The railroads of Virginia grew from short lines of the 1830s into a network that shaped the Civil War and later carried coal from the mountains to the sea.

Quick answer: The railroads of Virginia began with charters in the 1830s; the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P), chartered on February 25, 1834, was the sixth. By 1861 Virginia had 17 railroad lines, more than any other Southern state. After the Civil War, the Norfolk and Western carried southwest Virginia coal to piers at Lambert’s Point in Norfolk.

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Early Charters

The General Assembly chartered the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad on February 25, 1834; it was the sixth railroad chartered in Virginia. The line ran north from Richmond through Fredericksburg to Aquia Creek on the Potomac River, where passengers could take a steamboat to Washington.[1]

Seventeen Lines in 1861

When the Civil War began, Virginia had 17 railroad lines, the most of any Southern state. Most were shorter than 100 miles. The longest, the Virginia and Tennessee, ran 204 miles.[2]

Junction Lines that met there
Manassas Junction Orange and Alexandria; Manassas Gap
Gordonsville Orange and Alexandria; Virginia Central to Richmond
Petersburg Every southern line into Richmond except the Richmond and Danville
Alexandria Terminus of two lines

Source for the table: Encyclopedia Virginia.[2]

Railroads and Civil War Battles

At First Manassas in July 1861, General Joseph E. Johnston moved about 11,000 troops by rail, reportedly the first time troops reached a battlefield by train.[2] Later battles turned on rail lines: the Battle of the Weldon Railroad in August 1864 cut Lee’s supply line to North Carolina, and Union forces took the South Side Railroad in the final Petersburg campaign of March and April 1865.[2]

The lines were destroyed and rebuilt again and again. By the end of 1863 nearly half of the 40 locomotives of the Virginia and Tennessee were out of service, and no rails were produced in the South during the war.[2]

Coal to Norfolk

After the Civil War, coal from Tazewell, Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise counties became Virginia’s main source of coal. By 1886 the Norfolk and Western Railway had extended its tracks to Lambert’s Point in Norfolk and begun building coal piers there. Coal soon passed cotton as the leading export of the Norfolk area.[3] The railway later became part of Norfolk Southern, which still uses the Lambert’s Point piers.[3]

Frequently asked questions

How many railroads did Virginia have in 1861? 17 railroad lines, the most of any Southern state.

What was the longest railroad in Virginia before the Civil War? The Virginia and Tennessee, at 204 miles.

When was the RF&P Railroad chartered? On February 25, 1834.

Where did Virginia coal trains go? To the Norfolk and Western coal piers at Lambert’s Point in Norfolk, built from 1886.

References

The coal region is described in Energy in Virginia.