the Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad was completed in 1900 between Petersburg and Ridgeway Junction (now Norlina), North Carolina
Source: Library of Congress, Railroad map of North Carolina, 1900 (H. C. Brown, 1900)
the Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad was completed in 1900 between Petersburg and Ridgeway Junction (now Norlina), North Carolina
Source: Library of Congress, Railroad map of North Carolina, 1900 (H. C. Brown, 1900)
In 1882, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the Virginia & Carolina Railroad to build from Petersburg to connect with the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad at Ridgeway Junction (now Norlina), North Carolina. That was the former terminus of the Roanoke Valley Railroad, which was not rebuilt after the Civil War.
Initial construction efforts quickly stalled for lack of funding.
The city of Petersburg acquired the rights in 1897 and renamed the line the Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad. The Seaboard Air Line absorbed it and completed building the track in 1900. The tracks crossed the Atlantic and Danville Railroad at Lacrosse.1
When the Seaboard Air Line was merged with the Atlantic Coast Line in 1967, the line to Norlina became secondary. The Seaboard Coast Line chose to use the the Atlantic Coast Line as its mainline, the A-Line. The S-Line to Norlina was formally abandoned in 1986, and rails were removed in 1987.2
Proposals for high-speed rail between Washington to Raleigh involve re-using the S-Line which was abandoned in 1986.
the S-Line abandoned by the Seaboard Coast Line could become a high-speed rail route to Raleigh
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
1. "North Carolina Railroads - Virginia & Carolina Railroad," Carolana, http://www.carolana.com/NC/Transportation/railroads/nc_rrs_virginia_carolina.html; "North Carolina Railroads - Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad," Carolana, http://www.carolana.com/NC/Transportation/railroads/nc_rrs_richmond_petersburg_carolina.html (last checked January 25, 2019)
2. "The Norlina Subdivision," Rails in Virginia, http://www.railsinvirginia.com/abandoned/sal/norlina_subdivision.html (last checked January 25, 2019)
3. "Record of Decision - Southeast High Speed Rail Richmond, VA, to Raleigh, NC, Tier II Environmental Impact Statement," North Carolina Department of Transportation, March 24, 2017,
pp.12-13, https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/Rail-Division-Resources/Documents/SEHSR%20Raleigh%20to%20Richmond%20Signed%20Record%20of%20Decision.pdf (last checked January 25, 2019)