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The
Chesapeake Western Railway is currently a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway and operates three rail lines under their ownership - Elkton to Dayton, Harrisonburg to Pleasant Valley, and Harrisonburg to Bowman. The railway is mainly used as an extension of Norfolk Southern and locomotives used
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The
Norfolk & Western purchased the Chesapeake Western in 1954, ending its status as an independent railroad. The Chesapeake Western survived as a separate entity from Norfolk & Western for a several years until the merger of the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Southern Railway in the
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The history of the line dates back to 1871, where a narrow-gauge line named the
Washington, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad was chartered in 1871 as to connect Washington, D.C. to the Midwest at Cincinnati, Ohio. Little was done with this, but in 1892 a version of the railroad was revived when
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by 1896, where the line's main yard and shops were constructed. The line was experiencing a downturn in the 1930s, but was revived when bought by Donald W. Thomas on
September 1,1938, who was able to purchase more modern equipment. By the mid-1940s, the Chesapeake Western operated a total of 53.5
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was placed near the location of
Stokesville at Stokesville Community Church to commemorate the history of the town, although most of it was destroyed by natural disasters in 1949. At least one Chesepeake Western locomotive has been preserved and is displayed at the
172:. Previously an independent railroad which began operation in 1896, the line technically survives as part of Norfolk Southern. The line was locally known as the "Crooked and Weedy" and "General Robert E. Lee’s Railroad" during its independent operation.
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on the lines are from
Norfolk Southern. Traffic is mainly agricultural products, paper, and other manufactured items. A portion of the line south of Harrisonburg between
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some land. The name was changed to
Chesapeake & Western Railroad when actual construction on the line began in 1895. The line officially opened on March 23, 1896 in
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was the original terminus, but the line was extended to
Stokesville, a company town, by 1901. In 1933 the line was cut back to Bridgewater due to
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over much of the route and replacing the bridge at Elkton which was destroyed by a flood in 1985. The shops at Elkton were razed in 1989.
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The
Crooked & Weedy: Being a Very Informal, Illustrated History of Virginia's Most Un-common Carrier--Chesapeake Western Railway
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several businessman chartered it with the intentions of constructing a trunk line. Nothing was done with these proposals other
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1980s, becoming part of
Norfolk Southern. Norfolk Southern upgraded the route after buying the railway, installing continuous
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tracksfrom Harrisonburg, Virginia to Lexington, Virginia but abandoned the route from
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and continuing to Staunton, Virginia is now owned and operated by the
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313:. Shenandoah Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society.
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222:. On January 1, 1943 the railway purchased some of the former
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1896 (as Chesapeake & Western Railroad)–present
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List of United States railroads by political division
431:"Virginia Rails - The Chesapeake Western Railway"
270:grain train on the Chesapeake Western Railway in
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797:Predecessors of the Norfolk and Western Railway
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344:"Chesapeake Western Baldwin DS-4-4-660 #662"
570:Photos of the abandoned portion past Dayton
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667:Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad
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506:"Last Of The "Lost Engines" Finds A Home"
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197:around the area drying up, and later to
535:. Kalmbach Publishing, Co. p. 78.
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481:"Stokesville to get historical marker"
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802:Railway companies established in 1896
731:Newport News Shipbuilding Corporation
657:Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad
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560:History of several Virginia railroads
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662:North Carolina and Virginia Railroad
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27:Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary
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632:Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad
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456:"Chesapeake Western History Page"
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349:Virginia Museum of Transportation
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252:Virginia Museum of Transportation
532:American Shortline Railway Guide
297:Chesapeake and Western documents
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687:Winchester and Western Railroad
224:Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's
201:. To the east the line reached
51:A preserved Chesepeake Western
18:Chesapeake and Western Railroad
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504:Amsler, Beverly (2009-10-15).
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479:Williams, Megan (2016-09-23).
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726:Fort Eustis Military Railroad
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572:(Archived 2004-06-10 on the
562:(Archived 2005-04-08 on the
399:"Chesapeake Western Railway"
372:"Chesapeake Western Railway"
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766:Former carriers in Virginia
454:Wilson, Paul (1996-08-17).
370:Burns, Adams (2023-10-10).
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682:Virginia Southern Railroad
677:Shenandoah Valley Railroad
637:Chesapeake Western Railway
627:Buckingham Branch Railroad
285:Shenandoah Valley Railroad
210:and interchanges with the
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147:Chesapeake Western Railway
31:Chesapeake Western Railway
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652:Delmarva Central Railroad
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529:Lewis, Edward A. (1996).
281:Pleasant Valley, Virginia
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807:Norfolk Southern Railway
708:Virginia Railway Express
672:Norfolk Southern Railway
301:James Madison University
268:Norfolk Southern Railway
170:Norfolk Southern Railway
736:Norfolk Naval Shipyard
403:www.virginiaplaces.org
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752:Busch Gardens Railway
611:Railroads of Virginia
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191:Bridgewater, Virginia
647:Commonwealth Railway
307:Price, C.G. (1992).
166:operating subsidiary
429:Jobe, Nick (2018).
232:Lexington, Virginia
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792:Virginia railroads
745:Heritage railroads
696:Passenger carriers
642:CSX Transportation
376:American-Rails.com
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272:Linville, Virginia
258:Current operations
228:Staunton, Virginia
95:Dates of operation
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542:978-0-89024-290-2
247:historical marker
220:Southern Railways
208:Shenandoah Valley
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352:. Archived from
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160:in west-central
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69:Norfolk Southern
65:Current operator
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187:Harrisonburg
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240:welded rail
109:Track gauge
786:Categories
764:See also:
515:2024-07-25
490:2024-07-25
465:2024-07-25
440:2024-07-25
408:2024-07-25
381:2024-07-25
327:References
319:B0006QI8ZW
103:Technical
274:in 2012.
162:Virginia
158:railroad
128: in
89:Virginia
60:Overview
53:ALCO T-6
303:Library
299:at the
216:N&W
212:C&O
183:grading
176:History
168:of the
164:and an
123:⁄
703:Amtrak
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218:, and
203:Elkton
195:timber
85:Locale
230:, to
537:ISBN
315:ASIN
287:.
145:The
154:CHW
80:CHW
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
