SAL to Broad St. Station in Richmond

In April 1959, the SAL moved its passenger trains from the Main Street Station in Richmond. VA to Broad Street Station. Does anyone know how the SAL trains reached Broad Street Station ? Thanks in advance for any help with this.

If I remember correctly, it was mostly a matter of putting in a new southward connection on the Broad St. station loop tracks. Originally, the Broad St. Station loop was oriented to the north so that, say, a southbound train for the ACL would enter the loop and, after the station stop, emerge heading north to the James River bridge connection. Trains for the SAL passed by the loop tracks, and could easily have used them except that there wasn't a connection that allowed them to continue going south on the SAL.

I grew up riding Seaboard and ACL trains from New York to Florida, and our southbound stop at Broad Street, whether on the Meteor or Champion, was always a high point. The two trains were on similar schedules, and southbound were usually in Broad Street at the same time. The ACL train simply headed straight in, locomotives pointed south. To depart, the train ran around the loop, crossed the station throat on diamonds, and turned south onto the "belt line", having done a 360 degree loop.

Seaboard trains to Main Street Station used a connection off the east side of the loop. When they began calling at Broad instead, they would head halfway around the loop and come into the station with the locos heading north. On departure, the train would back halfway around the loop to the east side, then head south on the connection. SAL continued to run right through Main Street (platforms on the west side), although the trains didn't stop. As a kid, I always wondered what that station was.

AFAIK, the connection to the Seaboard was always there, since both SAL and ACL trains used the RF&P south from Washington. Into the mid-1960s, though, they would get RF&P power at Washington and then change again at Richmond. the Champion to three ACL E units (usually A-A-A, elephant style), and the Meteor to an A-B-B-A lashup. That stopped after the SCL merger, when SCL power began running through to Washington.

I'm pretty sure that originally there was no southward connection at Broad St. for the SAL. The SAL's line joined the RF&P somewhat north of Broad St., and its trains changed power at SAL's Hermitage engine terminal. Both ACL and SAL originally did run their early diesel power (but never steam) to Washington into the 1940s, but this operation ended before or during WWII.

Further to my initial question, today I did some research in a RF&P book that has a large chapter on the Broad Street Station. The chapter states that the SAL trains backed in and out of the station...no connecting curve was installed.

I think this whole topic was covered in a very old thread here but I can't find it.

Anyway, if you can locate a very old copy of John Armstrong's TRACK PLANNING FOR REALISTIC OPERATION (the '60's-70's edition) he had a schematic of the station arrangement and discussed the SAL point of entry.

I rode the Silver Comet from Birmingham to Richmond many times in the late 1940s. early 1950s. At that time to Main St.
I also, at least once, rode the Southerner from Birmingham,(circa 1948-1953) and somehow got to Richmond. Anyone know what connecting train/s and transfer point/s I may have taken?