The Chesapeake Western Railway is an intrastate

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in west-central

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and it is an

operating subsidiary An operating subsidiary is a subsidiary of a corporation through which the parent company (which may or may not be a holding company) indirectly conducts some portion of its business. Usually, an operating subsidiary can be distinguished in that ...

of the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

. It extended from

Elkton, Virginia Elkton (formerly Conrad's Store) is an incorporated town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. It is included in the Harrisonburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,762 at the 2010 census. Elkton was named for the Elk ...

on the South Fork of the

Shenandoah River The Shenandoah River is the principal tributary of the Potomac River, long with two forks approximately long each,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 in t ...

in Rockingham County to Stokesville, Virginia in

Augusta County Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Its county ...

at the foot of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

. At Elkton, it interchanged with the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

. At

Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. At the 2 ...

it interchanged with the Southern Railway. Construction began in 1895 in Harrisonburg by the Chesapeake and Western Railroad, and proceed both east and west. To the west,

Bridgewater, Virginia Bridgewater is an incorporated town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. The population was 6,596 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. History William Magill first settled alo ...

was the original terminus, but the line was extended to Stokesville by 1901 by the newly reorganized Chesapeake Western Railway. In 1933 the line was cut back to Bridgewater, and later to

Dayton, Virginia Dayton is a town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. The population is 1,530 as of the 2010 census. It is included in the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Dayton is located at (38.416323, -78.939440). The ...

. To the east the line reached Elkton by 1896, where the line's main yard and shops were constructed. In 1938 the line was bought by the line's general manager, Don Thomas, with the help of Norfolk and Western, which assumed direct control in 1954. In 1942, the Baltimore and Ohio's Valley Road of Virginia line, which ran between Harrisonburg and

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

was purchased, though the portion from

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

to Lexington was promptly dismantled. Later, a portion of the same line to the north of Harrisonburg as far as

Mount Jackson, Virginia Mount Jackson is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,994 at the 2010 census. For highway travelers passing by, Mount Jackson is easily identified from Interstate 81, I-81 exit 27 ...

was added. The Chesapeake Western Railway operates three rail lines under Norfolk Southern ownership: *Chesapeake Western (Elkton to Dayton) *Chesapeake Western (Harrisonburg to Pleasant Valley) *Chesapeake Western (Harrisonburg to Bowman) At one time, the Chesapeake Western Railway operated its trackage as one rail line called the Chesapeake Western Branch under Norfolk Southern ownership, before it was split into three separate rail lines. A portion of the line south of Harrisonburg between

Pleasant Valley, Rockingham County, Virginia Pleasant Valley is an unincorporated community in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. Geography Pleasant Valley is located south-southeast of Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley reg ...

is owned and operated by the Shenandoah Valley Railroad. Furthermore, the old Chesapeake Western Station remains standing in downtown Harrisonburg.

References

Detailed history

James Madison University Library, (Chesapeake and Western documents)

James Madison University Library, (Smals diaries)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesapeake Western Railway Virginia railroads Predecessors of the Norfolk and Western Railway Railway companies established in 1901