering non-STRACNET NS track outside Leeds.
The eastern segment of track crosses the following roads of note at grade:
– Mudd St, Eastaboga
– Jackson Trace Road
– Hardwick Road, Riverside
– Wolf Creek Road, Pell City
– Cook Springs Road
The Honda Lincoln plant in Lincoln, AL is served by this segment of track as well. West of the plant the tracks cross the Coosa River on a rail-only bridge. There is a bridge over Roberts Creek west of Pell City, a short tunnel under Tunnel Mountain Road in Cook Springs, and a bridge over Kelly Creek east of Leeds.
Holston Army Ammunition Plant is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility for the synthesis and manufacture of approximately 70 different high explosive products. It also houses other chemical processing and explosives R&D. They produce both for all branches of the armed forces as well as commercial customers. Holston produces the high explosives used in the Patriot, Tomahawk, Trident, and Hellfire missiles, among many others. It does not fill munitions or have long term storage facilities; these products must be shipped to other plants for storage or final manufacture.
In November 2023, more than 30 aid and advocacy groups released a statement asking Biden not to transfer 155mm artillery shells to Israel, the high explosives for which are only produced at Holston. It is part of the supply chain of 155mm shells specifically broken down in reporting on arms manufacture acceleration for shipment to Ukraine that links this plant to casing manufacture in Pennsylvania and the final assembly of shells in Iowa.
The facility consists of two plants: Plant A, in Kingsport, Tennessee, and Plant B, 4 miles away on a much larger (5,900 acre) piece of land in Hawkins County. The entrance to the larger, primary Plant B is located at the intersection of Highway 11 and University.
Airspace over the facility is restricted. It is operated by Ordnance Systems, Inc, a division of BAE Systems, which also operates Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Both plants are subordinate commands of Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas. Rail operations within the large facility are handled by Appalachian Railcar Services.
The plant is served by a STRACNET Norfolk Southern connector line traveling 47 miles southwest through rural Hawkins County to link with the larger commercial rail network in Bulls Gap. For this entire stretch there are no intersections with other rail lines. Due to the length of this segment, the following information is extensive and is broken up as best as possible for clarity.
This line leaves the plant just south of the National Guard recruitment center and crosses over Highway 11. It exits significantly populated areas after passing through Surgoinsville and crosses the Holston River via rail-only bridge, and does not again significantly interact with towns until Coran. It crosses water again at Beech Creek (rail bridge), south of the John Sevier power station (causeway), and west of the power station (small bridge). Other points of interest include the Kingsport Press Road, Highway 70, Old Highway 113, 11E, and Summit Hill Road underpasses.
Between the plant and the river crossing it crosses the following roads at grade:
– Main St, Dover Ave, Belmont Ave, Maple Ave, and Fairview Ave between the plant and the highway 11 overpass in Church Hill
– Cornwell Drive, Greenland Road, Ferry Road, Phipps Bend Road, River Road, and Long Bend Road between central Church Hill and Surgoinsville
– Multiple crossings of Williams Lane clustered before the Holston River bridge
The line travels through an extended section of largely forest and manufacturing between central Church Hill and Long Bend Road in central Surgoinsville. Between the town and the river it is once again largely isolated from any dense human habitation.
Between the river and Coran it crosses the following roads at grade:
– Honeycutt Road
– Burem Road/Highway 347
– TVA Road, west of the power station
– Old Tennessee 70
This section is extremely isolated.
Between Coran and the connection in Bulls Gap it crosses the following roads at grade:
– Fork Branch Road
– Speedwell Road
– Beech Grove Road
– Gunthries Gap Road
– White Horn Road/S Shepherd Drive
– Sycamore Dr
Between Coran and Bulls Gap the tracks largely follow Highway 66 and move in and out of small towns.
A roster of Norfolk Southern locomotives can be found in the Radford document.
Blue Grass Army Depot is a JMC ammunition storage, renovation, and distribution facility in Richmond, Kentucky. It shares the site with the Blue Grass Chemical Activity, which this year completed the demilitarization of its portion of the US stockpile of chemical weapons. The 14,494-acre site is composed mostly of open and wooded land for training exercises and munitions testing and disposal. Numbers on federal and contractor employees vary due to the necessarily sensitive nature of the chemical weapons stockpile, as well as that facility’s recent completion of its function.
Public-facing introduction videos note the receiving of ammunition both by truck and by rail, as well as showing the loading of shipping containers onto flatbed cars. The main gate and truck gates to the facility are located off Highway 421 south of Richmond. A 113-mile segment of CSX Transportation-owned STRACNET connector track heading north to a junction south of Cincinnati is its sole military-designated link to the wider rail network. Tracks leave the facility north of the truck gate, cross under Berea Road, and join with the CXST track.
The following rail description will cover track between the depot and its first non-STRACNET intersection in Winchester, and between the junction in Latonia and the bridge over the south fork of the Licking River in Falmouth. This route travels almost exclusively through farmland, empty land, and small towns.
Between Richmond and Winchester the line runs through extremely isolated country, crossing very few even rural arterial roads at grade. However, there are a number of bridges over Otter Creek: northeast of the US-25 underpass, near the intersection of KY-388 and E Prong Road, and just south of John F. Marshall Memorial Holiness Church off KY-388. The tracks enter a tunnel on the west side of the Kentucky River immediately before the bridge into Ford. To the east of Ford is another tunnel, where the tracks curve north away from the river.
Between Latonia and Falmouth, the line crosses the following roads of note at grade:
– Locust Pike, south of the Progress Rail Services yard where the tracks narrow
– Lambs Ferry Road, at the south entrance of the Lambs Ferry Tunnel
– Creektrace Road, Visalia
– Kenton Station Road, Kenton
– KY-177 in Butler
There is a bridge over the Licking River immediately north of the CSX Decoursey station, over Cruises Creek south of Kenton, over Grassy Creek in Demosville, and over Harris Creek south of Butler. The Lambs Ferry Tunnel north entrance is forested and situated just off Locust Pike, a two-lane road which is accessible from Locust Pike Park. The building at 9974 Locust Pike, where an access road connects to the tracks, is a rental property, not a railroad building.
The Radford Army Ammunition Plant, located in southwestern Virginia, approximately 30 miles from Roanoke, is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility located in Montgomery and Pulaski counties. It consists of two separate facilities; the main plant is the Radford manufacturing unit located between the city of Radford and the town of Blacksburg and consists of 6.375 square miles. The New River Storage Unit is located 12 miles from the main plant near the town of Dublin and consists of 4.4 square miles.
The main plant is divided by the New River into a northwestern portion in Pulaski County and a southeastern portion in Montgomery County. The Claytor Lake Dam, located 10 miles south of the main plant, governs the rise and fall of the New River along the boundaries of the facility.
The Radford Army Ammunition Plant’s primary mission is the development and manufacture of propellants, energetics, and munitions. The facility houses plants and offices for several corporations that contract with the Department of Defense, including: Alexander Arms, a developer and manufacturer of commercial rifles, components, and accessories; Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, specifically their divisions for load, assembly, and packaging of 25mm and 30mm ammunition and commercial propellants; and Pyrotechnique by Grucci, Inc., a manufacturer of fireworks and explosives and propellants for Department of Defense simulators.
The site is served by multiple sections of Norfolk Southern Railway track. The southeastern portion of the plant is served by a segment of track which follows the eastern banks of the New River and connects to the Norfolk Southern STRACNET track that runs southwest into Tennessee and east to Salem and Roanoke, where it connects with another STRACNET track heading northeast toward Maryland. The northwestern portion of the plant is served by a non-STRACNET Norfolk Southern track which follows the western banks of the New River northwest into West Virginia.
The STRACNET-designated track crosses several roads at grade, including Switchback Road, Chrisman Mill Road, and Izaak Walton Lane in Christiansburg; Virginia State Routes 111, 641, 636 (multiple points), 822, 603, 649, 639 (multiple points), 646, and 760; Sparrow Road, Basham Hollow Road, Newtown Road, John Farm Road, and Blankenship Road in Shawsville; Blount Drive in Elliston; Yateman Lane, Gumwood Lane, Koppers Road, Garman Road, Salem Industrial Drive, McClelland Street, and Union Street in Salem.
The STRACNET-designated track also passes through the N&W Montgomery Tunnel, crosses three rail bridges over the South Fork Roanoke River, and crosses one rail bridge over the Roanoke River on its way east.
Norfolk Southern Railway locomotive roster as of November 10, 2023:
Note: Click on a road number series in the table below for a detailed roster page of that group (external link)
| Road Numbers |
Total # Active | Units Stored | Builder | Locomotive Model | NS Model Designation | Horse- power |
Notes |
| 97-98 | 2 | 2 | EMD/NS | RCP4 | RCP4 | 0 | Former GP38’s rebuilt as remote control platforms. |
| 600-601 | 2 | 1 | EMD/NS | GPTEB Slug | GPTEB | 0 | Equipped with cab and can lead consist. |
| 610-627 645-662 |
36 | 7 | EMD/NS | RP-M4C Slug | RP-M4C | 0 | Equipped with cab and can lead consist. |
| 700-754* | 50* | 14 | EMD/NS | RP-E4C Slug | RP-E4C | 0 | Equipped with cab and can lead consist. |
| 850-869* | 19* | 10 | ALCO/CR/NW/NS | RPU6 Slug | RPU6 | 0 | |
| 870-888* | 12* | 4 | EMD/NS | RPU6 Slug | RPU6 | 0 | |
| 889-895 | 7 | 1 | EMD/NS | RPU6D Slug | RPU6D | 0 | |
| 911 | 1 | — | EMD/NS | SD60E | SD60E | 4,000 | Rebuilt former SD60 specially painted “Honoring First Responders”. |
| 915-937* | 12* | 7 | EMD/NS | RP-E4D Slug | RP-E4D | 0 | |
| 1000-1174 | 175 | 15 | EMD | SD70ACe | SD70ACe | 4,300/ 4,500 | Units 1065-1074 are painted in special heritage schemes. |
| 1175-1224* | 50 | 4 | EMD | SD70ACe | SD70IAC | 4,500 | |
| 1225-1234* | 10 | — | EMD | SD70ACe | SD70IAC | 4,500 | Former EMDX 2115-2124 acquired from Progress Rail. |
| 1250-1251 | 2 | — | EMD/Progress Rail | SD70ICC | SD70ICC | 4,300 | Former PRLX/NS SD70M-2’s rebuilt to AC traction by Progress Rail. |
| 1625-1635* | 10* | 3 | EMD | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | Equipped with high short hood. |
| 1638-1652* | 11* | — | EMD | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | |
| 1700-1705 | 6 | — | EMD | SD45-2 | SD45-2 | 3,000 | Unit 1700 repainted 09-2015 in special Erie Lackawanna heritage scheme. |
| 1800-1851 | 52 | 4 | EMD/Progress Rail | SD70ACC | SD70ACC | 4,300/ 4,500 |
Rebuilt former NS SD70 units with AC traction and EMD widenose and cab. |
| 2100-2103* | 3* | 3 | EMD | SW1001 | SW1001 | 1,000 | |
| 2120 | 1 | 1 | Rail Power/NS | RP14BD | RP14BD | 1,400 | Cabless four-axle, 2-engine genset locomotive. |
| 2652-2776* | 46* | 9 | EMD | SD70M-2 | SD70M-2 | 4,000 | |
| 3001-3070* | 57* | 16 | EMD | GP40-2 | GP40-2 | 3,000 | |
| 3071-3102* | 27* | 6 | EMD/NS | GP40-2 | GP40-2 | 3,000 | Rebuilt from GP38, GP38AC, and GP40 units. |
| 3201-3328* | 81* | 3 | EMD/NS | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | All units have been rebuilt with a new cab and low short hood. |
| 3329-3423* | 67* | 13 | EMD | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | |
| 3429 | 1 | — | EMD/CR | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | Rebuilt from SD40. |
| 3448-3467* | 14* | 1 | EMD | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | Former CEFX lease units acquired from CIT Finance in 08-2011. |
| 3469-3486* | 9* | 2 | EMD | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | Former FURX/BNSF/BN units acquired from NRE in 09-2012. |
| 3493-3496* | 3* | — | EMD | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | Former CEFX lease units acquired from CIT Finance in 03-2013. |
| 3600-3680* | 80* | 3 | GE | ET44AC | ET44AC | 4,400 | |
| 3964-3999* | 12 | 6 | GE | AC4400CW | AC4400CW | 4,400 | Former CEFX lease units acquired from CIT Rail in 2023. Note: Units are currently being patch-renumbered and placed into service. |
| 4000-4625* | 624* | 14 | GE/NS, GE/GE & GE/Wabtec | AC44C6M | AC44C6M | 4,400 | Rebuilt former NS Dash 9-40C and Dash 9-44CW units with AC traction and GE widenose/cab. 4000-4005 painted in special DC to AC traction paint schemes. |
| 4626-4760* | 79* | 1 | GE/NS & GE/Wabtec | AC44C6M | AC44C6M | 4,400 | 135 units on order for 2023. <—- Delivery underway |
| 4665 | 1 | 1 | EMD/NS | GP59ECO | GP59ECO | 3,000 | Rebuilt GP59. Note: Unit is awaiting renumbering as 6665. |
| 4715 | 1 | 1 | EMD/NS | GP33ECO | GP33ECO | 3,000 | Rebuilt GP50. Note: Unit is awaiting renumbering as 6715. |
| 5004-5254* | 102* | 30 | EMD/NS | GP38-2 | GP38-2 | 2,000 | 43 units rebuilt with a new cab and low short hood; 59 units retain high hood. |
| 5257-5361* | 79* | 8 | EMD | GP38-2 | GP38-2 | 2,000 | |
| 5601-5673* | 65* | 3 | EMD/NS | GP38-2 | GP38-2 | 2,000 | Rebuilt from GP38 and GP38AC units. |
| 5801-5836* | 31* | 1 | EMD/NS | GP38-3 | GP38-3 | 2,000 | Rebuilt GP50 units. |
| 5900, 5901 | 2 | 1 | EMD/NS | GP22ECO | GP22ECO | 2,000 | Rebuilt from GP38AC units. |
| 6073-6206* | 99* | 15 | EMD/NS | SD40-2 | SD40-2 | 3,000 | |
| 6210-6224 | 15 | 3 | EMD/NS | SD33ECO | SD33ECO | 3,000 | Rebuilt from SD40-2 units. |
| 6300-6357 | 58 | 3 | EMD/NS | SD40E | SD40E | 3,000 | Rebuilt from SD50S and SD50 units |
| 6400-6432* | 29 | — | EMD/NS | SD40-3 | SD40-3 | 3,000 | Rebuilt from SD40-2 units. (4 additional units currently undergoing rebuilding.) |
| 6649-6661* | 12* | 3 | EMD/NS | GP59E | GP59E | 3,000 | Rebuilt GP59 units. |
| 6662-6667* | 5* | 2 | EMD/NS | GP59ECO | GP59ECO | 3,000 | Rebuilt GP50 and GP59 units. Note: Units are being renumbered from the 4662-4667 series. |
| 6700-6729* | 29* | — | EMD/NS | GP33ECO | GP33ECO | 3,000 | Rebuilt GP50 and GP38-2 units. Note: Units are being renumbered from the 4700-4729 series. |
| 6800 | 1 | — | EMD/NS | GP34ECO | GP34ECO | 3,000 | Tier 4 Compliant unit rebuilt from an NS GP59. |
| 6900-7035* | 135* | 3 | EMD/NS | SD60E | SD60E | 4,000 | Rebuilt NS SD60 units with NS-designed widenose and cab. |
| 7100-7150* | 48* | 2 | EMD | GP60 | GP60 | 3,800 | |
| 7229-7339* | 45* | 12 | EMD/NS Progress Rail |
SD70ACU | SD70ACU | 4,500 | Rebuilt SD90MAC units. |
| 7500-7719* | 219 | 3 | GE | ES44DC | ES-44DC | 4,400 | All units were upgraded to 4,400 horsepower between 10-2013 and 08-2014. |
| 8000-8184* | 184 | 5 | GE | ES44AC | ES-44AC | 4,400 | Units 8025, 8098-8105, and 8114 painted in special heritage schemes. |
| 9483-9978* | 436* | 103 | GE | Dash 9-44CW | D9-44CW | 4,400 | All units were upgraded to 4,400 horsepower between 10-2013 and 09-2014. |
Letterkenny Munitions Center occupies the bulk of Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The self-described “missile depot” is focused on the storage and distribution of conventional weapons and missiles, but has a vast number of other capabilities in the manufacturing, maintenance, repair, and demilitarization of all kinds of materiel. At peak performance its two containerization facilities can process 200 shipping containers every 24 hours. Its 2300+ workforce includes 300 contractors and 750 employees of tenant organizations. Letterkenny Munitions Center is a subordinate command of Crane Army Ammunition Activity. They have relationships and have received awards from Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems.
The facility is located at an important transportation node and is linked to air and sea by rail. A short STRACNET connector leads to the NS line in Shippensburg. The closest strategic seaports are Philadelphia and the Port of Virginia, with the Port of Baltimore also marked on STRACNET maps. There are many small regional airports in the Chambersburg area, but the closest airport with rail access is possibly the Capital City Airport in Harrisburg. This breakdown will cover the 8-mile northern STRACNET connector between the depot and Shippensburg, and the southern length of NS track between Chambersburg and Hagerstown.
Trains leave the facility heading north from the army depot rail yard, immediately crossing Sunset Pike Road at grade. This stretch of track is largely through farmland. It crosses the Cumberland Highway, Wagner Road, Pinola Road, Rowe Road, and Clearfield Road at grade before entering a short forested section of track through a manufacturing area on the edge of Shippensburg.
We note also the multiple bridges over Yellow Breeches Creek along the designated NS line, heading east between Shippensburg and Mt. Holly Springs.
It appears that tracks used to lead south to connect with the NS line in Chambersburg as well, but they now terminate behind an unlabeled industrial facility at the intersection of Hood and Commerce on the north side of town. This segment of track connects to the rail yard downtown via a walking trail following the former route of the tracks. Rail shipments headed in any direction must use the northern STRACNET connector through Shippensburg.
The short segment of NS track connecting Shippensburg to Chambersburg – and therefore to the relevant seaports to the south – is forested on both sides and/or reasonably isolated for much of its journey. It crosses water immediately before crossing Main Street at grade in the town of Scotland. It crosses these additional roads at grade: Possum Hollow Road, Mount Rock Road and Woodstock Road.
Scranton Army Ammunition Plant is a 15-acre, seven building facility in the center of Scranton, PA. It is contractor-operated with a handful of Army civilians on site to supervise. It manufactures metal parts for large caliber ammunition. It is specifically named as the manufacturer of the casings for 155mm shells, which are filled and assembled at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. Its fact sheet brags about surge capability.
Ordnance and Tactical Systems, a division of General Dynamics, operates the facility and manufactures parts for the oil and gas industry on site to offset operation costs.
Scranton is located along STRACNET-designated commercial rail – Norfolk Southern to the north and a segment of the regional Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad (RBMN) to the south that interchanges with NS in Jim Thorpe. Its northern fork is likely to be its artery to the Iowa plant for assembly. The RBMN track to the south is partially occupied by heritage railway and the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, a passenger excursion running round trip trains between Jim Thorpe and Penn Haven Junction from about 10am – 5pm Thurs-Sun and seven days a week during the Christmas season. Due to its lack of strategic primary importance and its high civilian traffic we unequivocally do not support any actions along this track. These trains must pass through many miles of rail to reach strategic ports. With some diligence other opportunities can easily be found.
The north branch of NS track roughly follows US-11 and does not intersect with any other track between Scranton and the New York state line, approximately 50 miles of rural Pennsylvania. There is a long rail-only tunnel between Tunnel Road and College Ave north of Factoryville. Shortly north of this is the Tunkhannock Creek Viaduct. The Martins Creek Viaduct crosses over US-11 south of Kingsley. A small rail bridge crosses Salt Lick Creek north of New Milford.
It crosses the following roads of note at grade, heading north from Scranton:
– Shady Lane Rd
– E Main St
– E Laplume Rd
– PA-107
– Forest St
– Kingsley Rd
While there are relatively few points of interest in this 50 mile stretch, there are huge stretches of extremely isolated and forested track.
Source: Unravel