railroads. eller, p. 66 eller, p. 74 corporate timeline of the norfolk & western railway* 1836...
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Corporate Timeline of the Norfolk & Western Railway*
1836
City Point Railroad chartered by Virginia State Legislature.
1838
City Point Railroad begins operations on September 7 between Petersburg and City Point on the James River.*Norfolk and Western Historical Society, http://www.nwhs.org/nw_timeline.html
1853
Norfolk & Petersburg Railroad organized; construction started same year, but track construction not completed for an additional five years.
1854
South Side Railroad completed from City Point, VA through Petersburg to Lynchburg.
1856
Virginia & Tennessee Railroad completed October 1, extending 204 miles from Lynchburg, VA to Bristol at the Tennessee state line.
1858
Norfolk & Petersburg Railroad begins operations between its namesake cities on September 1.
1870
Shenandoah Valley Railroad organized as a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
1870
Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad formed on November 12 from the consolidation of the City Point Railroad, Norfolk & Petersburg Railroad, and Virginia & Tennessee Railroad; included mainline trackage of 408 miles stretching from Norfolk, VA to Bristol at Tennessee state line.
1876
Cincinnati & Eastern Railway organized to operate railroad from Cincinnati to Portsmouth, OH.
1878
Construction of the Scioto Valley Railway completed.
1879
Construction of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad begins.
1880
Cincinnati & Eastern Railway leases Columbus & Maysville Railroad and Hillsboro Short Line.
1881
Shenandoah Valley Railroad construction completed from Hagerstown, MD to Basic City (Waynesboro), VA.
1881
Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad sold under foreclosure on February 9 to E. W. Clark & Co., and renamed Norfolk & Western Railroad.
1882
Shenandoah Valley Railroad completes track from Basic City to Roanoke, VA and connects with Norfolk & Western Railroad.
1883
Norfolk & Western Railroad completes New River Division to Bluefield, WV and on May 21 begins operation of regular traffic on this extension.
1883
On March 12 the first car of Pocahontas coal is loaded at Pocahontas, VA.
1884
On August 25, Cincinnati & Eastern Railway reaches Portsmouth, OH.
1885
Shenandoah Valley Railroad forced into receivership.
1885
Norfolk & Western Railroad organizes the Pocahontas Coal Company to act as General Agent for coal mine operators.
1885
Coal Pier No. 1 opened at Lambert's Point, VA on March 12 for loading coal into ships.
1886
On June 1, Norfolk & Western Railroad converted track gauge from 5 foot gauge to the standard gauge of 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches.
1887
Construction on the Clinch Valley Extension to reach from Bluefield to Norton, VA is begun; completed in 1890.
1887
Construction of Lynchburg & Durham Railroad begun at Lynchburg. On January 5, Cincinnati & Eastern sold under foreclosure to become Ohio & Northwestern Railroad.
1887
Abingdon Coal & Iron Railroad begins construction between Abingdon, VA and Damascus, VA; eventually line will reach into North Carolina.
1888
Construction of the Roanoke & Southern Railway is begun at Winston-Salem, NC.
1888
Ohio & Northwestern goes into receivership.
1889
Roanoke & Southern Railway begins operations.
1890
Construction of the Ohio Extension is begun, to reach from Elkhorn, WV to Kenova, WV.
1890
Construction of Lynchburg & Durham Railroad completed to Durham, NC.
1890
In September, Shenandoah Valley Railroad sold under foreclosure and reorganized as the Shenandoah Valley Railway; in December, Shenandoah Valley Railway is acquired and absorbed by Norfolk & Western Railroad.
1890
Scioto Valley Railway reorganized as Scioto Valley & New England Railroad; sold to Norfolk & Western Railroad to become its Scioto Division.
1891
Ohio & Northwestern reorganized as Cincinnati, Portsmouth & Virginia Railroad.
1892
Ohio Extension is completed on September 25.
1892
Big Stony Railway organized to operate from connection with N&W at Potts Valley Junction, VA to Interior, VA.
1892
Norfolk & Western Railroad leases Roanoke & Southern Railway, which operates from Roanoke, VA to Winston-Salem, NC, and operated as the Winston-Salem Division of the N&W; leases Lynchburg & Durham Railroad and operated as the Durham Division of the N&W.
1892
Roanoke & Southern Railway completes construction to Roanoke.
1894
Virginia Western Coal & Iron Railroad Company takes over Abingdon Coal & Iron Railroad.
1895
State of West Virginia enacts law prohibiting any railroad corporation from engaging in business of buying/selling coal or coke; E. W. Clarke & Co. forms Flat Top Coal Land Association.
1896
Norfolk & Western Railroad sold under foreclosure and reorganized as Norfolk & Western Railway.
1896
Roanoke & Southern Railway purchased outright by Norfolk & Western Railway at time of reorganization.
1896
Lynchburg & Durham Railroad absorbed into Norfolk & Western Railway.
1898
Virginia Western Coal & Iron Railroad changes name to Virginia-Carolina Railway.
1899
Iaeger & Southern Railway constructed from Iaeger to Ritter, WV.
1901
New River, Holston & Western Railroad operated from a connection with N&W at Narrows, VA and eventually extended to Suiter, VA.
1901
Lands held by Flat Top Coal Land Association acquired by Norfolk & Western Railway and vested in its subsidiary, the Pocahontas Coal & Coke Company.
1901
Cincinnati, Portsmouth & Virginia Railroad absorbed into Norfolk & Western Railway.
1902
Iaeger & Southern Railway purchased by Norfolk & Western Railway; eventually N&W extends line to connect with Clinch Valley Extension at Cedar Bluff, VA.
1902
Construction begins of the Virginia Anthracite Coal & Railway Company between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, VA.
1903
Big Sandy & Cumberland Railroad begins operations; line would eventually operate from its connection with N&W at Devon, WV to Grundy, WV.
1903
Big Sandy, East Lynn & Guyan Railroad completed and opened for service.
1904
Virginia Anthracite Coal & Railway Company opens for service on September 24.
1905
Big Stony Railway acquired by Norfolk & Western Railway and line is extended and operated as its Potts Valley Branch.
1906
Catawba Valley Railway & Mining Company constructed from Salem, VA to Sandburg, VA.
1908
Big Sandy, East Lynn & Guyan Railroad absorbed by Norfolk & Western Railway.
1909
Catawba Valley Railway & Mining Company taken over by Norfolk & Western Railway and operated as its Catawba Branch.
1911
Winston-Salem South Bound Railway constructed as joint enterprise of Norfolk & Western Railway and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad; line connects N&W at Winston-Salem with ACL at Wadesboro, NC.
1912
Virginia Anthracite Coal & Railway Company is taken over by Norfolk & Western Railway and operated as its Blacksburg Branch.
1914
Norfolk & Western Railway gains control of Virginia-Carolina Railway.
1919
Norfolk & Western Railway absorbs New River, Holston & Western Railroad and operates it as its Narrows Branch.
1919
Virginia-Carolina Railway merged into N&W and operated as its Abingdon Branch.
1923
Norfolk & Western Railway purchases Big Sandy & Cumberland Railroad.
1928
Former line of Big Sandy & Cumberland rebuilt by Norfolk & Western Railway and operated as its Buchanan Branch.
1939
Pocahontas Coal & Coke Company renamed Pocahontas Land Company.
1954
Norfolk & Western Railway acquires the Chesapeake Western Railway which is operated as a subsidiary of the N&W; the Chesapeake Western operated from its connection with N&W at Elkton, VA through Harrisonburg to Staunton, VA.
1959
Virginian Railway absorbed by Norfolk & Western on December 1.
1962
Atlantic & Danville Railway taken over by Norfolk & Western Railway; operated separately and renamed Norfolk, Franklin & Danville Railway.
1964
Norfolk & Western Railway absorbed New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) and assumed that road's lease of the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway; leased the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway and the Wabash Railroad; also acquired the Sandusky Line and Sandusky Coal Docks of the Pennsylvania Railroad; acquired the Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad.
1968
Norfolk & Western Railway, through its subsidiary, Dereco, Inc., acquired control of the Delaware & Hudson Railway and the Erie-Lackawanna Railway.
1976
Norfolk & Western Railway relinquishes control of Erie Lackawanna Railway when EL became part of Conrail.
1981
Norfolk & Western Railway acquires the Illinois Terminal Railroad.
1982
Norfolk & Western Railway is consolidated with the Southern Railway to form Norfolk Southern Corporation.
•The L&N was born of Louisville’s competition with Cincinnati.
•In 1850 Kentucky authorized the construction of a railroad from Louisville to the Tennessee state line.
•In 1851 Tennessee approved the construction from the state line to Nashville.
•In 1881 it began extending a branch from Lebanon KY to Jellico TN.
•In 1891 that line was extended to Norton VA.
•Between 1879 and 1881 it reached the western KY and southern IL an IN coalfields.
•Between 1909 and 1912 it laid track along the Cumberland and Kentucky Rivers, accessing the Harlan and Perry Co. coalfields.
•The Maryland and Virginia legislatures pass the acts of incorporation in 1827.
•In 1842 the line reaches Martinsburg and Hancock WVA.
•1853, the line reaches Wheeling, the first line from the Atlantic to the Ohio River.
Baltimore and Ohio
•The Chesapeake and Ohio began as the Louisa Railroad in 1836.
•By 1850, it connected Richmond and Charlottesville, and was known as the Virginia Central.
•As the Covington and Ohio, rails were completed to White Sulphur Springs in 1867.
•The company went into receivership in 1878, and re-emerged as the Chesapeake and Ohio.
•It developed its capacity during the next decade to transport coal from the WVA fields to Newport News.
•In 1972 the C&O and B&O merge to become the Chessie System. That in turn merges into CSX.
The Clinchfield Railroad
•The Clinchfield was originally conceived as chartered as Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad in 1886.
•Original backing included the Baring Brothers of London. When they failed in 1893, so did the 3-C.
•The assets were purchased for $550,000, which consisted of:
•171 miles of operating line betweenb Camden SC and Marion NC
•20 miles of operating line between Chestoa and Johnson City TN
•85 miles of substantially finished grade between Johnson City and Dante VA
•60 miles of finished grade between Ashland and Whitehouse KY
•Re-chartered as the Ohio River and Charleston Railroad Company
•An 1899 map projected the line running from Ashland KY up the Big Sandy River, then up the Pound and Cranesnest Rivers, through Fuller’s Gap to Tom’s Creek, down the Guest River to the Clinch, then into the Carolinas.
•The owners lost interest, and began selling off portions of the assets.
•George L. Carter purchased operating portion in 1902. Carter was already invested in the SW VA coalfields, and the intent was to develop the railroad as a coal hauler.
•In 1908 the new charter was granted to the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio.
•Carter wisely spared no expense in construction, minimizing the grade and re-enforcing the tunnels.