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Civil War RRs in VA

Putnam DivisionPutnam DivisionOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

My wife and I spent the last few days in Charlottesville VA celebrating our 30th anniversary. We spent time visiting the horse and wine country to the east and got a unique perspective on the NS and CSX ROWs that cross the area......both of these were former ROWs of important Civil War RRs.  

 

CSX from Richmond (at Hanover Jct in Doswell)  to Charlottesville, through Gordonsville was the Old Virginia Central.....a vital artery to the Shenandoah Valley that kept Lee's army supplied with food and forage. In Gordonsville there was a hotel that was turned into a hospital, eventually caring for 70,000 blue and gray soldiers over the 4 years.

 

NS from the DC area was the Orange and Alexandria RR......it did not make it down to Charlottesville till about 1880. However, from Orange, it was an invasion route aimed at the Federal capital.

 

I was able to take pics of the post Civil War stations in Orange and Montpellier(James Madison's home).

 

 

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Peter

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Last edited by Putnam Division
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Big JimBig JimOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by AMCDave:

Right off I-81 S just below Stauton Va you can see what I have been told was a Civil War era stone railroad bridge. It's not hard to see from the highway but at 70 mph it's hard to get a photo....I tell myself I will stop someday.....but always in a hurry and that stretch of I-81 is BUSY.....

Dave,

That is part of the old "Valley Railroad" that wasn't organised until 1866. Planned to go from Harrisonburg, Va. all the way to Salem, Va., it only made it as far south as Lexington, Va. There are still some stone bridge structures here in northern Roanoke Co. still standing that were built in advance of the tracks.

The B&O operated it at one time and later became part of the Chesapeake & Western.

You can read all about it and the SVRR in the book "Iron Horses in the Valley" by John R. Hildebrand.

Last edited by Big Jim
A AMCDaveOGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by Big Jim:
Originally Posted by AMCDave:

Right off I-81 S just below Stauton Va you can see what I have been told was a Civil War era stone railroad bridge. It's not hard to see from the highway but at 70 mph it's hard to get a photo....I tell myself I will stop someday.....but always in a hurry and that stretch of I-81 is BUSY.....

Dave,

That is part of the old "Valley Railroad" that wasn't organised until 1866. Planned to go from Harrisonburg, Va. all the way to Salem, Va., it only made it as far south as Lexington, Va. There are still some stone bridge structures here in northern Roanoke Co. still standing that were built in advance of the tracks.

The B&O operated it at one time and later became part of the Chesapeake & Western.

You can read all about it and the SVRR in the book "Iron Horses in the Valley" by John R. Hildebrand.

Missed it by that much!!!!

Thanks for the info......cool part of history at any rate.

P paperboysOGR Forum Member

Dave, have your picture of the Folly Mills creek bridge. FYI, there are a number of places along I81 that you can see the old roadbed. Hard to find unless you know where to look. Most show up near Greenville, which is just South of Staunton. The southbound lane of I81 from the bridge back to the connection with I64 is actually on the old roadbed. The old roadbed was used as a haul road for the construction of I81 in that area. One bridge abutment is located dead center of the roadbed. Should you try to follow the route into Staunton, the roadbed is located on the west side of Rt 11(Greenville Ave) down to the underpass of the former C & O(you traveled over it on your Cardinal trip).

 

Mark BoyceMark BoyceOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Peter,

Happy 30th!!  We will celebrate our 30th in a few weeks!!

 

Yes, during my time in Virginia, twice working for Vepco, I was at all those places.  Some great railroads, locations, stations, and history in The Old Dominion!!

 

I think I traveled Virginia more than my native Keystone State!

 

Do you have any pictures of the Fredericksburg station?  I worked for a while just a block away.  Was it you who posted the triple crossing in Richmond or someone else?

Mark BoyceMark BoyceOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by AMCDave:

Right off I-81 S just below Stauton Va you can see what I have been told was a Civil War era stone railroad bridge. It's not hard to see from the highway but at 70 mph it's hard to get a photo....I tell myself I will stop someday.....but always in a hurry and that stretch of I-81 is BUSY.....

Yes Dave, I know the place.  I haven't been there since the early '90s however.

Putnam DivisionPutnam DivisionOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Hey guys, I'm interested in Civil War RRs because it combines history and trains, my 2 loves (after my wife, of course!).

 

It was the 1st modern war to use RRs, telegraghs, ironclad warships in combat, etc.

 

I live about a quarter mile from the NS tracks.....which started as the Richmond & Danville (Jeff Davis' escape route from Richmond in 1865). Remember the Band's song, The Night They Drove Old DIxie Down (....Virgil Caine is my name and I served on the Danvile train...).

 

Peter

Last edited by Putnam Division
Putnam DivisionPutnam DivisionOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

If anyone is interested in how railroads transformed war, I would suggest this book.

 

 

It describes how the the Federals used their extensive railroad connections to save the Army of the Cumberland after its mauling at Chickamauga and raise the siege of Chattanooga.

 

2 Army Corps were detached from Meade (the Army of the Potomac; the 11th and 12th) and sent west by rail, through Harper's Ferry, Cinncinati, Louisville, Nashville and Chattanooga....1500 miles, 20,000 men with their baggage, horses and cannon.....all, in about 8 days.

 

 

Peter

Last edited by Putnam Division
P paperboysOGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by 49Lionel:

Note quite Civil War-era, but there's a plan in the works to open the old Afton Mountain tunnel (between Charlottesville and Staunton) as a hiking trail.  At nearly a mile long, it should be pretty spectacular.

yep! welcome to rattlesnake acres! should be interesting!

oh and Mr 49, the tunnel is between Cville and Waynesboro.

L 49LionelOGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by paperboys:
Originally Posted by 49Lionel:

Note quite Civil War-era, but there's a plan in the works to open the old Afton Mountain tunnel (between Charlottesville and Staunton) as a hiking trail.  At nearly a mile long, it should be pretty spectacular.

yep! welcome to rattlesnake acres! should be interesting!

oh and Mr 49, the tunnel is between Cville and Waynesboro.

I would know, living just a few miles from it.  I figured most people not from these parts would recognize Staunton more than Waynesboro.  My apologies if you're from W-boro!

Last edited by 49Lionel

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