Norfolk Southern Railway (former)
This article is about the smaller railroad prior to 1981. For the present system, which includes the old one, see Norfolk Southern Railway. |
"All-time" system map, showing all lines in the Norfolk Southern system prior to 1974 |
The
Norfolk Southern Railway was the final name of a
railroad running from
Norfolk, Virginia southwest and west to
Charlotte, North Carolina. It was acquired by the
Southern Railway in
1974.
The
Elizabeth City and Norfolk Railroad was chartered
January 20,
1870, and in
1881 the line opened, running south from
Berkley, Virginia, across the
Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River from
Norfolk, via
Elizabeth City to
Edenton, North Carolina. On
February 1,
1883 the name was changed to the
Norfolk Southern Railroad, reflecting the company's ambitions to build further. It entered
receivership for the first time in
1889, and was purchased
April 29 and reorganized May
1891 as the
Norfolk and Southern Railroad. By that time it had acquired
trackage rights over the
Norfolk and Western Railroad over the Elizabeth River into
Norfolk. With the reorganization also came the acquisition of the
Albemarle and Pantego Railroad in North Carolina from the
John L. Roper Lumber Company, extending the line from
Mackey on the other side of the
Albemarle Sound from Edenton south to
Belhaven on the
Pungo River, a branch of the
Pamlico River.
On
November 1,
1899 the N&S bought the
Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad, running east from Norfolk to
Virginia Beach on the
Atlantic Ocean. An extension which ran parallel to the oceanfront took the line north from Virginia Beach to
Cape Henry in
1902, but only two years later the N&S bought the competing
Chesapeake Transit Company which had a line from Norfolk to Cape Henry via the Lynnhaven Inlet area and hence to Virginia Beach, and abandoned its duplicative trackage between Cape Henry and Virginia Beach. The passenger rail service to the Oceanfront area was a key factor in the growth of the Town of Virginia Beach as a resort in the late 19ths and early 20th century, which was only much later eclipsed by the construction of the paved
Virginia Beach Boulevard roadway between the Oceanfront area and Norfolk in 1922.
Also in 1902, the N&S acquired the
Roanoke Railroad and Lumber Company's
Washington and Plymouth Railroad, running from
Plymouth, North Carolina south to
Washington, built a line from
Mackey to Plymouth, and began a
car ferry operation across the
Albemarle Sound between
Edenton and Mackey (replaced by a bridge in
1910). The W&P had been built by the lumber company in
1889 to 3 foot (914 mm)
narrow gauge, became a
common carrier in
1901, and was re-gauged by the N&S in
1904.
The
Raleigh and Eastern North Carolina Railroad was organized in
1903 and renamed the
Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad in
1905. In
1906 it built a line from the end of the N&S at
Washington south to
Bridgeton, as well as a completely separated line from
Raleigh east to
Zebulon.
On
November 24,
1906 the
Norfolk and Southern Railway was formed as a consolidation of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad with the Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad and several other companies:
*
Virginia and Carolina Coast Railroad: built
1885 to
1902 from
Suffolk, Virginia south to
Edenton and from Beckford Junction (on the Suffolk-Edenton section) to Elizabeth City; originally built as the
Suffolk and Carolina Railway and renamed in
1906)
*
Pamlico, Oriental and Western Railway: built
1906 from
New Bern (across the
Neuse River from Bridgeton) east to
Bayboro, including a bridge over the Neuse River that became part of the main line
*
Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad (leased
September 1,
1904): built
1858 from
Goldsboro southeast to
Morehead City, intersecting the main line at
New Bern*
Beaufort and Western Railroad: built
1905 from
Morehead City east to
BeaufortThe company again entered
receivership in
1908, and in
1910 reorganized as the
Norfolk Southern Railroad. That same year it built a long branch from
Chocowinity (also known as Marsden) on the main line south of
Washington west to the isolated section to
Raleigh at
Zebulon (that became the main line to
Charlotte via Raleigh, while the old line to New Bern became a branch). Several shorter branches also opened that year - from
Bayboro south to
Oriental, from
Pinetown on the main line east to
Bishops Cross on the line to
Belhaven, and from
Mackey east to
Columbia (as well as a
trestle across the
Albemarle Sound between Mackey and
Edenton).
The
Egypt Railroad was chartered
June 14,
1890 and opened
October 15,
1891 running a short distance from
Colon on the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line west to
Cumnock. It was leased to the
Raleigh and Western Railway, another short line continuing west from Cumnock to
Harpers Crossroads, on
September 6,
1893. The company entered
receivership in
1907 and operations west of Cumnock were suspended in
1908. The Egypt Railroad was reorganized
April 1,
1910 as the
Sanford and Troy Railroad.
The
Durham and Charlotte Railroad was chartered
March 2,
1893. On
July 15,
1896 it bought the
Glendon and Gulf Railroad, running from
Gulf (west of
Cumnock) southwest to
Glendon. Some time after
1900 it bought the former Raleigh and Western Railway
right-of-way and rebuilt the line from Cumnock to Gulf, and built an extension from Glendon southwest to
Troy.
In November
1911 the NS formed the
Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway as a consolidation of several smaller companies; the RC&S was merged into the NS in
fall 1912. The RC&S was made up of the Sanford and Troy Railroad, Durham and Charlotte Railroad, and the following lines:
*
Raleigh and Southport Railway:
Raleigh south to
Fayetteville*
Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad:
Aberdeen northwest to
Asheboro, with a branch from
Biscoe west via
Troy to
Mount Gilead, and several other short branchesAt the time, only the Raleigh and Southport Railway connected to the other NS lines. In
1914 the NS built a line from
Varina on the former R&S southwest to
Colon and from
Mount Gilead west to
Charlotte, giving it a continuous line, using the former S&T, D&C and branch of the A&A from Colon to Mount Gilead.
On
May 27,
1920 the NS leased the
Durham and South Carolina Railroad, giving it access to
Durham. The D&SC ran from Durham south to
Bonsal on the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad, and was extended to
Duncan on the NS around the time the NS leased it.
Another
receivership came in
1932, and in
1935 it defaulted on its lease of the
Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, which was reincorporated
November 16 of that year. Many branch lines were abandoned or sold during that period, such as the local lines in
Suffolk, Virginia, which were sold to the
Virginian Railway in
1940. On
January 21,
1942 the company was reorganized for the last time as the
Norfolk Southern Railway.
On
January 1,
1974 the
Southern Railway bought the Norfolk Southern Railway and merged the
Carolina and Northwestern Railway into it. In
1981 the Carolina and Northwestern name was brought back to free up the Norfolk Southern name for the planned merger of the Southern Railway with the
Norfolk and Western Railway. The new
Norfolk Southern Railway was formed in
1982; (Or, as some say tongue in cheek, the Southern tucked the Norfolk Southern name in its briefcase, stopped in
Roanoke to pick up a friend, and then went on to
Washington, D.C.). While the name had once represented simply the Virginia and North Carolina based railroad which ran south from Norfolk to Charlotte, it was now a combination of the names of the two merged Class 1 companies.
Norfolk Southern still owns the main line from
Gulf (near
Cumnock) northeast to
Plymouth. The part from Gulf west to
Charlotte (as well as the branch to
Aberdeen) is now the
Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway, and the part from
Edenton north to
Norfolk is now the
Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad. The line between Plymouth and Edenton has been abandoned.
*At
Chocowinity, North Carolina, the
New Bern Branch diverges from the main line. In
1917, the management of Norfolk Southern elected to use the name "Marsden" instead of Chocowinity since the name Chocowinity was too long and cumbersome to spell out on the
telegraph key. "Marsden" was derived from the name of
Marsden J. Perry, a member of a New York financial group that had been backing the construction of the Norfolk Southern Railroad. He would eventually serve as president of the railroad. The railroad didn't start using the name Chocowinity until about
1970. [
1]
*At
Cape Henry, Virginia, on the
Fort Story Army Base, the renovated former Norfolk Southern passenger station, built in
1902, is in use as Fort Story's Education Center.
*The former south line from Tidewater Junction in Norfolk east to Birdneck Road in
Virginia Beach was under consideration for a possible
light rail line in the late
1990s, but the project was defeated by Virginia Beach voters in an advisory referendum. A short portion near the oceanfront is now a bicycle and pedestrian trail. However, the portion of the south line in the City of Norfolk from Newtown Road west past Tidewater Junction into the downtown Norfolk area is now slated for a light rail line in that city.
*
Norfolk & Southern Railway Historical Society*
NSRwy Yahoo Group (dealing with the original company)
*
A Brief History of the Norfolk Southern (includes abandonment years)
*
Railroad History Database
