Misplaced Pages

#882117

109-608: Buckingham Branch Railroads' tracks are located in the heart of Central Virginia. The routing was largely constructed in the 19th century by several railroad companies. These include the Louisa Railroad , the Virginia Central Railroad , the state-owned Blue Ridge Railroad (with famous tunnels designed by state engineer Claudius Crozet and financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works ), and

218-471: A day. Train crews must contend with this fact by continually dodging CSX westbounds, as well as Amtrak 's thrice-weekly Cardinal by going into the various sidings along the lines. Amtrak continues to use the Buckingham Branch line between Orange and Clifton Forge on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, the only instance where an Amtrak train utilizes a Class III railway line. This new section of

327-780: A distance of approximately 195 miles (314 km). In February 1853, the Commonwealth of Virginia had chartered the Covington and Ohio Railroad to extend the line completed by the Virginia Central westward across the Alleghany Mountains to the Ohio River . This company began work in 1855 and completed important grading work on the Alleghany grade, including the construction of numerous tunnels, and, to

436-592: A feasible route to Staunton by way of Charlottesville . Ultimately, this route, which passed over the mountains at Rockfish Gap , was chosen as a better alternative than the original plan to cross at Swift Run Gap to the north. In 1847, the charter was modified by the Assembly to provide for the railroad's construction to the eastern base of the Blue Ridge, and in 1849, the Blue Ridge Railroad

545-437: A four-train service daily; smaller railways may run daily throughout the summer with only one steam locomotive. The Great Central Railway , the only preserved British main line with a double track, can operate over 50 trains on a busy timetable day. After the privatisation of main-line railways, the line between not-for-profit heritage railways and for-profit branch lines may be blurred. The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

654-698: A lesser extent, in the areas around Charleston and the Kanawha River . However, as the American Civil War began in 1861, westward expansion came to a halt and the Covington and Ohio's line remained incomplete. The Virginia Central was one of the most important railroads for the Confederacy during the war, as it linked the fertile Shenandoah farmland of Virginia to Richmond and points eastward, enabling supplies and troops to easily be transported to nearby campaigns. The Blue Ridge tunnels and

763-401: A list which in 2022 reached 26 railway lines. According to article 1, law 128/2017 has as its purpose: "the protection and valorisation of railway sections of particular cultural, landscape and tourist value, which include railway routes, stations and related works of art and appurtenances, and of the historic and tourist rolling stock authorized to travel along them, as well as the regulation of

872-656: A major exception being the Furka Steam Railway , the longest unelectrified line in the country and one of the highest rail crossings in Europe . Many railway companies, especially mountain railways , provide services with well-preserved historic trains for tourists, for instance the Rigi Railways , the oldest rack railway in Europe, and the Pilatus Railway , the steepest in the world. Two railways,

981-428: A narrow-gauge railway, parks were free of redevelopment. Child volunteers and socialist fiscal policy enabled the existence of many of these railways. Children's railways which still carry traffic have often retained their original infrastructure and rolling stock, including vintage steam locomotives; some have acquired heritage vehicles from other railways. Examples of children's railways with steam locomotives include

1090-728: A non-polluting fuel. The Villa Elisa Historic Train (operated by Ferroclub Central Entrerriano) runs steam trains between the cities of Villa Elisa and Caseros in Entre Ríos Province , covering 36 km (22 mi) in 120 minutes. The world's second preserved railway, and the first outside the United Kingdom, was Australia's Puffing Billy Railway . This railway operates on 15 miles (24 km) of track, with much of its original rolling stock built as early as 1898. Just about over half of Australia's heritage lines are operated by narrow gauge tank engines, much like

1199-506: A period (or periods) in the history of rail transport . The British Office of Rail and Road defines heritage railways as follows: ...'lines of local interest', museum railways or tourist railways that have retained or assumed the character and appearance and operating practices of railways of former times. Several lines that operate in isolation provide genuine transport facilities, providing community links. Most lines constitute tourist or educational attractions in their own right. Much of

SECTION 10

#1732782816883

1308-516: A section of a modern light rail system. Heritage streetcar systems operating in Little Rock, Arkansas ; Memphis, Tennessee ; Dallas, Texas ; New Orleans, Louisiana ; Boston, Massachusetts ( MBTA Mattapan Trolley ) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ( SEPTA route 15 ); and Tampa, Florida , are among the larger examples. A heritage line operates in Charlotte, North Carolina , and will become

1417-691: A victim of Beeching) was the Middleton Railway ; the second, and the first to carry passengers, was the Bluebell Railway . Not-for-profit heritage railways differ in their quantity of service and some lines see traffic only on summer weekends. The more successful, such as the Severn Valley Railway and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway , may have up to five or six steam locomotives and operate

1526-580: A vintage pit railway and offer mantrip rides into the mine. The Metro 1 (officially the Millennium Underground Railway or M1), built from 1894 to 1896, is the oldest line of the Budapest Metro system and the second-oldest underground railway in the world. The M1 underwent major reconstruction during the 1980s and 1990s, and Line 1 now serves eight original stations whose original appearance has been preserved. In 2002,

1635-442: Is a narrow-gauge railway in central Slovakia , established in the first decade of the 20th century and operating primarily as a freight railway for the local logging industry. From the late 1920s to the early 1960s, it also offered passenger transport between the villages of Hronec and Čierny Balog. The railway became Czechoslovakia 's most extensive forest railway network. After its closure in 1982, it received heritage status and

1744-533: Is a cross-border joint Swiss-Italian heritage area. Trains operating on the Bernina line include the Bernina Express . In July 2023, Ferrovie dello Stato established a new company, the "FS Treni Turistici Italiani" (English: FS Italian Tourist Trains), with the mission "to propose an offer of railway services expressly designed and calibrated for quality, sustainable tourism and attentive to rediscovering

1853-678: Is a stretch of rebuilt narrow-gauge railway on the bank of the old Kovjoki– Nykarleby line. The Buckower Kleinbahn  [ de ] is a 4.9-kilometre (3.0 mi) spur line of the Prussian Eastern Railway , located in the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park in Brandenburg . It was originally constructed in 1897 as a narrow-gauge railway , with a gauge of 750 mm ( 2 ft  5 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ), connecting Buckow to

1962-573: Is an example of a commercial line run as a heritage operation and to provide local transportation, and the Severn Valley Railway has operated a few goods trains commercially. A number of heritage railway lines are regularly used by commercial freight operators. Since the Bluebell Railway reopened to traffic in 1960, the definition of private standard gauge railways in the United Kingdom as preserved railways has evolved as

2071-554: Is applied (art. 2, paragraph 1). At the same time, the law identified a first list of 18 tourist railways, considered to be of particular value (art. 2, paragraph 2). The list is periodically updated by decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport , in agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Culture , also taking into account the reports in the State-Regions Conference,

2180-716: Is one of the highest railways in the world . The line has 29 bridges, 21 tunnels, 13 viaducts, two spirals and two zigzags , and its highest point is 4,220 metres (13,850 ft) above sea level. In the Misiones Province , more precisely in the Iguazú National Park, is the Ecological Train of the Forest. With a speed below 20 km per hour to avoid interfering with wildlife and the formations are propelled to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),

2289-697: The Albula Railway and the Bernina Railway , have been designated as a World Heritage Site , although they are essentially operated with modern rolling stock. Due to the availability of hydroelectric resources in the Alps, the Swiss network was electrified earlier than in the rest of Europe. Some of the most emblematic pre-World War II electric locomotives and trains are the Crocodile , notably used on

SECTION 20

#1732782816883

2398-799: The American Civil War . While the Blue Ridge Mountain section was being breached, the Louisa Railroad was busy building westward from the western foot of the mountains, across the Shenandoah Valley to Staunton. In January 1850, the Commonwealth authorized the Louisa Railroad to increase its stock in order to build from Staunton to Covington . On February 2, 1850, the Louisa Railroad, having expanded greatly since its beginnings in Louisa and Hanover counties,

2507-522: The Baldwin and C.R. Mason . A second temporary track 1 ⁄ 2 -mile-long (0.80 km) around the Brooksville Tunnel and a third 3 ⁄ 4 -mile-long (1.2 km) around Robertson's hollow were also constructed. The temporary tracks successfully joined the railroad and by eliminating the extra cost and effort of removing freight and passengers from trains for transport over

2616-649: The Buckingham Branch Railroad , a Virginia-based short-line railroad that leases the line from CSX. The line will also be used for the Amtrak Commonwealth Corridor connecting Newport News to Richmond, Charlottesville, Roanoke, and Lynchburg starting mid-late 2020s. Many years after the original Virginia Central became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio in 1868, another railroad between Fredericksburg and Orange used

2725-663: The Chemin de fer à vapeur des Trois Vallées and PFT operates the Chemin de Fer du Bocq . Heritage streetcar lines: Museums with operational heritage streetcar lines: On the Finnish state-owned rail network , the section between Olli and Porvoo is a dedicated museum line. In southern Finland , it is the only line with many structural details abandoned by the rest of the network which regularly carries passenger traffic. Wooden sleepers , gravel ballast and low rail weight with no overhead catenary make it uniquely historical. Along

2834-795: The Covington and Ohio Railroad . All of those lines became part of Collis Huntington 's Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (later the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway ) (C&O) in the 1870s, which connected the Chesapeake Bay with the valleys of the New River and Kanawha River , leading to the Ohio River Valley and thence the Mississippi River . In the 1880s, Major James H. Dooley 's Richmond and Allegheny Railroad

2943-1257: The Dresden Park Railway in Germany; the Gyermekvasút in Budapest ; the Park Railway Maltanka in Poznań ; the Košice Children's Railway in Slovakia, and the 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) gauge steam railway on the grounds of St Nicholas' School in Merstham , Surrey , which the children help operate with assistance from the East Surrey 16mm Group and other volunteers. Creating passages for trains up steep hills and through mountain regions offers many obstacles which call for technical solutions. Steep grade railway technologies and extensive tunneling may be employed. The use of narrow gauge allows tighter curves in

3052-672: The Gotthard Railway , and the Red Arrow . Both are occasionally operated by SBB Historic . Switzerland also comprehends a large number of funiculars, several still working with the original carriages, such as the Giessbachbahn . In Britain, heritage railways are often railway lines which were run as commercial railways but were no longer needed (or closed down) and were taken over or re-opened by volunteers or non-profit organisations. The large number of heritage railways in

3161-678: The James River south to Dillwyn in Buckingham County . The interchange with CSX is at Strathmore yard , near the junction of the former Virginia Air Line Railway . Serving small industries and quarries , the BBRR began with one locomotive and a caboose , and was staffed by Bryant's family. The line primarily operates EMD locomotives, including GP40 style engines as well as engines like GP16s that have since been rebuilt from other older models like GP7s that were initially purchased by

3270-646: The Kangra Valley Railway are preserved narrow gauge railways under consideration for UNESCO status. Some scenic routes have been preserved as heritage railways. Here normal services have stopped, only tourist heritage trains are operated. Examples of these are the Patalpani–Kalakund Heritage Train and the Rajasthan Valley Queen Heritage train which runs from Marwar Junction to Khamlighat . In Italy

3379-617: The Louisa Railroad by the Virginia General Assembly , the railroad began near the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad 's line and expanded westward to Orange County , reaching Gordonsville by 1840. In 1849, the Blue Ridge Railroad was chartered to construct a line over the Blue Ridge Mountains for the Louisa Railroad which reached the base of the Blue Ridge in 1852. After a decision from

Buckingham Branch Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-462: The Müncheberg (Mark) station . This line was electrified and changed to standard gauge in 1930. It has operated as a heritage railway since 2002. The Mountain railways of India are the railway lines that were built in the mountainous regions of India . The term mainly includes the narrow-gauge and metre-gauge railways in these regions but may also include some broad-gauge railways. Of

3597-827: The Train of the End of the World to the Tierra del Fuego National Park is considered the world's southernmost functioning railway. Heritage railway operations started in 1994, after restoration of the old 500 mm ( 19 + 3 ⁄ 4  in ) (narrow-gauge) steam railway . In Salta Province in northeastern Argentina, the Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds) runs along 220 km (140 mi) of 1,000 mm ( 3 ft  3 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ) metre gauge track in what

3706-525: The U.S. Supreme Court , the Louisa Railroad was allowed to expand eastward from a point near Doswell to Richmond. Renamed as the Virginia Central Railroad in 1850, the railroad bypassed the under construction Blue Ridge Railroad via a temporary track built over Rockfish Gap . This connected the railroad's eastern division with its expanding line across the Blue Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley . Having reached Clifton Forge by 1857,

3815-760: The USSR during the Soviet era . Many were called "Pioneer railways", after the youth organisation of that name . The first children's railway opened in Moscow in 1932 and, at the breakup of the USSR, 52 children's railways existed in the country. Although the fall of communist governments has led to the closure of some, preserved children's railways are still functioning in post-Soviet states and Eastern European countries . Many children's railways were built on parkland in urban areas. Unlike many industrial areas typically served by

3924-431: The canton of Graubünden , Switzerland , with the town of Tirano , in the Province of Sondrio , Italy , via the Bernina Pass . Reaching a height of 2,253 metres (7,392 ft) above sea level, it is the third highest railway crossing in Europe . It also ranks as the highest adhesion railway of the continent, and – with inclines of up to 7% – as one of the steepest adhesion railways in

4033-435: The 1870s was supplanted by a lower-grade line along the path of the former James River and Kanawha Canal in the 1880s. Unlike the original branch in Buckingham County, the new section is leased for a 20-year period. CSX retains overhead trackage rights on the trackage leased to the Buckingham Branch, and continues its same pattern of running empty westbound coal and grain trains over the route, sometimes as many as eight

4142-435: The Accomack-Northampton Transportation District Commission; and (b) Norfolk Southern Railway Company ("NSR"). The Lines are currently leased to, and operated by, BCR. Specifically, the CAC-owned portion of Lines (which BCR leases and operates) are as follows: A notice of exemption to authorize a change in operator from BCR to BB will be filed with the STB on or shortly after June 13, 2018 in Docket No. FD 36202. The railroad

4251-403: The BB early on. For the most part, most engines are assigned a number composed of the railroad's initials and a new designated number they received upon joining the BB's engine roster. These numbers gradually rise in more or less incremental order with each individual engine, though some engines still retain their original paint schemes and numbers. Engine roster: In August 2022, the BB began

4360-419: The C&O's new Peninsula Subdivision , which extended from the Church Hill Tunnel in Richmond southeast down the peninsula through Williamsburg to Newport News , where the company developed coal piers on the harbors of Hampton Roads and Newport News. The Richmond and Alleghany Railroad , which ran from Clifton Forge to Richmond following the James River and the old James River and Kanawha Canal ,

4469-401: The James River line, rejoining the old Virginia Central tracks near Main Street Station at Richmond . The short-line branch from Bremo Bluff on the James River line into Buckingham County transported kaolin clay from the unique and rare deposits of Willis Mountain , along with timber , quarried rock, and minor amounts of general freight. As major railroads merged and consolidated in

Buckingham Branch Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-455: The Louisa Railroad company to construct a rail line extending from the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RF&P) westward. The railroad, as specified by the original charter, was to connect with the RF&P near Taylorsville, at what would become Hanover Junction , and extend westward, passing the Louisa courthouse, to Orange County at the base of the Southwest Mountains . The Virginia Board of Public Works owned two-fifths of

4687-438: The Louisa Railroad, upholding the state court's decision. The first president of the Louisa Railroad was Frederick Overton Harris, a native of Louisa County, who served until 1841. After Harris' term, Charles Y. Kimbrough, also from Louisa, served until 1845, when Edmund Fontaine was elected to office upon Kimbrough's death. Edmund Fontaine would continue to serve as president of the Louisa Railroad and its successor until after

4796-442: The Mountain Track, included steep grades (maximum 5.6% with a ruling grade of 5.3%) and sharp curves (minimum radius of 300 feet (91 m)), thereby limiting speeds to around 5–7 miles per hour (8.0–11.3 km/h). Three small tank locomotives were ordered for the temporary track, one of which was supplied by the Tredegar Iron Works of Richmond, the Joseph R. Anderson , and two from Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia ,

4905-415: The Mountain railways of India, the Darjeeling Himalayan , Nilgiri Mountain and Kalka–Shimla Railways have been collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . To meet World Heritage criteria, the sites must retain some of their traditional infrastructure and culture. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is also the only rack and pinion railway in India. The Matheran Hill Railway , along with

5014-469: The Old Patagonian Express) was declared a National Historic Monument by the Government of Argentina in 1999. Trains on the Patagonian 750 mm ( 2 ft  5 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) narrow-gauge railway use steam locomotives. The 402-kilometre-long (250 mi) railway runs through the foothills of the Andes between Esquel and El Maitén in Chubut Province and Ingeniero Jacobacci in Río Negro Province . In southern Argentina,

5123-415: The RF&P Railroad. The charter of that line protected it from construction of a parallel competitor, but an act by the Virginia General Assembly in 1848 authorized the extension of the Louisa Railroad easterly through Hanover and Henrico Counties to reach Richmond . This act was protested by the RF&P for violating the earlier decree of the Assembly against a parallel competitor. The RF&P's claim

5232-547: The Rivanna River by May. Temporary overland stage and wagon routes were set up to bypass inoperable sections of the railroad as repairs were made and provided for the transportation of goods and passengers. By the end of July, trains were able to run to the western terminus of Jackson's River Station. The Virginia Central's rolling stock had suffered throughout the Civil War, and the operable equipment had dwindled to an amount insufficient to provide for demand. To help solve this issue, four locomotives and forty cars were rented from

5341-440: The Surface Transportation Board ("STB") at 49 C.F.R. § l 150.42(e), Buckingham Branch Railroad Company ("BB"), a Class III rail carrier, hereby gives notice to employees of Cassatt Management, LLC d/b/a Bay Coast Railroad ("BCR") that, as soon as federal regulatory authorization permits, BB intends to lease and commence operations over lines of railroad (collectively, the "Lines") owned by: (a) Canonie Atlantic Co. ("CAC") on behalf of

5450-406: The UK is due in part to the closure of many minor lines during the 1960s' Beeching cuts , and they were relatively easy to revive. There are between 100 and 150 heritage railways in the United Kingdom. A typical British heritage railway will use steam locomotives and original rolling stock to create a period atmosphere, although some are concentrating on diesel and electric traction to re-create

5559-515: The United States as tourist, historic, or scenic railroads. Most are remnants of original railroads, and some are reconstructed after having been scrapped. Some heritage railways preserve entire railroads in their original state using original structures, track, and motive power. Examples of heritage railroads in the US by preservation type: Other operations, such as the Valley Railroad or Hocking Valley Scenic Railway operate on historic track and utilize historic equipment, but are not reflective of

SECTION 50

#1732782816883

5668-411: The Virginia Central Railway. In 1937, the entire line was abandoned except for a 1 mile (1.6 km) segment in Fredericksburg which lasted until 1984. Heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting

5777-415: The Virginia Central and the C&O paid around $ 900,000 ($ 21,685,263.16 today) to the Commonwealth, including both the purchase price and previous fees for use, which was significantly less than the Commonwealth's expenditure of $ 1,694,870.85 ($ 40,837,467.11 today) in building the line. Construction of the old Covington and Ohio line began from Huntington, West Virginia on the western end and Covington on

5886-439: The Virginia Central did not own the Blue Ridge Railroad, it was granted the right to operate it from the Commonwealth of Virginia in return for an annual fee. In 1859, the Virginia Central's line carried 134,883 passengers throughout the year, and hauled 64,177 tons of freight. The road connected Richmond to a point about 10 miles (16 km) east of Covington, where the proposed Covington and Ohio Railroad would have started,

5995-427: The Virginia Central were key tools in the fast mobilization of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson 's famous " foot cavalry ". Soon after the beginning of the war, the Virginia Central contracted with the Confederate States Postal Service , as it had done with the U.S. Postal Service before the war, to carry mail over its line. This service, along with passenger and general goods transport, became less reliable as

6104-410: The Virginia Central's line between Hanover and Atlee was torn up. Although this and numerous other raids caused significant damage, the damage was soon repaired and the line was generally kept in good use. May 1863 saw another raid against the line, during which the Louisa Court House was attacked and the Hanover depot burned. During Ulysses S. Grant 's Overland Campaign of 1864, Phillip Sheridan

6213-549: The Virginia Central's line. Confederate forces succeeded in pushing Sheridan back, who at 10:00 pm of the 12th withdrew towards the Army of the Potomac . Little damage was done to the tracks during the raid, and the damage was soon repaired and the line returned to operation. Reconstruction of the Virginia Central began soon after the Confederacy's collapse, and under the permission of General Edward Ord , repairs commenced on April 21, 1865. Construction of temporary bridges and repairs were made swiftly, enabling trains to run to

6322-427: The connection with the completed Blue Ridge Railroad was made, and on the morning of the 13th, the mail train was the first train routed through the tunnel. With the tunnel in use, the temporary track was promptly torn up. At the time of the Blue Ridge Tunnel's completion, it was the longest tunnel in the United States and the first tunnel in the country to be completed without the use of vertical shafts . Although

6431-429: The destruction of much of the bridges and line between Staunton and Keswick , and as Union armies converged on Richmond, further damage was done to the eastern section of the railroad. By the end of the war, the railroad operated less than 20 miles (32 km) of track and held only $ 40 ($ 796.17 today) in gold. During the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, the South Anna River bridge was destroyed by Union cavalry and

6540-400: The earlier Virginia Central line used for westbound empty hoppers. From the convergence of the lines in Richmond, both eastbound and westbound coal trains utilized the Peninsula Subdivision through Williamsburg to service the coal piers in the East End of Newport News . After the Chesapeake and Ohio was consolidated with several other large railroads in the 1980s to form CSX Transportation ,

6649-442: The early 1970s, its surviving lines and branches have been (or are being) restored. The railway is owned and operated by the Museum of Kysuce, with a 3.8-kilometre (2.4 mi) line open to tourists for sightseeing. Switzerland has a very dense rail network , both standard and narrow gauge. The overwhelming majority of railways, built between the mid-19th and early 20th century , are still in regular operation today and electrified,

SECTION 60

#1732782816883

6758-415: The eastern end of the Blue Ridge Railroad. Operation of the Louisa Railroad was initially handled by the RF&P, beginning with the first operation of a train over Louisa Railroad tracks on December 20, 1837. This condition continued until June 1847, when the Louisa Railroad took over operations. The eastern terminus of the Louisa Railroad was originally at Hanover Junction (now known as Doswell) with

6867-398: The eastern end, and progressed towards the middle. By July 1869, construction of the line westward had reached White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia , and with the use of three temporary tracks around two unfinished tunnels and an embankment, the entire line of 227 miles (365 km) from Richmond to White Sulphur Springs could be traveled. In August 1871, a locomotive named the Greenbrier

6976-430: The excursion train with two diesels pulling the train back up to Goshen. Multiple seating classes are offered, including Coach, Premium Coach, First Class, and Dome class. For a number of years, the Buckingham Branch operated the Shenandoah Valley Railroad (SV) under contract. That short-line extends from Staunton through Augusta County north to Pleasant Valley outside Harrisonburg in Rockingham County . In 2002,

7085-438: The expanded Buckingham Branch was dispatched by CSX from Jacksonville, Florida for the first two years; now it is dispatched by the Buckingham Branch out of Staunton. Following the end of operations by the Bay Coast Railroad on May 18, 2018, the Buckingham Branch Railroad took action to lease and operate the BCR's tracks in Little Creek, VA. A filing with the STB dated June 13, 2018 stated, in part: Pursuant to regulations of

7194-414: The first spike of the Louisa Railroad and had held various positions over the course of the Virginia Central's and C&O's history. Huntington was also aware of the potential to ship eastbound coal from West Virginia's untapped natural resources with the completion of the new railroad. His agents began acquiring property in Warwick County in eastern Virginia. In the 1880s, he oversaw the extension of

7303-409: The government at a price of $ 20 and $ 2 ($ 398.09 and $ 39.81 today) each per day respectively. The Beaverdam Depot was rebuilt in 1866. In November 1865, an election for a new president of the company was held, and former Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham was elected over longtime president Edmund Fontaine by 364 votes. In recognition of Fontaine's dedication and service to the railroad,

7412-437: The heritage railway institute is recognized and protected by law no. 128 of 9 August 2017, which has as its objective the protection and valorisation of disused, suspended or abolished railway lines, of particular cultural, landscape and tourist value, including both railway routes and stations and the related works of art and appurtenances, on which, upon proposal of the regions to which they belong, tourism-type traffic management

7521-411: The last of the track was laid and placed in operation. Reaching Covington enabled connection with the Covington and Ohio railroad, which at that time was still under construction, and provided for the future merging of the two companies as specified by an act of the Virginia General Assembly passed on March 1, 1867. On August 31, 1868, the Virginia Central was merged with the Covington and Ohio to form

7630-438: The late 20th century, many rail lines with low traffic were abandoned, spun off into short-line railroads , or became at risk for abandonment. With lower operating costs and personalized service to shippers, many of the short-lines were able to perpetuate rail service in areas where the Class 1 railroads could not operate profitably, even when subsidized by government entities. In 2021, the line between Doswell and Clifton Forge

7739-494: The latter depend on enthusiastic volunteers for upkeep and operations to supplement revenue from traffic and visitors. Still other heritage railways offer a viable public-transit option, and can maintain operations with revenue from regular riders or government subsidies. Children's railways are extracurricular educational institutions where children and teenagers learn about railway work; they are often functional, passenger-carrying narrow-gauge rail lines. The railways developed in

7848-547: The latter's Piedmont, Washington , and North Mountain subdivisions. Each were originally parts of the Virginia Central Railroad 's line, and extend from Richmond through Doswell , Orange to Charlottesville, Virginia . From there, the line extends through the Blue Ridge Tunnel complex to Waynesboro , and Staunton to reconnect with CSX lines at Clifton Forge . The line which was the backbone of Collis Huntington 's newly completed Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in

7957-412: The line built by the Virginia Central from Staunton to Clifton Forge was considered for abandonment. CSX, however, decided to keep the line in order to route empty coal trains westward, which, although intended for times of excess traffic, has become common practice. In addition to CSX, portions of the old Virginia Central line are in use by Amtrak 's Cardinal from Gordonsville to Clifton Forge, and

8066-672: The line was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In the Deák Ferenc Square concourse's Millennium Underground Museum, many other artifacts of the metro's early history may be seen. The first heritage railway to be rescued and run entirely by volunteers was the Talyllyn Railway in Wales . This narrow-gauge line, taken over by a group of enthusiasts in 1950, was the beginning of the preservation movement worldwide. La Trochita (officially Viejo Expreso Patagónico,

8175-718: The line, the Hinthaara railway station and the Porvoo railway station area are included in the National Board of Antiquities' inventory of cultural environments of national significance in Finland. Also on the list is scenery in the Porvoonjoki Valley, through which the line passes. The Jokioinen Museum Railway is a stretch of preserved narrow-gauge railway between Humppila and Jokioinen . Nykarleby Järnväg

8284-418: The mountains, facilitated further growth and expansion westward. Construction continued from Staunton through a water gap near Goshen at Great North Mountain by 1855, and had reached Millboro by 1856. This western section of the line included an additional three tunnels, and a temporary track approximately 1.25 miles (2.01 km) long was used at Millboro while the tunnel was being completed. By 1857,

8393-520: The name "Virginia Central." The Potomac, Fredericksburg & Piedmont Railroad Company (PF&P) operated 38 miles (61 km) of 3-foot (910 mm) gauge railroad between Fredericksburg (with a connection to the RF&;P Railroad ) and Orange (with a connection to the Orange & Alexandria Railroad ). It operated as narrow gauge until 1926, when the line was standard gauged and the name changed to

8502-650: The narrow gauge lines of the United Kingdom. The Höllental Railway is a 4.9-kilometre-long (3.0 mi), 760 mm ( 2 ft  5 + 15 ⁄ 16  in ) narrow-gauge ( Bosnian gauge ) railway, operating in Lower Austria . It runs on summer weekends, connecting Reichenau an der Rax to the nearby Höllental . Flanders , Belgium's northern Dutch-speaking region, has the Dendermonde–Puurs Steam Railway ; whereas Wallonia , with its strong history of 19th century heavy industries, has

8611-532: The new Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad (reorganized as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1878), and Wickham was elected as president. Wickham realized the need to find adequate financing to resume the westward work through the challenging mountainous terrain, as the Virginia Board of Public Works was no longer in a position to help as it had in the past. After failing in the impoverished southern states and with British investors, Wickham found new capital and financing by recruiting Collis P. Huntington , one of

8720-496: The number of projects and their length, operating days and function have changed. The situation is further muddied by large variations in ownership-company structure, rolling stock and other assets. Unlike community railways , tourist railways in the UK are vertically integrated (although those operating mainly as charities separate their charitable and non-charitable activities for accounting purposes). Heritage railways are known in

8829-679: The operating contract was lost to another Virginia-based short-line road, the Eastern Shore Railroad (ESHR). Today, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, operated by the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad (DGVR), interchanges with the Buckingham Branch at Staunton. In December 2004, Buckingham Branch entered into a 20-year lease with CSX Transportation to operate 200 miles (322 km) of track in Virginia on

8938-474: The operations carried out by the original railroad they operate on. Hence, they do not fit into the Heritage Railway category, but rather Tourist Railway/Amusement. Heritage streetcar lines are operating in over 20 U.S. cities, and are in planning or construction stages in others. Several new heritage streetcar lines have been opened since the 1970s; some are stand-alone lines while others make use of

9047-517: The operations of the heritage Virginia Scenic Railway (VSR) with round-trip excursions from Staunton, Virginia . Unlike many U.S. heritage operations, which operate on lightly used branch lines, the VSR trains share track with Amtrak and CSX operations. Around autumn of 2023, ex- Norfolk and Western 4-8-4 steam locomotive No. 611 , visited the VSR to haul the weekend Shenandoah Valley Limited excursions between Goshen and Staunton. No. 611 hauled

9156-754: The past in operation. Due to a lack of modern technology or the desire for historical accuracy, railway operations can be handled with traditional practices such as the use of tokens . Heritage infrastructure and operations often require the assignment of roles, based on historical occupations, to the railway staff. Some, or all, staff and volunteers, including Station masters and signalmen , sometimes wearing period-appropriate attire, can be seen on some heritage railways. Most heritage railways use heritage rolling stock, although modern rail vehicles can be used to showcase railway scenes with historical-line infrastructure. While some heritage railways are profitable tourist attractions , many are not-for-profit entities; some of

9265-446: The post-steam era. Many run seasonally on partial routes, unconnected to a larger network (or railway), and charge high fares in comparison with transit services; as a result, they focus on the tourist and leisure markets. During the 1990s and 2000s, however, some heritage railways aimed to provide local transportation and extend their running seasons to carry commercial passenger traffic. The first standard-gauge line to be preserved (not

9374-457: The railroad began operating the completed Blue Ridge Railroad in 1858 and continued preparing for further expansion until the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. As a prime target for Federal raids by Union Cavalry , the railroad faced significant action against it during the war. Although the war left the railroad with only a fraction of its line left operable, the railroad was running over its entire pre-war length by July 1865. After

9483-620: The railroad had reached a point known as Jackson's River Station , at the foot of the Alleghany Mountains . This location would later be known as Clifton Forge and become a division point for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway . The temporary track over Rockfish Gap was used until the Blue Ridge Tunnel's opening in April 1858, and the last train to use the temporary track did so on the evening of April 12. That night,

9592-493: The riches of the Italian territory. Tourism that can experience the train journey as an integral moment of the holiday, an element of quality in the overall tourist experience". There are three service areas proposed: Rail transport played a major role in the history of New Zealand and several rail enthusiast societies and heritage railways have been formed to preserve New Zealand's rich rail history. The Čierny Hron Railway

9701-688: The rolling stock and other equipment used on these systems is original and is of historic value in its own right. Many systems aim to replicate both the look and operating practices of historic former railways companies. Heritage railway lines have historic rail infrastructure which has been substituted (or made obsolete) in modern rail systems. Historical installations, such as hand-operated points , water cranes , and rails fastened with hand-hammered rail spikes , are characteristic features of heritage lines. Unlike tourist railways, which primarily carry tourists and have modern installations and vehicles, heritage-line infrastructure creates views and soundscapes of

9810-523: The so-called " Big Four ", a group of businessmen who had recently completed the western portion of the transcontinental railroad . Under Huntington's leadership, and with millions in new financing from New York City , westward construction resumed in 1868. Having long paid tolls for the use of the state-owned Blue Ridge Railroad, the C&;O arranged to purchase the line from the Commonwealth of Virginia and assumed full ownership on April 1, 1870. In all,

9919-474: The stockholders resolved to grant Fontaine and his family free tickets for life. Fontaine was unanimously reelected as president of the company in 1866 and 1867. Since before the Civil War, the section of the line between Jackson's River Station and Covington, a distance of about 10 miles (16 km), had remained incomplete. This section was necessary for further westward expansion, and by July 31, 1867,

10028-543: The total $ 300,000 ($ 10,987,200 today) stock sold to finance the railroad's initial construction. Construction of the Louisa Railroad began in October 1836, reaching the Louisa courthouse by 1839, and by 1840 had reached Gordonsville . The railroad had been planned by its original charter to build across the Blue Ridge Mountains to Harrisonburg , but in 1839, the Commonwealth requested a survey to be conducted to determine

10137-498: The track, and offers a smaller structure gauge and tunnel size. At high altitudes, construction and logistical difficulties, limited urban development and demand for transport and special rolling-stock requirements have left many mountain railways unmodernized. The engineering feats of past railway builders and views of pristine mountain scenes have made many railways in mountainous areas profitable tourist attractions. Pit railways have been in operation in underground mines all over

10246-481: The transport of military goods and troops took precedence. As the war progressed, the railroad continually fell into a state of disrepair due to its constant use and the limited availability of supplies for upkeep. Union raids also destroyed many sections of the line, including the majority of the railroad's depots, with notable exceptions for those at Gordonsville and Charlottesville, two key points of trade. The defeat of Jubal Early 's forces at Waynesboro led to

10355-552: The use of ferrocycles". Below is the list of railway lines recognized as tourist railways by Italian legislation. b) pursuant to the Ministerial Decree of 30 March 2022: The Bernina railway line is a single-track 1,000 mm ( 3 ft  3 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ) metre gauge railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort of St. Moritz , in

10464-438: The war, both longtime president Edmund Fontaine and former Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham served as president of the Virginia Central and oversaw its expansion towards Covington. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad was formed in 1868 from the merger of the Virginia Central Railroad and the Covington and Ohio Railroad , and had expanded westward to the Ohio River by 1873 after new financing from Collis P. Huntington

10573-433: The world. Small rail vehicles transport ore, waste rock, and workers through narrow tunnels. Sometimes trains were the sole mode of transport in the passages between the work sites and the mine entrance. The railway's loading gauge often dictated the cross-section of passages to be dug. At many mining sites, pit railways have been abandoned due to mine closure or adoption of new transportation equipment. Some show mines have

10682-634: The world. The elevation difference on the section between the Bernina Pass and Tirano is 1,824 m (5,984 ft), allowing passengers to view glaciers along the line. On 7 July 2008, the Bernina line and the Albula railway line , which also forms part of the RhB, were recorded in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites , under the name Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes . The whole site

10791-487: Was acquired from CSX by the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of a broader program to expand passenger service. Buckingham Branch Railroad's operations would continue. The Buckingham Branch was founded in 1989 by retired CSX railroader Robert E. Bryant . The company began with the acquisition of a 16-mile (26 km) long branch from the CSX Transportation 's James River subdivision line near Bremo Bluff on

10900-419: Was built along the James River along the former right-of-way of the James River and Kanawha Canal . It too became part of the C&O, offering a lower grade pathway for coal bound from the mountains to Newport News than the older line through Staunton , Crozet's Blue Ridge Tunnel complex, and Charlottesville . Diverging from the older line at JD Cabin just east of Clifton Forge , this became known as

11009-544: Was chartered to cross the mountains at Rockfish Gap to Waynesboro . Claudius Crozet was appointed Chief Engineer of the Blue Ridge Railroad, and under his leadership and direction, the railroad began construction over the Blue Ridge using a series of four tunnels. Meanwhile, the Louisa Railroad had reached the Rivanna River near Charlottesville by 1850 and by 1852 had reached Mechums River , near

11118-527: Was featured in the January 2012 issue of Trains Magazine . It is referenced in the How It’s Made episode “Railway Bridge Ties”, showing it crossing a curved bridge. Louisa Railroad The Virginia Central Railroad was an early railroad in the U.S. state of Virginia that operated between 1850 and 1868 from Richmond westward for 206 miles (332 km) to Covington . Chartered in 1836 as

11227-596: Was floated down the Ohio River to aid in the construction of the line from the western side. The final spike ceremony for the 428-mile (689 km) long line from Richmond to the Ohio River was held on January 29, 1873, at Hawk's Nest railroad bridge in the New River Valley , near the town of Ansted in Fayette County, West Virginia . The last spike was driven by C.R. Mason, who had also driven

11336-401: Was merged into the Chesapeake and Ohio in 1889. On this line, trains descended nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) in elevation to Richmond following the path of the river. The addition of the "James River Line" allowed the C&O to avoid the heavier grades of the old Virginia Central's line to the north and became the principal artery of eastbound coal transportation down to the present day, with

11445-502: Was ordered, along with nearly 8,000 men, to proceed westward to join forces with David Hunter in Charlottesville, destroying as much of the Virginia Central as possible along the way. From Charlottesville, the combined force would advance towards Richmond from the west. Robert E. Lee responded by sending cavalry under the command of Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee , who would meet Sheridan on June 11 at Trevilian Station on

11554-588: Was originally overturned by a Virginia State Court , which ruled that the Assembly retained the right to authorize construction of other railroads between Richmond and Fredericksburg, and that the original charter of the RF&;P only applied to the transportation of passengers. The decision of the court was appealed and eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court in Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company v. Louisa Railroad Company , which ruled in favor of

11663-621: Was recruited. The new railroad (reorganized as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1878) expanded eastward in the 1880s via the Peninsula Subdivision to Newport News . The Chesapeake and Ohio operated for over one hundred years until it was reorganized through merger as CSX Transportation in the 1980s. Today, CSX, Amtrak , and the Buckingham Branch Railroad still use portions of the old Virginia Central line for freight and passenger rail service. The Virginia General Assembly passed on February 18, 1836, an act to incorporate

11772-446: Was renamed as the Virginia Central Railroad. In order to connect the eastern and western divisions of the railroad at this time divided by the unfinished Blue Ridge Railroad, a temporary track over Rockfish Gap was proposed by the railroad's chief engineer, Charles Ellet, Jr. , and by 1854 had been constructed and was in use. Built over and around the under construction Blue Ridge Tunnel, this 4.38-mile-long (7.05 km) track, called

11881-526: Was restored during the following decade. Since 1992, it has been one of Slovakia's official heritage railways and is a key regional tourist attraction. The Historical Logging Switchback Railway in Vychylovka is a heritage railway in north-central Slovakia, originally built to serve the logging industry in the Orava and Kysuce regions. Despite a closure and dissasembly of most of its original network during

#882117