The Southside Railroad was formed in Virginia in 1846. Construction was begun in 1849 and completed in 1854. The

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...

Confederate Railroads - South Side
/ref> railroad connected City Point, a port on the James River with the farm country south and west of

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Econ ...

, to

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

, a distance of about . The Southside Railroad was important to the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

(1861–1865). Ravaged by the war, it was rebuilt and later became an important part of

Norfolk and Western 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 "Precisi ...

and

Norfolk Southern 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, ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

route from the mountains to port at

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

. In addition to coal, most of the route is in active use in the 20th century for intermodal container and automobile parts and completed vehicle shipments.

Charter, construction, City Point Railroad

The charter for the new Southside Railroad was issued by the State of

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 ...

in 1846 with 1 million dollars of capital. The State of

gave all of its stock in the

Petersburg Railroad The Petersburg Railroad ran from Petersburg, Virginia, south to Garysburg, North Carolina, from which it ran to Weldon via trackage rights over the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad (later eliminated with a new alignment). History Founding In 183 ...

to the City of Petersburg for the construction of the Southside Railroad. The stock was given on the condition that construction must start in three years or the stock would revert to the State. The new board of directors began directing the extending of the line to Lynchburg to make a junction with the

Richmond and Danville Railroad The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on of track in nine states. Chartered on March 9, 1847, the railroad completed its ...

. The board purchased four and a half thousand tonnes of iron from England to be paid with cash and delivered by ship to City Point. They also purchased 20,000 sills,

railroad tie A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie ( Canadian English) or railway sleeper ( Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties tran ...

s, made of trees which resisted rot, Juniper, American chestnut and

Post Oak ''Quercus stellata'', the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges also grows in poor soils, and is resistant to r ...

to be delivered to the wharf. The board purchased land to build a depot. They hired an engineering team with one chief engineer, six assistant engineers and 17

enslaved Africans The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

. To grade and build the whole line, they hired 16 contractors, each outfitted with a wagon, carts, teams of horses and the employ of almost 800 laborers in total. The city of Petersburg put forward over $400,000 and 44 investors invested $14,000. The City of

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowi ...

bought a subscription of $100,000. Individual investors bought $150,000 dollars worth of stock. The company could begin grading and building the railroad to Lynchburg. Construction began from the eastern end in 1849, reaching Burkeville and a connection with the

in 1852. (The latter was still also building east-to-west, but had been completed east to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

.) Following a more circuitous route through

in response to financial incentives from the community, the railroad constructed the famous 21 span High Bridge across the Appomattox River valley about east of Farmville. The structure was long and as high as in the center, one of the largest in the world when built. The Southside Railroad was completed to

Percival Island Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the Gra ...

across the James River from Lynchburg in 1854. Also in 1854, the Southside Railroad acquired the long

City Point Railroad In 1836, the Virginia House of Delegates approved a charter for the City Point Railroad. City Point, Virginia, was just ten years old. The Lower Appomattox Company ran boats of cargo from Petersburg, Virginia, to the large port at City Point. The c ...

. It had been purchased by the City of Petersburg in 1847, and renamed Appomattox Railroad. Paralleling the Appomattox River from Petersburg to its confluence with the James River at City Point, the City Point Railroad provided an ideal link for the Southside Railroad to reach a deep water steamship connection on the navigable portion of the larger river.

Connections and stations

South Side Railroad Stations City Point Spur (Formerly

) 9 Petersburg to Shops Spur 1 Main Line # Sutherland's # Ford's # Wilson's (

Water stop A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where steam trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as a "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines when large amounts of ...

) # Wellville # Blacks & Whites # Nottoway # Burkeville (Junction with the

) # Rice's # High Bridge #

# Prospect # Pamplin's #

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

# Appomattox # Spout Spring #

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

# Lynchburg By late 1860, the Southside Railroad provided connections with the following other transportation entities: *Petersburg **

extending south to

Weldon, North Carolina Weldon is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area. History In 1752, Daniel Weldon purchased 1,273 acre ...

Richmond and Petersburg Railroad The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad moved passengers and goods between Richmond and Petersburg from 1838 to 1898. It survived the American Civil War and eventually merged into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1900. History The Richmond and Pe ...

extending north to Richmond **

Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built between Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia and was completed by 1858. The line was of track gauge. It played a role on the American Civil War (1861–1865), and became part of the Atlantic, Mississip ...

(after Sept. 1858) extending east to Suffolk and

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

*Burkeville **

northeast to Richmond, southwest to Danville *Lynchburg **

James River and Kanawha Canal The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a ...

east to Richmond, building west **

Virginia and Tennessee Railroad The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was an historic gauge railroad in the Southern United States, much of which is incorporated into the modern Norfolk Southern Railway. It played a strategic role in supplying the Confederacy during the American ...

west to Salem and

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and connections south and west extending all the way to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

** Orange and Alexandria Railroad northeast through the Piedmont to

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

American Civil War

The Southside Railroad from Petersburg west was a vital resource for the Confederacy as a supply line for Richmond and Petersburg during the

(1861–1865). Beyond the lines of battle until the war's last year, the principal damage it suffered was the financial weakness caused by Confederate compensation policies and currency. The

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

destroyed most of the rail around Petersburg. Half of the eight mile City Point Railroad, was completely removed and another two miles was beyond repair. Only two and a half miles from Petersburg was the track even salvageable. The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

rebuilt it.

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

requested a railroad to help with supplies for the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

, knowing from past experience that it would be needed. Grant empowered Mr. C. L. McAlpine, engineer of construction and repairs, to rebuild the City Point to Petersburg Railroad, as soon as the fighting moved elsewhere. McAlpine commenced operations when he arrived on June 18, 1864. The City Point Railroad portion of the Southside Railroad was of great value to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

forces during the

in 1864-65. General Grant used and extended it to move supplies and troops from the port at City Point to the area south and east of Petersburg, operating it as a U.S. Military Railroad. In the last year of the Civil War, the U.S. Government rebuilt ten miles of tracks, a hospital and a bakery on the Southside Railroad and rebuilt

trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles trian ...

Railroad Wharf at City Point, Va - NARA - 525132

Stations & Waypoints of the Military railroad # City Point

Terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

(Mile 0) #Hospital spur (Mile 1.5) #Wood Pile (Mile 2) #Cedar Level Station (Mile 4) #Clark's Station (Mile 4.25) #Pitkin's Junction (Mile 5.75) #Birney's Station (Mile 7) #Meade's Station (Mile 8) #"Shooting Hill" (Mile 9) #Hancock's Junction/ Jerusalem Plank Road (Mile 11) #Gregg's Station (Mile 12 S) #Crawford's Station Terminus (Mile 13.5 S) #Parke's Station (Mile 13 N) #Warren's Junction/

Weldon Railroad Weldon may refer to: Places In Canada: * Weldon, Saskatchewan In England: * Weldon, Northamptonshire * Weldon, Northumberland In the United States: * Weldon, Arkansas * Weldon, California * Weldon, Illinois * Weldon, Iowa * Weldon, North Caroli ...

(Mile 14.5 N) #Patrick's Station Terminus (Mile 16 N) #Humphreys Station Terminus (Mile 18.5 S) Map of the Southern States of North America - Cropped to show the Southern Railroad

Map of the Southern States of North America - Cropped to show the Southern Railroad

Merger into the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio Railroad

After the War, the stockholders of the Southside Railroad elected former

Major General (CSA) The general officers of the Confederate States Army (CSA) were the senior military leaders of the Confederacy during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. They were often former officers from the United States Army (the regular army) prior to t ...

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was an American civil engineer, railroad executive, Confederate States Army general, and Virginia politician. As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia's roads and railroa ...

, chief engineer on the

, as president of their road. He had some fame from his part in the

Battle of the Crater The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the siege of Petersburg. It took place on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Arm ...

. In the post-war years, William Mahone became the driving force in the linkage of N&P, Southside Railroad and the

. He was president of all three by the end of 1867. Mahone wanted to combine them into a single entity and expand westward. He lobbied the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

to gain the legislation necessary to form the

Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O) was formed in 1870 in Virginia from three east–west railroads which traversed across the southern portion of the state. Organized and led by former Confederate general William Mahone (1826-1895 ...

(AM&O), a new line composed of the 3 railroads he headed, extending 408 miles from Norfolk to

Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State S ...

in 1870. The former Southside Railroad formed one of three original A, M & O divisions.

Southside Railroad today

The former Southside Railroad formed a major piece of the

used to transport bituminous coal from the mines in southwestern Virginia and southern

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

to port at Norfolk, where a huge coal pier was built at

Lambert's Point Lamberts Point is a point of land on the east shore of the Elizabeth River near the downtown area of the independent city of Norfolk in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States. It includes a large coal exporting facilit ...

. Over 150 years after completion, much of the former Southside Railroad route remained in active use until 2005, when the corridor was abandoned and subsequently turned over to the Virginia DCR (Dept of Conservation and Recreation) for conversion to a rail trail linear park called

High Bridge Trail State Park High Bridge Trail State Park is a rail trail in Southside Virginia converted from a rail line last belonging to Norfolk Southern. The first section of the High Bridge Trail opened in 2008 and the final section was completed in 2012. With a lengt ...

. Construction on the High Bridge began March 7, 2011 and the bridge was officially opened to the public April 5, 2012. The bridge itself was rehabilitated via a federal grant of 2 million dollars. It is the namesake of the park. The trail is a total of 31 miles long and runs from Burkeville to Pamplin City. Both ends terminate just before their destinations, however the park service is currently working with the railroad to acquire the end caps to complete the trail.

Presidents

* William Pannill (August 22, 1849 – 1856) * Thomas H. Campbell (1857 – 1860 or after) * Lemuel Peebles (1860 or after – December 1865) *

(December 1865 – 1870)

References

*Blake, Nelson Morehouse, Phd. (1935) ''William Mahone of Virginia; Soldier and Political Insurgent'', Garrett and Massie Publishers; Richmond, VA *Dixon, Thomas W, Jr., (1994) ''Appalachian Coal Mines & Railroads''. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc. *Huddleston, Eugene L, Ph.D. (2002) ''Appalachian Conquest'', Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc. *Lambie, Joseph T. (1954) ''From Mine to Market: The History of Coal Transportation on the Norfolk and Western Railway'' New York: New York University Press *Lewis, Lloyd D. (1992) ''The Virginian Era''. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc. *Lewis, Lloyd D. (1994) ''Norfolk & Western and Virginian Railways in Color by H. Reid''. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc. *Prince, Richard E. (1980) ''Norfolk & Western Railway, Pocahontas Coal Carrier'', R.E. Prince; Millard, NE *Reid, H. (1961). ''The Virginian Railway'' (1st ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Co. *Reisweber, Kurt (1995) ''Virginian Rails 1953-1993'' (1st ed.) Old Line Graphics. *Striplin, E. F. Pat. (1981) ''The Norfolk & Western : a history'' Roanoke, Va. : Norfolk and Western Railway Co. *Traser, Donald R. (1998) ''Virginia Railway Depots''. Old Dominion Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. *Wiley, Aubrey and Wallace, Conley (1985). ''The Norfolk and Western Railway Handbook''. Lynchburg, Virginia: W-W Publications.

External links

South Side Railroad During the Civil War in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Southside Railroad Virginia Defunct Virginia railroads Predecessors of the Norfolk and Western Railway Railway companies established in 1846 Railway companies disestablished in 1871 5 ft gauge railways in the United States 1846 establishments in Virginia