The damage caused by the 1969 flood permanently ended railroad service to Lexington. The tracks of Richmond & Allegany Railroad successor Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad which ran along the bank of the river from its junction with the Norfolk & Western Railroad at Loch Laird (Buena Vista) to Lexington were destroyed along much of the route. Instead of rebuilding the line to Lexington, the C&O Railroad restored the tracks from Loch Laird through Buena Vista to serve several industrial customers. On September 1, 1970, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted the C&O permission to abandon the remainder of the Lexington branch. The C&O (now CSX Transportation) tracks end at Georgia Bonded Fibers below the US 60 bridge over the Maury River. The remaining rail bed was converted to public use as an early example of rails to trails, becoming the Chessie Nature Trail.