This facility was built for Virginia Vermiculite in 1978. Vermiculite is a clay that has several commercial uses, among them insulation and as a soil conditioner for plants. When I first started visiting the Piedmont Sub on my own in the 1990’s I noticed this loader and the fact that there always seemed to be several CSX covered hoppers spotted at it. Once, I parked near the Louisa station to eat my lunch and got to film a CSX crew switching here.

This is an overall view of the facility. The mainline is in the foreground. The station is just out of sight in the background. (2004 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

The vermiculite is obviously trucked in, most likely from Virginia Vermiculite’s mine in the Green Springs District of Louisa County. A front end loader then loads it into a hopper. (2004 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

There is a somewhat Rube Goldberg arrangement lifts the vermiculite so that it can be loaded into covered hoppers. This photo shows part of the mechanism. (2004 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

The lifting arm (if that’s the proper term). (2004 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

C&O Sidetrack Records indicate that this siding once served a Sinclair facility. The remains of that facility can be seen in the last two photos. (2004 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

These stands clearly once held storage tanks, but the tanks are long gone. (2004 photo by Larry Z. Daily)

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