Building the Virginian Railway began as a project to create an 80-mile (130 km)-long short line railroad to provide access for shipping of untapped bituminous coal reserves in southern West Virginia early in the 20th century. After facing a refusal of the big railroads (who had their own coal lands) to negotiate equitable rates to interchange and forward the coal for shipping, the owners and their investors expanded their scheme and built a U.S. Class I railroad which extended from some of the most rugged terrain of West Virginia over 400 miles (640 km) to reach port at Hampton Roads near Norfolk, Virginia.
Read more about Building The Virginian Railway: Southern West Virginia Natural Resources, Deepwater Railway: West Virginia Short-line, From The Mountains To The Sea, A Coup At Sewell's Point, Extending The Deepwater Railway To Meet The Tidewater Railway, Page Still Willing To Negotiate, Final Attempts To Block, Henry Rogers Steps Forward, 1907: Virginian Railway Born, Jamestown Exposition: Helping A Neighbor, Financial Panic of 1907, Rogers Suffers A Stroke, Final Spike, Celebrations, Tragedy, Last Tour Planned By Rogers, Legacy
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