Under Construction

The N&ARy operated a line of about 17 miles that extended from a connection with the Southern Railway at Rockfish, Virginia and ran eastward through Schuyler and Estmont up to Alberene, location of the old ASCo. The purpose of the N&A was to serve the soapstone quarries located in the Virginia counties of Nelson and Albemarle, and also the company plant at Schuyler.

11.

12.

14.

This was a tourist line.

At one time this road operated 250 miles between Norfolk and Danville. There was also a 50 mile branch from near Emporia to Claremont on the James River plus several shorter branches. It was under lease to the Southern Ry when it became independent. It was acquired by the Norfolk & Western in 1962 and operated as NF&D with second generation diesels. The Claremont branch is long gone, and the main line is gone between Lawrenceville and Blanche. It is now operated as a couple of branch lines by Norfolk Southern.

101 thru 106, RS2, were built by Alco in 1949 and 107, RS3, was added in 1951. These were all later traded in to Alco.

102, RS2, was built by Alco in July 1949, #76990, and was traded in to Alco in 1962.

1 and 2, RS36, were built by Alco in 1962 under N&W ownership.

2, RS36, was built by Alco in October 1962, #84393.

They were later supplemented with 201 thru 204, RS11, built by Alco for the Nickle Plate.

203, RS11, was built by Alco in March 1956, #81462, as NYC&StL 561, Class ARS-18A. It became N&W 2561 in 1965 and later NF&D 203.

Bay Coast RR

We have a page on this railroad.

5, 65 Ton, was built by Porter in April 1944, #7646, as Jackson Iron & Steel Co 5.  It was sold to B&NW as 5 in 1981 and later sold to Lonesome Pine RR.

4960 was built by Baldwin in 1923, #56809, as Chicago Burlington & Quincy 4960, Class O-1A. After retirement it went to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum. In 1981 it was leased to the B&NW as 4960, and in 1995 it was sold the Grand Canyon Ry and rebuilt as 4960.

Buckingham Branch RR

We have a page on this railroad.

Chaparral Steel Co.

This company has a special page.

A narrow gauge railroad was built into the Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia for logging operations. It was probably owned by Camp Paper Co., but this is not certain.

6 was apparently built by Porter.

Eastern Shore RR

We have a page on this railroad.

We came back in October, and it was just the wrong time of the day. The best we could do was a shot of the 26 from the tender end. It shows some interesting details including the headlight mounted under the cab roof instead of on the tender deck, which is the usual place, or on the cab roof, which is a common location.

We also found a Milwaukee Locomotive Works gas switcher with no number. I think Milwaukee Locomotive was a part of the Filer & Stowell Co. which had or has a factory at 1^st & Lincoln in Milwaukee.

We came back in November at the proper time of the day, and we got a better photo of the 26 with the light in the right direction.

If anyone has any more information about this operation, I'll be glad to add it to this page.

Keith Taylor tells us a little more about the 26. It was originally Surrey, Sussex and Southampton Ry. 26. It is now in its original livery at Allaire State Park in New Jersey, where it is the featured power on the Pine Creek Central. Keith sends us this photo of Surrey Sussex & Southampton 26 on the Pine Creek. The photo is by Frank Czajkowski.

Jack Huber gave us the builder information on 26 and also tells us that Gray used it and other locomotives on the Southern Railway's Claremont branch which ran from Emporia to the James River. Gray leased the branch until 1936 after the Southern stopped operating the narrow gauge in 1932. After that the 26 was used on a short 3 rail spur moving finished lumber to the Norfolk & Western main line.

This was a short coal line at Haysi near Bristol.

5, 65 Ton, was built by Porter in April 1944, #7646, as Jackson Iron & Steel Co 5.  It was sold to Bristol & North Western as 5 in 1981 and later sold to LPRR.

We have a page on this railroad.

Motivation Coal Co.

No number, S2m, was built by Alco.  It was rebuilt by General Electric in January 1979, #89665, as Elkay Mining Co 01 and sold to MCCo in 1998.

Newton Asphalt Co.

2432, CF7. was built by Electro-Motive in July 1956, #21151, as  Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe 288L, Class 281, an F9A.  It rebuilt at Cleburne in November 1977 as 2432, Class 2417, and retired on June 27, 1984.  It was sold to Blue Mountain & Reading on July 11, 1984, and sold as NACo 2432 in September 1984.

10.

8701, RS4TC, was built by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton in 1954, #61234, as United States Army 4004.  It was transferred as Defense Logistic Agency 54344 "The General" and sold to Buckingham Branch RR in 1999.  It was assigned as SVRR 8701 and moved as BBRR 4 in 2001.  Repainting was done in 2007.

This was probably one of those roads which could be included in the least successful category. Track was laid in the late 1940s from the Smithfield Ham factory to a carfloat landing on the James River, a distance of less than a mile. Opening day was June 9, 1948. Cars were to be floated to Newport News, but apparently the C&O would not interchange. When I visited in late 1952, the railroad was intact but no traffic had moved. I did get a picture of their entire roster.

6 was built by Baldwin in October 1891, #12288.  It was rebuilt in 1918 and rebuilt as Argent Lumber Co 6 in 1930.  It was rebuilt in 1953 and rebuilt as Midwest Central RR 6 in 1960.

26 was built by Baldwin in October 1920, #53796, as SS&S 26. It was acquired in July 1930 by Gray Lumber. He was lucky to get it when the weeds weren't overpowering.

288, 8 Ton GM, was built by Vulcan in 1940, #4302, as United States Army 106.  It was sold as TCCo 288 and resold as Chesapeake RR 4302.

The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway dates back to 1915, beginning at the Tye River Depot and ending in Massies Mill, branching out at times to Lowesville and into the mountains. The railway was built to haul chestnut timber out of the Piney River area to local mills. Timber runs were halted during World War I, since they were not essential to the war effort, and a chestnut blight wiped out much of the crop. Passenger service carried the line through 1936. The line saw a true resurgence when a company began extracting titanium dioxide from the Piney River and needed transport. Also, three companies were built to extract aplite from the area and used the rail for transport and the line thrived until the late 1960s. Hurricane Camille destroyed some of the tracks in 1969 and Cyanamid, the company that began the line's industrial boom in the 1930s, closed in 1970.

2 was built by Richmond in 1895, #2471, as Southern Ry 222, a compound. It was simpled in 1903 and renumbered 186, Class G-2. On September 22, 1938, it was sold  to VBR as 2. It was scrapped in 1947.

5 was built by Schenectady in November 1942, #70421, as United States Army 4039.  It was sold to VBR as 5 on February 17, 1947.  It was then sold to Morris County Central 4039 in 1966.

8 was built by Schenectady in November, 1942, #70420, as USA 4038. It was renumbered 618 in 1954 and sold to VBR as 8 of August 15, 1958. It later became Delaware-Otsego RR 2 and later Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley 2.

9 was built by Schenectady in October, 1942, #70402, as USA 4023. It was renumbered 616 in 1954 and was sold to the Virginia Blue Ridge Ry as 9 on August 15, 1958. In 1967 it became New Hope & Ivyland 9.

12, SW1, was built on April 19, 1940, #1053, as Delaware Lackawanna & Western 432. It became Erie Lackawanna 354, Class SE-6, in 1960 and sold to VBR as 12 in October 1964. After the VBR was abandoned it was sold to Union Tank Car Co in April 1985.

Virginia Central RR

The Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad operated 38 miles of 3 foot gauge railroad between Fredericksburg and Orange.   It operated as narrow gauge until after World War I. In 1926 the line was standard gauged and the name changed to the Virginia Central Railway. In 1938 the entire line was abandoned except for a one mile segment in Fredericksburg which lasted until 1983.

1022 was built by Alco-Richmond in 1909 as  as Chesapeake & Ohio 651.  It was renumbered 1022, Class G-9s, in 1926. and sold as Virginia Central 1022.  It was sold to a dealer and resold as Bellefonte Central RR 18 in 1938 and scrapped in 1947.

Virginia Central RR

In the 1990s, an excursion company headed by Jack Showalter assumed the historic name Virginia Central Railroad, and operated trips on CSX Transportation tracks from a base in Staunton, Virginia. Increased liability insurance requirements forced suspension of the trips and the equipment into storage. In February, 2005, preparations were underway to relocate some of the historic rolling stock of the excursion company to the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, but that plan fell through. The equipment was is storage in Staunton and up the SVRR line in Verona. Some of the passenger cars were planned to return to limited service on excursion trains planned to operate on the short-line Shenandoah Valley Railroad.

40, GP9, was built by Electro-Motive in August 1955, #20849, as Chesapeake & Ohio 5940, Class MRSE-17.  It was reclassified Class GP-9 in 1964 and became Western Maryland 5940, Class GP-9, in April 1976.  It was sold as Western Maryland Scenic RR 5940.  It was sold to Jack Showalter as VCRR 40 and leased to Shenandoah Valley RR.  It was sold as Durbin & Greenbriar Valley RR 40 in 2007.

Virginia Electric & Power Co.

1175, S3, was built by Alco in September 1950, #78391, as Boston & Maine 1175, Class DS-3b.  It was sold as VE&P 1175 on January 22, 1965, and resold to Stone & Webster Co in 1965.  It was sold as Continental Forest Products Co 1175 and resold as Otter Valley RR 1.  It was sold as Seaview Transportation Co 3 in 1981 and leased as Cape Cod & Hyannis 3.  It was returned as Seaview 3 "Hamilton".

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