the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad is a short-line railroad connecting Hampton Roads with Albemarle/Pamlico Sound in North Carolina
Source: Genesee & Wyoming, Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad
the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad is a short-line railroad connecting Hampton Roads with Albemarle/Pamlico Sound in North Carolina
Source: Genesee & Wyoming, Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad
The Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad started as the Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad Company in 1870, but a decade passed before construction started. When the North Carolina General Assembly changed its name to "Norfolk Southern" in 1883, it had track connecting Norfolk with Edenton, North Carolina.1
the "original" Norfolk Southern connected Edenton to Norfolk in the 1880's
Source: University of North Carolina, New railroad and county map of North Carolina (by George Franklin Cram, 1880's)
The "original" Norfolk Southern operated 1883-1974, when the Norfolk and Western Railroad acquired it. The Norfolk and Western merged with the Southern Railway in 1982, and the new railroad has been called the Norfolk Southern since then.
the original Norfolk Southern built a terminal on the Elizabeth River, near the modern portal of the Downtown Tunnel
Source: Norfolk Public Library, Panorama of Norfolk and Surroundings, 1892
The original Norfolk Southern started as the Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad, completed in 1881. The line paralleled the Dismal Swamp Canal, allowing freight to go by railroad rather than canal boat between Edenton and the Chesapeake Bay port of Norfolk. The Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal was another competitor for freight and passengers.
the Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad competed with the Dismal Swamp Canal and the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal
Source: Library of Congress, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Norfolk, Independent Cities, Virginia (Sanborn Map Company, 1887)
The railroad was renamed the Norfolk Southern Railroad in 1883, then the Norfolk & Southern Railroad in 1891, and back to Norfolk Southern Railroad in 1900.
the Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad (later Norfolk & Southern) built its northern terminal on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in Berkley
Source: Library of Congress, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Norfolk, Independent Cities, Virginia (Sanborn Map Company, 1887)
As part of the corporate changes in 1900, it acquired the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad. That gave the railroad a connection to the oceanfront resort area of Princess Anne County. The corporate headquarters was located in Norfolk until 1961, when it moved to Raleigh.2
the Norfolk Southern transported passengers to the oceanfront for almost 50 years
Source: Norfolk Public Library, Chesapeake Park Land Development Plan, Princess Anne County, Virginia (1910)
Various types of passengers rode the Munden line, which had been built by the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad in 1898. It was called the "Currituck Branch" and "The Sportsmen�s Special" because it carried the wealthy to their hunting clubs near Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Prince Anne residents also called it the "Lawyer�s Special," because it passed by the county courthouse (now city hall).
in 1902, the Norfolk Southern had two tracks headed south from the line connecting Norfolk-Virginia Beach
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Norfolk, VA 1:25,000 scale topographic quadrangle (1902)
Students used the twice-daily trains to get to the three high schools at Oceana, Creeds and Kempsville. During World War II, the military used that line to transport men and horses to Munden Point. From the end of the line, they would ride to Sandbridge and patrol the shoreline.
in 1946, a Norfolk Southern branch connected the Norfolk-Virginia Beach line with Munden Point
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Moyock VA 1:62,500 scale topographic quadrangle (1946)
the former end of the railroad is now Munden Point Park
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
Acquisition of the the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad by the original Norfolk Southern in 1900 did not give the railroad a monopoly on the "carry tourists from Norfolk to the waterfront" business. The Norfolk and Ocean View Railroad took people to the vacation destination of Ocean View on Willoughby Spit, a resort area on the Chesapeake Bay that competed successfully with the struggling "Virginia Beach" hotels on the Atlantic Ocean.
In addition, the Chesapeake Transit Company became a serious competitor to carry vacationers from Norfolk to the Atlantic Ocean waterfront. It aimed to develop alternative vacation resort properties at Cape Henry, north of Virginia Beach. At Cape Henry, extensive forests in "The Desert" offered revenue-generating feight cargo in addition to the tourist business.
By 1902, the Chesapeake Transit Company had built a drawbridge at Lynnhaven Inlet and completed an electrified, standard gauge line to Cape Henry. The brick passenger station opened there in 1904. William J. O'Keefe's casino and a dance pavilion at Cape Henry provided entertainment for Norfolk residents making a day trip, while cottages and a hotel provided an overnight option.
The Norfolk Southern line ending at the Virginia Beach oceanfront was extended north to Cape Henry in 1902, the same year the Chesapeake Transit Company completed its electric traction line from Norfolk to Cape Henry. The Chesapeake Transit Company advertised that vacationers should use its route to the oceanfront because its electricity-powered trains were "smokeless," in contrast to the coal-fired locomotives of the Norfolk Southern.
the Norfolk Southern extended its track to Cape Henry in 1902
Source: Library of Congress, Railway mail map of Virginia (Earl P. Hopkins, c.1910)
After reaching Cape Henry, the Chesapeake Transit Company built track south to the resort at Virginia Beach. Instead of connecting, however, the Norfolk Southern started to lay new track next to the Chesapeake Transit Company line and build its own line north towards Cape Henry. The old Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad track to the Oceanfront was electrified, leveling the playing field for "smokeless" trips.
Rather than complete duplicative lines, the Chesapeake Transit Company investors in Pittsburgh purchased the original Norfolk Southern. Its ownership had shifted from the Vanderbilts to George Gould, son of the legendary financial speculator Jay Gould. The railroads in Princess Anne County were owned by Northern investors, not by Virginia-based capitalists. Their decisions were based on maximizing profits, not on local pride.
The Chesapeake Transit Company and Norfolk Southern merged in 1904. The new railroad used the "Norfolk Southern" name.
Using the electrified lines, vacationers could travel in a loop from Norfolk to Cape Henry, then along the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean almost to Rudee Inlet before heading west back to Norfolk.3
After the US Army built Fort Story in 1914, the original Norfolk Southern transported military passengers and freight to the sand dunes at the Cape Henry lighthouse.4
In 1913, the Norfolk Southern built a spur to the State Rifle Range (now Camp Pendleton). Train carried National Guardsmen from Rifle Range Junction to the camp for training. Another spur on the western edge of Oceana Naval Air Station is now remembered by a local road, Railroad Drive.5
the Norfolk Southern spur on the west side of Oceana is memorialized by Railroad Drive
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Princess Anne 1:24,000 topographic quadrangle (1965)
The original Norfolk Southern carried passengers through World War II. Only freight was carried east of Norfolk after 1947. The tracks built to Cape Henry by the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad were removed in the early 1950's.
The Norfolk Southern Railroad expanded primarily in North Carolina. It acquired other rail systems, including the Suffolk & Carolina Railway. A five-mile wooden trestle spanned Albemarle Sound south of Edenton to Mackeys, replacing the ferry service in 1910. The original Norfolk Southern Railroad stretched from Norfolk to Charlotte.
A 25-mile line between Elizabeth City and the old Suffolk & Carolina Railway at Beckford Junction was built in 1904. It operated for four decades, until being removed during World War II.
The original Norfolk Southern was acquired by the Southern Railway in 1974. It operated as a separate company until being merged into the modern Norfolk Southern railroad and becoming a "fallen flag" railroad in 1982.6
In 1990, the modern Norfolk Southern leased the track of the original Norfolk Southern between Chesapeake and Edenton, naming it the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad. RailTex, an independent operator, was the first company to operate trains on that stretch under the modern Norfolk Southern's Thoroughbred Shortline Program.
The bridge over the Chowan River from Edenton to Mackeys was removed in the 1990's, blocking any potential for the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad to go past Edenton.
|RailAmerica acquired the lease in 2000. Genesee & Wyoming acquired it in 2012.7
Today the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad links the City of Chesapeake to Edendon, North Carolina. Of its 69 miles, 18 are in Virginia. The short line services primarily industrial customers located along the Elizabeth River, including readymix plants and agricultural customers shipping soybeans and grain.8
the first Norfolk Southern Railway was built between Norfolk and Edenton, and ultimately reached Charlotte, North Carolina
Source: University of North Carolina Libraries, Railroad map of North Carolina 1900 (bt Henry C. Brown, 1900)
All freight service on the original Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern tracks to Virginia Beach stopped in 2002.
the modern Norfolk Southern painted locomotives of its predecessor railroads in 2012 to honor its 30th anniversary
Source: Norfolk Southern, Our Colorful Heritage
The modern Norfolk Southern negotiated for years with the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach to sell the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern right-of-way, where the cities intended to build a light rail line.
Virginia Beach voters rejected the light rail proposal in 1999, but Norfolk proceeded to build The Tide transit system. Despite the voter rejection, the Virginia Beach City Council revived the proposal to extend the light rail and planned for transit-oriented development at Town Center. The state of Virginia provided $20 million for purchase of the old freight railroad's right-of-way, and the city contributed another $20 million to complete the purchase.
In the long term, city planners envisioned recreating a passenger connection by rail between Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Tourists could come by Amtrak to Norfolk, and catch The Tide to the hotels along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline.
Those planned died in 2016, when Virginia Beach voters again rejected the light rail project. That vote blocked extension of The Tide to Town Center and later the Oceanfront on the old Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern right-of-way.
After the vote, the city sought permission from the state to retain the $20 million used to purchase the right-of-way and create pedestrian or bike trail. State officials made clear that the funding was for a transit system, so the city repaid the state its $20 million share of acquisition costs in 2017.9
Today, the right-of-way sits unused east of the Tide's Newtown Station.
The Tide ends at Newtown Road, and the old Norfolk and Virginia Beach/Norfolk Southern Railroad right-of-way remains unused east of that point
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
1. "North Carolina Railroads - Norfolk & Southern Railway," Carolana, http://www.carolana.com/NC/Transportation/railroads/nc_rrs_norfolk_southern_railway.html (last checked December 2, 2018)
2. Robert C. Reisweber, "Brief History of the First Norfolk Southern Railroad," February 23, 2005, http://www.norfolksouthernhs.org/briefNShistory.html; Warren L. Bingham, Wingate Lassiter, "Norfolk Southern Railroad," NCpedia, 2006, https://www.ncpedia.org/norfolk-southern-railroad (last checked December 3, 2018)
3. Jonathan Mark Souther, "Twixt ocean and pines: the seaside resort at Virginia Beach, 1880-1930," University of Richmond Masters Thesis, May, 1996, pp.51-60, https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2046&context=masters-theses (last checked December 16, 2018)
4. "Railroads to Cape Henry in Virginia Beach get their place in history," The Virginian-Pilot, August 4, 2017, https://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/article_2ae22ba9-b5f6-5da7-9e8b-bd9efe8721af.html; Amy Waters Yarsinske, Virginia Beach: Jewel Resort of the Atlantic, Arcadia Publishing, 1998, pp.11-13, https://books.google.com/books?id=4Pqq7Tk4EtAC (last checked December 12, 2018)
5. "Looking back | Rail service in Virginia Beach," The Virginian-Pilot, November 4, 2015, https://pilotonline.com/news/article_a4130d19-a99b-58de-8feb-a40ad9b15cad.html (last checked December 16, 2018)
6. "Railroad once connected downtown Norfolk to remote hunting grounds of what is now Virginia Beach," The Virginian-Pilot, April 22, 2017, https://pilotonline.com/news/local/history/article_703603af-1ee4-5f56-9b83-b2b1b3e3ebd9.html"Looking back | Rail service in Virginia Beach," The Virginian-Pilot, November 4, 2015, https://pilotonline.com/news/article_a4130d19-a99b-58de-8feb-a40ad9b15cad.html; Warren L. Bingham, Wingate Lassiter, "Norfolk Southern Railroad," NCpedia, 2006, https://www.ncpedia.org/norfolk-southern-railroad; Robert C. Reisweber, "Brief History of the First Norfolk Southern Railroad," Norfolk & Southern Historical Society, 2005, http://www.norfolksouthernhs.org/briefNShistory.html (last checked January 16, 2019)
7. "Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad," American-Rails.com, https://www.american-rails.com/ca.html; "Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad," HawkinsRails, https://hawkinsrails.net/shortlines/ca/ca.html; Edward A. Lewis, "Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad," American Shortline Railway Guide, Kalmbach Publishing, Co., 1996, p.77, https://books.google.com/books?id=3i6K_Nf9e2EC; "Beckford Junction to Elizabeth City," AbandonedRails.com, http://www.abandonedrails.com/Beckford_Junction_to_Elizabeth_City (last checked January 16, 2019)
8. "Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad (CA)," Genesee & Wyoming, https://www.gwrr.com/railroads/north_america/chesapeake_albemarle_railroad#m_tab-one-panel (last checked November 12, 2017)
9. "Original Norfolk Southern Railway, 'East Carolina Dispatch'," American-Rails.com, https://www.american-rails.com/original-norfolk-southern-railway.html; "Light rail in Virginia Beach failed. Here's what happens next," The Virginian-Pilot, November 9, 2016, https://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/article_63c21801-1388-541a-821e-0309c932b2ca.html; "Life after light rail: Virginia Beach owes the Commonwealth $20 million," WAVY, January 23, 2017, https://www.wavy.com/news/life-after-light-rail-virginia-beach-owes-the-commonwealth-20-million_20180320062402855/1061091620;
"Virginia Beach City Council votes to pay back $20 million loan for light rail," The Virginian-Pilot, March 21, 2017, https://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/article_8154306e-8703-5223-81cd-3946c97d90cd.html (last checked December 3, 2018)