Virginia Beach, Virginia's development is tied to the establishment of a transportation infrastructure that allowed access to the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

shoreline.

History

In 1883, the Norfolk, Virginia Beach Railroad and Improvement Company built a narrow-gauge road between the namesake cities. The venture struggled, and was reorganized in 1887 as the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad, and in 1891 as the Norfolk, Albemarle and Southern Railroad, before being sold under court order in 1896, becoming the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Atlantic Railroad. Standard-gauged in 1898, a branch was constructed from Virginia Beach to Munden Point from which steamers plied

Currituck Sound Currituck Sound ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Norfolk and Southern Railroad Norfolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and east, Cambridgeshire to the west, a ...

in January 1900. The Chesapeake Transit Company opened an electric traction line from

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

to Virginia Beach by way of

Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Ch ...

in 1902, and the N&S extended its steam line north to Cape Henry to meet the competition. The Norfolk & Southern electrified its beach line in 1904 and purchased the transit company, giving the road two parallel lines up the beach. The steam line was abandoned, and the loop line thus created much in the development of beach real estate. Electric power was provided by a coal-fired plant at Bayville, on the northern beach route. The Norfolk Southern found its passenger business threatened by highway development in the mid-1920s, and as with many railroads in that period, the NS created a highway bus subsidiary, the Norfolk Southern Bus Corp., commencing operations in June 1926. The NS bus routes primarily paralleled the rail lines. During the 1920s and 1930s, a conventional train with a through Pullman from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, hauled by electric boxcab locomotives, operated to the Cavalier Hotel. Gas electric cars replaced the electric cars in 1935, and passenger service ended altogether in 1948, on the beach as well as the southbound lines. Sold at foreclosure in 1941 after the Depression, the Norfolk Southern Railway began operations in 1942, and of disused track between

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

and Munden was taken up in 1943 for the war effort scrap drives. A timetable effective April 28, 1946, shows eleven round-trips (22 trains) between Terminal Station-Norfolk, and the Cavalier Hotel, although train no. 65 would operate to 122nd Street, after the 6:55 p.m. stop at the hotel, if passengers so desired.Kutta, Paul. ''Rail Cars to Tidewater ''. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.: National Railway Historical Society, National Bulletin, Volume 48, Number 2, 1983, pages 24-25. The of the line along Virginia Beach were lifted in 1950, and the North Shore route in 1954. On August 8, 2007, the new

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

(product of the 1982 merger between the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Southern Railway System, who had acquired ownership of the NS in 1974) filed to abandon of the existing east–west line between Norfolk and Virginia Beach.Waukesha, Wisconsin: TRAINS magazine, November 2007, page 16. ''Depot'' The primary depot was located at Seventeenth Street at approximately milepost 17.5, although several other stops were made, including the Cavalier Hotel, although most were little more than concrete alighting platforms.Traser, Donald R.. ''Virginia Railway Depots''. Richmond, Virginia.: Old Dominion Chapter - National Railway Historical Society, 1998. No ISBN.

Modern Day

The city is primarily served by the nearby

Norfolk International Airport Norfolk International Airport is northeast of downtown Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk, within the boundaries of the independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Au ...

. Also located within the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is 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 Point near whe ...

metro area is the

Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport Newport News-Williamsburg Airport is in Newport News, Virginia, United States, and serves the Hampton Roads area along with Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk. The airport is owned and operated by the Peninsula Airport Commission, a polit ...

. The city is connected to

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at the Bowers Hill ...

via

I-264 Interstate 264 is the designation for two Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 64: *Interstate 264 (Kentucky), a bypass of Louisville, Kentucky *Interstate 264 (Virginia) Interstate 264 (I-264) ...

, which runs from the oceanfront, intersects with I-64 on the east side of

, and continues through

downtown Norfolk Downtown Norfolk serves as the traditional center of commerce, government, and culture in the Hampton Roads region. Norfolk, Virginia's downtown waterfront shipping and port activities historically played host to numerous and often noxious port an ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

until rejoining I-64 at the terminus of both roads in

Chesapeake Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

where

Interstate 664 Interstate 664 (I-664) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. The Interstate runs from I-64 and I-264 in Chesapeake north to I-64 in Hampton. I-664 forms the west side of the Hampton Roads Beltway, a circumfe ...

completes the loop which forms the

Hampton Roads Beltway The Hampton Roads Beltway is a loop of Interstate 64 and Interstate 664, which links the communities of the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads which surround the body of water known as Hampton Roads and comprise much of the region o ...

. Travelers to and from Virginia Beach can access the Hampton Roads Beltway in either direction from I-264 in Norfolk to use a choice of the two bridge-tunnel facilities to cross Hampton Roads to reach the

Peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

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

and points north. The city is also connected to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Eastern Shore Eastern Shore may refer to: * Regions in the Delmarva Peninsula: ** Eastern Shore of Maryland ** Eastern Shore of Virginia * Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), a region * Eastern Shore (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia ...

region via the

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

(CBBT), which is the longest bridge-tunnel complex in the world and known as one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World. The CBBT, a tolled facility carries

U.S. Route 13 U.S. Route 13 or U.S. Highway 13 (US 13) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina, to US 1 in the northeast ...

. Transportation within the city, as well as with other cities of

is served by a regional bus service,

Hampton Roads Transit Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) is the regional public transit provider for Virginia's Hampton Roads metropolitan area, including the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, and the town o ...

.Hampton Roads Transit
/ref>

References

{{Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

History

Modern Day

See also

References