Shenandoah Valley Railroad

The present day Shenandoah Valley Railroad was originally started in 1866 as the Valley Railroad. In this post Civil-War era, the intention was to build tracks between Harrisonburg, Virginia and Salem, Virginia and to eventually connect to the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad and the B&O Railroad mainline. The B&O provided financial support, supplies and personnel in order to construct the tracks and run the railroad. The tracks between Harrisonburg and Staunton were completed, but costs quickly escalated, forcing construction to a halt and trains to cease operations.

The VRR with the B&O shortly partnered with the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in 1867 for financial support to continue construction. However, due to disagreements between the SVRR and VRR, this deal was terminated. Following years of increasing financial troubles, combined with leadership issues, the partnership between the VRR and B&O ended. The VRR attempted to work with other nearby railroads to complete construction between Salem and Harrisonburg, but with the state of the economy at the time, this was not financially feasible. The VRR finally ended in 1942 when the Staunton to Harrisonburg section was sold to the Chesapeake & Western Railroad.

Shenandoah Valley Railroad

From the very beginning, the Houff family has been committed to using innovative technologies in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture. Houff's Feed and Fertilizer was founded in Weyers Cave, Virginia out of D.W. Houff and Sons dairy operation. In the late 1960's, the Houffs started using custom equipment to apply liquid fertilizer to their fields. Quickly recognizing that their neighbors might have the same need, they started offering custom fertilizer application in the Shenandoah Valley. By 1975, Houff's Feed and Fertilizer was a viable business and contributor to the local economy. Over time, our agricultural services have expanded to include full service agronomy, the application of biosolids, and ammonia control for poultry houses. On the industrial side, we offer: transloading, third party logistics, warehousing, and much more. In 2017, Houff's Feed and Fertilizer recognized the breadth of the business and rebranded to Houff Corporation.

Our Weyers Cave site is the location of our company headquarters as well as our sister Company, IDM Trucking. This location has served as the incubator for many of our new transloading operations and is where the majority of our workforce and fleet are based. The Weyers Cave site is located on the Shenandoah Valley Railroad and can be serviced by both Norfolk Southern and CSX through a short line partnership. The products transloaded at the Weyers Cave site include salt, soybean meal, whole soybeans, calcium chloride, fertilizer, oil, and Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF).

Houff Corporation