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The Chesterfield Railroad was located in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was a 13 mile (21 km) long mule-and-gravity powered line that connected the Midlothian coal mines with wharves that were located at Manchester, directly across from Richmond. It began operating in 1831, was Virginia's first railroad, and one of the first in the U.S. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...
The following are reporting marks assigned by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to rail carriers operating in North America and the companies (railroads and rail equipment owners/operators) to which they were assigned. ...
State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th) - Land 102,642 km² - Water 8,220 km² (7. ...
1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Events January 23 - The flip of a coin determines whether a new city in Oregon is named after Boston, Massachusetts, or Portland, Maine, with Portland winning. ...
Rail gauge is the distance between two rails of a railroad. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1094x574, 209 KB) 1856 map of the Chesterfield Railroad, cropped from [1]. File links The following pages link to this file: Chesterfield Railroad ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1094x574, 209 KB) 1856 map of the Chesterfield Railroad, cropped from [1]. File links The following pages link to this file: Chesterfield Railroad ...
1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...
Location in the state of Virginia Formed May 25, 1749 Seat Chesterfield Area - Total - Water 1,132 km² (437 mi²) 29 km² (11 mi²) 2. ...
State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th) - Land 102,642 km² - Water 8,220 km² (7. ...
A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ...
A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer, symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ...
Midlothian, Virginia is an unincorporated place located in Chesterfield County, Virginia. ...
Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground either by underground mining, open-pit mining or strip mining. ...
Factories at Manchester, Virginia, looking across James River, circa 1865 Manchester, Virginia was an independent city in Virginia in the United States. ...
Downtown Richmond as seen from the James River Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra (Such is the way to the Stars) Nickname: River City Location in Virginia Founded -Incorporated 1607 County Independent city Mayor Douglas Wilder Area - Total - Water 162. ...
1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Several railroads have been called the oldest in the United States. ...
History Coal mining in the Midlothian area of Chesterfield County began in the 18th century. By 1824, Midlothian coal mine owners were frustrated by the difficulty of transporting on the toll road now known as Midlothian Turnpike more than 1,000,000 bushels of coal by wagons and horse teams to waiting ships below the falls in the James River. Seeking a better method of transportation so that their markets could be expanded, in 1825, a group of mine owners, including Nicholas Mills, Beverly Randolph and Abraham S. Wooldridge, resolved to build a tramway. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...
1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
A high-speed toll booth on SR 417 near Orlando, Florida A toll road, turnpike or tollpike is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use. ...
A bushel is a unit of volume, used (with somewhat different definitions) in the systems of Imperial units and U.S. customary units. ...
The James River is the name of several rivers in the United States. ...
1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Birth: Nov. ...
A Tram or Light rail system Historically, a railway, particularly one used for the carriage of minerals. ...
Planning and construction 1827-1831 In the winter of 1827, Claudius Crozet, Virginia's State Engineer, surveyed the proposed route, deeming it feasible for construction. This feasibility study was necessary to obtain funding assistance from the Virginia Board of Public Works. 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
Benoit Claudius Crozet (December 31, 1789_January 29, 1864) was an educator and civil engineer. ...
The Virginia Board of Public Works was a governmental agency which oversaw and helped finance the development of Virginias internal transportation improvements during the 19th century. ...
In February, 1828, the Chesterfield Railroad Company obtained its charter from the Virginia General Assembly. Within a year, $100,000 stock was subscribed, half purchased by the colliers of Chesterfield County and half by Richmond-area investors. The company hired Moncure Robinson, (1802-1891) a European-trained engineer and U.S. railroad pioneer to supervise construction. February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...
The Virginia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Virginia. ...
Moncure Robinson (1802-1891) was a European-trained civil engineer and U.S. railroad building pioneer. ...
1802 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
The term civil engineer refers to an individual who practices civil engineering. ...
In 1830, capital stock was increased to $150,000 to cover unexpectedly high construction expenses. By June, 1831, the construction was completed at $127,000 total cost. 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ...
1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Most profitable railroad in the world 1831-1850 By September, 1831, the railroad was operational, using horses, mules and gravity as motive power. 160 cars were put into operation, and it was an instant financial success.
In 1836, the Chesterfield Railroad Company reported carrying 25,903 cars, 84,976 tons (77,089 tonnes) of coal. It received gross revenues of $83,409. This equaled 19% of stockholders' original investment repaid plus 6% dividend. It was reputed to be the most profitable railroad in the world at the time. 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ...
A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ...
By 1844, it had repaid the stockholders' entire original investment and consequently came under regulation of Virginia Board of Public Works, which adjusted charges to fix a dividend return of 6%. The rate for carrying coal reduced from 6¢ per bushel to 3¢. 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
Outmoded by steam railroad competition 1850-1851 In 1850, the new steam-driven Richmond and Danville Railroad began operation to Coalfield Station (later named Midlothian). Unsuccessful lawsuits followed, and the Chesterfield Railroad was quickly supplanted by the competition. It filed its last report with the Virginia Board of Public Works in 1851. With permission from the state legislature, the Chesterfield Railroad was dismantled before the American Civil War. 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...
The Richmond & Danville Railroad was chartered in Virginia in the United States in 1847. ...
Coalfield Station was located on the Richmond and Danville Railroad in Chesterfield County, Virginia. ...
Events January 23 - The flip of a coin determines whether a new city in Oregon is named after Boston, Massachusetts, or Portland, Maine, with Portland winning. ...
The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the United States – forces coming mostly from the 23 northern states of the Union – and the newly-formed Confederate States of America, which consisted of 11 southern states that had declared their secession. ...
Design features Operating its entire lifetime without any locomotives, Chesterfield Railroads moved it railcars loaded with coal mostly by gravity downhill to the docks on the James River at the southern edge of Manchester. In places where the line ran uphill, mules helped the cars climb some slopes. The empty cars were hauled back uphill by the mules to the mine, to be reloaded again. In one area the weight of the loaded cars and their downhill motion pulled the empty cars (connected to the full ones by ropes and drums) back toward the mines. A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train, and has no payload capacity of its own; its sole purpose is to move the train along the tracks. ...
Not to be confused with Railroad car A railcar is a self-propelled rail vehicle designed to transport passengers. ...
The James River is the name of several rivers in the United States. ...
Factories at Manchester, Virginia, looking across James River, circa 1865 Manchester, Virginia was an independent city in Virginia in the United States. ...
In its common modern meaning, a mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. ...
One of the most remarkable features was a cycloidal inclined plane, a drum and rope device by which loaded coal-carrying cars lowered down the steep western slope of Falling Creek Valley pull two empty cars up the slope.
Heritage & Remnants The Chesterfield Railroad is commemorated by two Virginia Historical Markers and an exhibit in the Chesterfield Museum.
First Railroad in Virginia Historical marker & remnant site nearby Historical marker First Railroad in Virginia, S-30, is located on U.S. Highway 60, 3.78 miles (6.08 km) west of the Richmond city limits at Virginia State Route 150, and 1.5 miles (2.41 km) west of the junctions of US Highway 60 and Virginia State Route 76. US 60 is an east-west United States highway, running 2,670 miles (4,300 km) from Virginia to Arizona. ...
At this location, a short portion of the former rail bed on a fill is still visible just south of the marker, between a retail center and a condominium complex.
Chesterfield Railroad Virginia Historical marker & remnant site nearby Historical marker Chesterfield Railroad, O-64 is located about 2 miles east of the Village of Midlothian in U.S. Highway 60. US 60 is an east-west United States highway, running 2,670 miles (4,300 km) from Virginia to Arizona. ...
Just 1 mile (1.6 km) west of this marker, the site of the cycloidal inclined plane on the steep western slope of Falling Creek Valley is still recognizable and juxtaposes the remains of the railroad bridge at Falling Creek. The location is about 1 mile east of the Village of Midlothian on US Highway 60.
Chesterfield Museum An exhibit on local mining history in the Chesterfield Museum includes a length of iron rail from the incline railway, first in Virginia.
References - Thomas F. Garner, Jr., editor, Historically Significant Sites on the Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Co. Tract In Chesterfield County, Virginia, a collection of articles and excerpts
- Coleman, Elizabeth Dabney (1954) Forerunner of Virginia's First Railway by Virginia Caval-cade Magazine, Volume IV, Number 3, page 7. Virginia State Library: Winter issue, 1954.
- Scarburgh, George Parker, (1850), Opinion of Honorable George P. Scarburgh, of Accomac, Virginia, in the cases between the Chesterfield Railroad Company and the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company Richmond, VA: H. K. Ellyson
- Gamst, Frederick C. (1990) The Ingenious Railroad on Falling Creek, Virginia's First article in: The Messenger Chesterfield Courthouse, VA (Oct. 1990 issue . No.18, p. 1, 4-9)
- James, George Watson (1967), Gravity plus mules equal "steam." in: Virginia Record Richmond, VA. (Apr. 1967 issue v.89, no.4, p. 8)
- McCartney, Martha W., (1989) Historical Overview Of The Midlothian Coal Mining Company Tract - Chesterfield County, Virginia
- David B. Robinson, Coal Mining in Chesterfield County, Virginia
- Chesterfield County Virginia official website, Historic Chesterfield page
- Chesterfield Railway Chronology
- Trains From Yesterday: The Bicentennial story of Southern Railway
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