by gokeefe
As announced by Virginia, Amtrak and CSX the former "S-Line" Right of Way between Petersburg, VA and Ridgeway, NC will be sold to the Commonwealth by CSX as part of a larger deal involving half of the RF&P Right of Way, existing third track on the RF&P along with the entire Buckingham Branch. There is a clear intentions by multiple stakeholder agencies to eventually build a brand new railroad over the S-Line segment as part of an extension of high speed rail service from the Northeast Corridor.
Railway Age has an excellent article that covers all the details.
The "S-Line" right of way is the former main line corridor of the Seaboard Air Line with one segment between Raleigh and Norlina originally built by the Raleigh and Gaston (R&G) ca. 1836 with service commencing on March 21, 1840. R&G saw extensive use and subsequent damage during the Civil War. R&G emerged from the war and bought the Raleigh & Augusta Air-Line Railroad. The R&G merged in 1875 with the Seaboard Railroad (originally charted as the Portsmouth & Roanoke) and by 1881 the combined entities were known as the Seaboard Air-Line System.
The Petersburg to Norlina (Ridgeway Junction) segment was originally authorized by the Virginia Assembly in 1882 as an extension of the Virginia and Carolina Railroad. Construction efforts failed and the rights were acquired by the City of Petersburg in 1897 and after being renamed the Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad it was subsequently sold to the Seaboard Air-Line. Construction was completed in 1900 making this particular segment a relative late comer to the Piedmont's railroad maps. The completion of the corridor allowed an "all Seaboard route" between Richmond and Atlanta.
From 1900 until 1967 the tracks between Petersburg and Richmond were the primary connecting corridor between the South and the lines to the North for the SAL. The approval of the merger with former chief rival Atlantic Coast Line in 1967 brought an end to 67 years of independent Seaboard history. The Seaboard Coast Line went through a series of mergers and partnerships in the 70s and 80s ultimately renaming itself CSX Transportation and was in many senses acquired by the Chessie System in 1987 which continued to use the CSX name but switched to former C&O colors.
Operations between Ridgeway and Petersburg came to an end in 1986 with abandonment by CSX and subsequent removal of the rails. Portions of the Right of Way are today in use as part of the Tobacco Heritage Trail.
I look forward to watching this project progress over the next 10-20 years. In the meantime a former U.S. Army hospital car housing the Norlina Train Museum sits almost exactly at the end of the S-Line segment that will be owned by Virginia.
How times change ...
Railway Age has an excellent article that covers all the details.
The "S-Line" right of way is the former main line corridor of the Seaboard Air Line with one segment between Raleigh and Norlina originally built by the Raleigh and Gaston (R&G) ca. 1836 with service commencing on March 21, 1840. R&G saw extensive use and subsequent damage during the Civil War. R&G emerged from the war and bought the Raleigh & Augusta Air-Line Railroad. The R&G merged in 1875 with the Seaboard Railroad (originally charted as the Portsmouth & Roanoke) and by 1881 the combined entities were known as the Seaboard Air-Line System.
The Petersburg to Norlina (Ridgeway Junction) segment was originally authorized by the Virginia Assembly in 1882 as an extension of the Virginia and Carolina Railroad. Construction efforts failed and the rights were acquired by the City of Petersburg in 1897 and after being renamed the Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad it was subsequently sold to the Seaboard Air-Line. Construction was completed in 1900 making this particular segment a relative late comer to the Piedmont's railroad maps. The completion of the corridor allowed an "all Seaboard route" between Richmond and Atlanta.
From 1900 until 1967 the tracks between Petersburg and Richmond were the primary connecting corridor between the South and the lines to the North for the SAL. The approval of the merger with former chief rival Atlantic Coast Line in 1967 brought an end to 67 years of independent Seaboard history. The Seaboard Coast Line went through a series of mergers and partnerships in the 70s and 80s ultimately renaming itself CSX Transportation and was in many senses acquired by the Chessie System in 1987 which continued to use the CSX name but switched to former C&O colors.
Operations between Ridgeway and Petersburg came to an end in 1986 with abandonment by CSX and subsequent removal of the rails. Portions of the Right of Way are today in use as part of the Tobacco Heritage Trail.
I look forward to watching this project progress over the next 10-20 years. In the meantime a former U.S. Army hospital car housing the Norlina Train Museum sits almost exactly at the end of the S-Line segment that will be owned by Virginia.
How times change ...
gokeefe