The wooden Piney River depot still keeps watch over the old right-of-way, as does the VBR’s former corporate office just behind the station. The brick office structure is now a private residence. The depot itself originally had segregated waiting rooms and a freight house section with a platform that has long since been removed. Even the Southern Railway’s station at Tye River disappeared from the scene in the 1970’s when the Southern deemed it more cost-effective to demolish the building and have the freight agent conduct his business by traveling about in a company vehicle.

The trail came about in 1997 when The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail Foundation, Inc. was founded by a group of citizens from Virginia’s Nelson and Amherst Counties for the purpose of converting the VBR’s abandoned right-of-way into a hiking trail. Trail foundation members gained support from county governments, local businesses and private individuals. A portion of the former right-of-way of the VBR was held by an adjacent property owner, attorney Stephen C. Martin of Amherst, VA, along with his wife Popie, who was more than willing to donate the roadbed to the Foundation’s cause. In 1999, the first of seven “Transportation Enhancement Grants”, as well as a number of other grants enabled the vision of the trail become a reality.

After six years of planning, fundraising and actual construction, the first portion of the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail opened to the public on June 7, 2003. At that time, the walkway consisted of two trail heads (Piney River and Roses Mill), nearly 2 miles of trail surface, and a renovated 200-foot long bridge. A few years later, additional grants enabled 4 additional bridges to be rebuilt for pedestrian use, as well as clearing the edges of the path and laying down surfacing material to extend the trail from Roses Mill to Tye River.

The hiking trail begins at the old Piney River depot in Nelson County and follows the Piney River itself East 1.8 miles to Roses Mill in Amherst County. Continuing Eastward the trail crosses back into Nelson County 3.5 miles down river just below the confluence of the Piney and Tye Rivers and then passes under Route 29. The pathway wanders through the countryside and presents views of the rolling hills, farms and the waterways. To this day, the route of the VBR offers little evidence of civilization, and retains its bucolic ambiance. Wildlife and flowers are everywhere and the trail is a safe and pleasing experience for all who come to enjoy everything it has to offer.

A February 4, 2012 article in The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, VA noted that a new phase of the VBR Trail Project had commenced. Plans include obtaining, restoring and displaying a caboose at Piney River; putting up 50 signs about the history of the area and the railroad along the trail; preserving one of the VBR’s old dump cars and a handcar; and renovating the Tye River weigh station at the end of the trail and re-installing its scales. The VBR depot at Piney River on Route 151 will be restored and provide a home for exhibits on the history of the railroad and Hurricane Camille. Additional plans include the completion of the last segment of the trail and building a traditional railroad cover for the Naked Creek Bridge.