Virginia Central Railroad was chartered as the Louisa Railroad in 1836 by the Virginia Board of Public Works and had its name changed to Virginia Central Railroad in 1850. It connected with the Orange and Alexandria Railroad at Gordonsville in 1854. The Louisa Railroad chartered in Virginia in 1836 became the Virginia Central Railroad in 1850. ... October 2, Charles Darwin returns from his voyage around the world. ... 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. ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Orange and Alexandria Railroad in Virginia was strategically important during the American Civil War (1861-1865). ... Gordonsville is a town located in Virginia. ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

History

The eastern terminus of the Virginia Central was originally at Hanover Junction (now known as Doswell) with the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. The charter of that line protected it from construction of a parallel competitor, and a Virginia Supreme Court decision was necessary before the Virginia Central was allowed to extend its tracks easterly through Hanover and Henrico Counties to reach Richmond. Doswell is located in Hanover County and in the Central Region of the state of Virginia. ... The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad (AAR reporting mark RFP) was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia to Washington, DC. It is now a portion of the CSX Transportation system. ... The Supreme Court of Virginia is one of the oldest continuous judicial bodies in the United States. ... Location in the state of Virginia Formed 1720 Seat Hanover Area  - Total  - Water 1,228 km² (474 mi²) 4 km² (1 mi²) 0. ... Henrico County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, Commonwealth — of Virginia. ... Nickname: The River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra (Thus do we reach the stars) Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: Country United States State Virginia County Independent City Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (D) Area    - City 62. ...

From Gordonsville, the Virginia Central was originally planned to connect Eastern Virginia with Harrisonburg, crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains at Swift Run Gap, but construction costs were prohibitive. Instead, the route was redirected to Charlottesville. Map Political Statistics Founded 1737 County Independent city Mayor Larry M. Rogers Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 45. ... Blue Ridge Mountains, Shining Rock Wilderness Area Appalachian Mountain system The Blue Ridge is a mountain chain in the eastern United States, part of the Appalachian Mountains, forming their eastern front from Georgia to Pennsylvania. ... Swift Run Gap is a wind gap located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. ... Nickname: C-Ville Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: Country United States State Virginia County Albemarle County Founded 1762  - Mayor David E. Brown Area    - City 26. ...

The Commonwealth of Virginia, always keen to help with "internal improvements" not only owned a portion of Virginia Central stock, but incorporated and financed the Blue Ridge Railroad to accomplish the hard and expensive task of crossing the first mountain barrier to the west. Rather than attempting the more formidable Swift Run Gap, under the leadership of the great early civil engineer Claudius Crozet, the state-owned Blue Ridge Railroad built over the mountains at the next gap to the south, Rockfish Gap near Afton Mountain, using four tunnels, including the 4,263-foot (1,312m) Blue Ridge Tunnel at the top of the pass, then one of the longest tunnels in the world. 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. ... The Blue Ridge Railroad was owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... The term civil engineer refers to an individual who practices civil engineering. ... Benoit Claudius Crozet (December 31, 1789-January 29, 1864) was an educator and civil engineer. ... Rockfish Gap is a wind gap located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near a peak known as Afton Mountain in Virginia. ... A cluster of mostly-defunct restaurant and lodging businesses reside at Rockfish Gap, at the junction of Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. ... Blue Ridge Tunnel was the longest of 4 tunnels built on the Blue Ridge Railroad to cross the Blue Ridge Mountain range at Rockfish Gap near Afton Mountain in Central Virginia. ... A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ...

While the Blue Ridge Mountain section was being breached, the Virginia Central was busy building westward from the west foot of the mountains, across the Shenandoah Valley through Staunton and a water gap at Goshen at Great North Mountain, reaching a point known as Jackson's River Station, at the foot of the Alleghany Mountains (note that in Virginia Alleghany is spelled with an "a"), in 1856. This is the site that would later be called Clifton Forge. Canoeing on the Shenandoah River near Winchester, VA. The Shenandoah Valley region of western Virginia, from Winchester to Staunton, is bounded by the Blue Ridge mountains to the East and the Allegheny mountains to the West. ... West Beverley Street in downtown Staunton Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. ... Goshen is a town located in Rockbridge County, Virginia. ... Great North Mountain is a 50-mile long mountain ridge within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Clifton Forge, Virginia. ... The Allegheny Mountain Range (also spelled Alleghany and Allegany) -- informally, the Alleghenies -- is part of the Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County in the state of Virginia. ...

The road eventually connected Richmond to the southwestern Shenandoah Valley at the point where the proposed Covington and Ohio Railroad would have started. To finish its line across the mountainous territory of the Alleghany Plateau (known in old Virginia as the "Transmountaine"), the Commonwealth again chartered a state-subsidized railroad called the Covington and Ohio Railroad. This company completed important grading work on the Alleghany grade and did considerable work on numerous tunnels over the mountains and in the west. It also did a good deal of roadway work around Charleston on the Kanawha River. Then the American Civil War intervened, and work was stopped on the westward expansion. Canoeing on the Shenandoah River near Winchester, VA. The Shenandoah Valley region of western Virginia, from Winchester to Staunton, is bounded by the Blue Ridge mountains to the East and the Allegheny mountains to the West. ... Covington and Ohio Railroad was a predecessor of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. ... Covington and Ohio Railroad was a predecessor of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. ... Map of the Kanawha River watershed, showing its main tributary, the New River. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

Civil War

During the war the Virginia Central was one of the Confederacy's most important lines, carrying food from the Shenandoah region to Richmond, and ferrying troops and supplies back and forth as the campaigns surrounded its tracks frequently. On more than one occasion it was used in actual tactical operations, transporting troops directly to the battlefield. The Blue Ridge Tunnels and the Virginia Central were key tools in the fast mobilization of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson's famous "foot cavalry". But, it was a prime target for Federal armies, and by the end of the war had only about five miles of track still in operation, and $40 in gold in its treasury. Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson For other uses of Stonewall Jackson, see Stonewall Jackson (disambiguation). ... Stonewall Jackson Foot cavalry was an oxymoron coined to describe the rapid movements of infantry troops serving under Confederate General Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson during the American Civil War (1861–1865). ...

After the War, Collis P. Huntington reorganized the Virginia Central and its affiliates into his new Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and westward construction resumed. Huntington was aware of the potential to ship eastbound coal and also began acquiring property in Warwick County in eastern Virginia to extend his line to what would become new coal piers at Newport News. Under Huntington's leadership, the goal points of the Ohio River and Hampton Roads (at Newport News) were both reached. Collis Potter Huntington (October 22, 1821 – August 13, 1900) was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins and Charles Crocker) who built the Southern Pacific Railroad and other major interstate train lines. ... The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from many smaller railroads begun in the 19th century. ... Warwick County (shaded in orange on this 1895 map) was originally one of the eight shires created in colonial Virginia in 1634. ... Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia from space, July 1996 (Newport News is seen in the lower left quadrant) Newport News is an independent city located in Virginia. ...

See article on Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, successor to the Virginia Central Railroad. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from many smaller railroads begun in the 19th century. ...

Other uses of the Virginia Central name

• Many years after the original Virginia Central became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio in the 1870s, another railroad between Fredericksburg and Orange used the name "Virginia Central." The Potomac, Fredericksburg, & Piedmont Railroad (PF&P RR) operated 38 miles (61 km) of 3 foot gauge railroad between Fredericksburg (with a connection to the Richmond, Fredericksburg, & Potomac Railroad) and Orange (with a connection to the Orange & Alexandria railroad). 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.
• 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 now is stored in Staunton and up the SVRR line in Verona. Some passenger cars will return to limited service this fall on an excursion train planned for the short-line Shenandoah Valley Railroad.

Virginia Central #40 owned by Jack Showalter is stored on SVRR at Staunton, VA. Location in Virginia Coordinates: Country United States State Virginia County Spotsylvania County* Founded 1728 Incorporated 1781 Mayor Thomas Tomzak Area    - City 27. ... Orange is a town located in Orange County, Virginia. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... West Beverley Street in downtown Staunton Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. ... Liability insurance is a part of the general insurance system of risk transference. ... The Science Museum of Virginia is a science museum located in Richmond, Virginia. ... Shenandoah Valley Railroad is a historic name used by 2 railroads in Virginia in the US. Shenandoah Valley Railroad (N&W) was a line completed in the 1880s extending down the Shenandoah Valley from Hagerstown, Maryland through the West Virginia panhandle into Virginia to reach Roanoke, Virginia and the Norfolk... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1462x1187, 242 KB) Photo by William J. Grimes, locomotive owned by Jack Showalter under the pseudo name Virginia Central. Sold to DGVR in September 2006. ... Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the state of Virginia. ...

Jack's VC caboose #903107 stored in Staunton. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 271 KB) Photo by William J. Grimes This image is watermarked to give credit to the photographer, just as an artist signs their work! File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert...

Virginia Central #1286 stored at Verona, VA. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1446x866, 153 KB) Photo by William J. Grimes This image is watermarked to give credit to the photographer, just as an artist signs their work! File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert... Verona is a census-designated place (CDP) in Augusta County, Virginia, United States. ...

Virginia Central #514 passenger car stored in Verona, VA. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1225x930, 131 KB) Photo by William J. Grimes This image is watermarked to give credit to the photographer, just as an artist signs their work! File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert...