the railroad from Norfolk to Virginia Beach was built in 1883 to get tourists to the new resort at the oceanfront
Source: Library of Congress, Railway mail map of Virginia (Earl P. Hopkins, c.1910)
the railroad from Norfolk to Virginia Beach was built in 1883 to get tourists to the new resort at the oceanfront
Source: Library of Congress, Railway mail map of Virginia (Earl P. Hopkins, c.1910)
In 1875, the General Assembly chartered the Norfolk and Princess Anne Narrow Gauge Railway Company. It was unable to raise funds and soon went out of business, unable to implement its plan to build track to:1
the Norfolk and Princess Anne Narrow Gauge Railway Company, chartered in 1875, was never built
Source: Acts and Joint Resolutions, Amending the Constitution, of the General Assembly of the State of Virginia (pp.163-164)
The Norfolk, Virginia Beach Railroad and Improvement Company built narrow-gauge track from Norfolk to the oceanfront of Princess Anne County (now the City of Virginia Beach). It started general public service from Broad Creek to the ocean on July 28, 1883, and completed the Norfolk-Broad Creek link in 1884. The Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad was necessary because the company was developing the "high order summer resort" that it named Virginia Beach.2
The railroad carried both tourists to the developing resort area, plus agricultural products from the truck farms in the county. It was difficult to attract visitors from the industrialized Mid-Atlantic region who were able to spend time (and money) at the resort. There were 28 miles of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and 10 miles of beaches on the Chesapeake Bay, but Atlantic City and "the springs" in the mountains were among the many stiff competitors.
Unlike Atlantic City, Virginia Beach lacked a major population center that would supply customers for the railroad and the resort area. The Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad was a financial failure and went through receivership (bankruptcy) in 1884-1885. By one assessment, Virginia Beach was:3
the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad crossed an agricultural Princess Anne County in 1892, on the way to the ocean
Source: Norfolk Public Library, Panorama of Norfolk and Surroundings, 1892
Expenses exceeded revenues again, and the corporation went through another receivership in 1887. After emerging, the rail line was renamed the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad. The Virginia Beach Hotel was renamed the Princess Anne Hotel.
the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad carried passengers from what is today's Harbour Park eastward to the Atlantic Ocean
Source: Norfolk Public Library, Panorama of Norfolk and Surroundings, 1892
In 1891, the railroad was renamed again.
The old charter limited the railroad to just narrow gauge, so the investors purchased the stock of a "paper railroad" chartered as the Danville and Seaboard. It had authorization from the General Assembly to build a standard gauge line, but no potential of finding funding to construct any track. The Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad and the "paper" Danville and Seaboard Railroad were consolidated into the Norfolk, Albermarle & Atlantic Railroad.
The planned conversion to standard gauge would allow interchange of passenger cars with the Norfolk and Western Railroad. Tourists recruited from outside the Norfolk area would not longer have to get put of the Norfolk and Western's standard gauge cars at its station in Norfolk, then transfer with their luggage to narrow gauge cars on the former Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad in order to complete their journey to a beach vacation.
the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad station was next to the Norfolk and Western Station, now the Amtrak station at Harbor Park
Source: Norfolk Public Library, Atlas of the city of Norfolk, Va. and vicinity, including the city of Portsmouth (1889)
The Norfolk, Albermarle & Atlantic Railroad also planned for an extension south to Mackey's Island in North Carolina, and north to Cape Henry. Once again, however, it failed to generate enough income to pay its debts. The receivership which began in 1893 was extended due to the "panic" (business recession) which began that year.
In contrast to the struggling hotels on the oceanfront, the Ocean View resort area on the Chesapeake Bay near Willoughby Spit generated steady traffic. Tourists were transported from Norfolk to Ocean View by the narrow gauge Norfolk and Ocean View Railroad. It was built in 1878, then converted in 1894 to standard gauge and electrified. The "trolleys" of the Norfolk and Ocean View Railroad brought a steady stream of visitors to Ocean View Amusement Park and the cottages along the Chesapeake Bay waterfront.
the Norfolk and Ocean View Railroad (red line) offered an alternative route to a waterfront resort area
Source: University of North Carolina, Map of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal: connecting Chesapeake Bay with Currituck, Albemarle and Pamplico sounds and their tributary streams (by A. Lindenkohl and Henry Lindenkohl, 1885)
In 1896, the Vanderbilt family purchased the Norfolk, Albermarle & Atlantic Railroad at public auction and renamed it the Norfolk, Virginia Beach & Southern Railroad. With the resources of the Vanderbilts, the track was finally converted to standard gauge in 1897.4
the Norfolk, Albermarle & Atlantic Railroad name was used from 1891-1896
Source: Library of Congress, Maps showing the Norfolk, Albermarle & Atlantic Railroad and its connections (G.W. & C.B. Colton & Co, 1891)
In 1898, the Norfolk, Virginia Beach & Southern Railroad built a branch south to Munden. The Munden Point branch passed through truck farms south of the courthouse and around Pungo. Farms in northeastern North Carolina used steamships to carry produce to Munden Point, for transport north to buyers in Norfolk. The modern Munden Point Park, opened in 1982, is at the site of the old pier.5
The original "Norfolk Southern Railroad" acquired the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad in 1900. A portion of that original Norfolk Southern operates today as the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad.
red line marks the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad track acquired by Norfolk Southern in 1900, including the Munden Branch
Source: Library of Congress, Railway mail map of Virginia (Earl P. Hopkins, c.1910)
passengers on the original Norfolk Southern could take a loop from Norfolk to Cape Henry, then to Virginia Beach and back to Norfolk
Source: University of North Carolina, From Cape Henry to Currituck Beach, including the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal (US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1906)
the Norfolk and Ocean View Railroad linked downtown Norfolk with the Chesapeake Bay resort area on Willoughby Spit
Source: University of North Carolina, From Cape Henry to Currituck Beach, including the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal (US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1906)