The area in and around the James River in Richmond, VA is a study in contrasts. The river is littered with relics of Richmond's industrial past, piers from a number of abandoned bridges and crumbling low level dams that once fed long gone industries. We are standing under the modern piers for Manchester Bridge, constructed in 1972, to carry U.S. Route 60 across the river. This was about the time that the area around the river really started to change. Old industries were closed and razed. Over a 40 year period, new high rise buildings have taken their place. The building in the background is the corporate headquarters for Mead Westvaco Corporation. In the midst of all this, eastbound CSX unit coal train T223 rolls downgrade on the James River Viaduct on February 12, 2011 with AC4400CWs No's. 39 and 474.
