1881 railroad line from Richmond, VA to Newport News, VA
Peninsula Extension
The Peninsula Extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway led to Hampton Roads at Newport News, Virginia where West Virginia coal was loaded aboard colliers and shipped worldwide.
Overview
Other name(s)
Peninsula Subdivision
Owner
CSX Transportation
Termini
Richmond, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
History
Completed
16 October 1881 (1881-10-16)
Technical
Line length
82.3 mi (132.4 km)
Number of tracks
2
Track gauge
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
v
t
e
Peninsula Subdivision
Legend
"S" line
Piedmont Subdivision
Rivanna Subdivision
Rivanna Subdivision
Trestle
Richmond Main Street
Richmond & Danville RR
Triple Crossing
Church Hill Tunnel
"S" line
Peninsula Subdivision Trestle
Richmond & York River RR
Fulton Yard
Richmond
International Airport
I-295
Elko
SR 156
Roxbury
SR 106
SR 609
Barnetts Road
Mountcastle
SR 615
Providence Forge
SR 155
Courthouse Road
SR 602
Townsend Road
SR 650
Landing Road
Walkers
Hicks Island
SR 601
Diascund
SR 603
Diascund Road
US 60
Richmond Road
Toano
SR 607
Croaker Road
Norge
Kelton (Lightfoot)
SR 646
Lightfoot Road
SR 199
Humelsine Parkway
Ewell
SR 645
Airport Road
US 60
Bypass Road
Williamsburg
SR 132
Henry Street
Williamsburg (original)
Governor's Palace
Colonial Parkway
Capitol Landing Road
US 60
Page Street
Penniman spur
SR 199
Humelsine Parkway
Busch Gardens Boulevard
Grove
to
Yorktown Naval
Weapons Station
Lee Hall
to Fort Eustis
SR 238
Yorktown Road
City Reservoir
Warwick River
SR 105
Fort Eustis Boulevard
Amoco industrial track
SR 173
Denbigh Boulevard
Oriana
Bland Boulevard
Newport News/Williams-
burg International Airport
Newport News
Transportation Center
SR 171
Oyster Point Road
Oyster Point
City Center Boulevard
SR 311
J. Clyde Morris Blvd.
/Avenue of the Arts
SR 306
Harpersville Road
Morrison
SR 152
Main Street
Center Avenue
Newport News
end of
passenger service
US 258
Mercury Boulevard
SR 351
39th Street
to Hampton
I-664
ramps
(
Hampton Roads
Beltway
)
US 60
28th Street
I-664
off ramp
(26th Street)
I-664
off ramp
(M.L. King Jr. Way)
Harbor Access Road
Newport News
Marine Terminal
Source[1]
The Peninsula Extension which created the Peninsula Subdivision of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was the new railroad line on the Virginia Peninsula from Richmond to southeastern Warwick County. Its principal purpose was to provide an important new pathway for coal mined in West Virginia to reach the harbor of Hampton Roads for coastal and export shipping on collier ships.
Completed on October 16, 1881, the new double-tracked railroad and the other development visions of industrialist Collis Potter Huntington resulted in a 15-year transition of the rural farm village of Newport News into a new independent city which also became home to the world's largest shipyard. The railroad, one of the later developed in Virginia, became important to many communities, opening transportation options, and stimulating commerce and military operations on the Peninsula throughout the 20th century.
Over 125 years after it opened, many of the stations are gone. Spur lines have both come and gone. Also gone are the steam locomotives, save one on display at Huntington Park in Newport News, another at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, and a third which was left buried in Richmond's Church Hill Tunnel.
Despite the changes, in the early 21st century, the rails of the Peninsula Subdivision continue to form an important link for Amtrak service from Williamsburg and Newport News. High quality bituminous coal was the motivation for originally building the line, and current owner CSX Transportation continues day and night to deliver massive amounts of it to be loaded onto ships destined for points worldwide.
^openrailwaymap.org
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