The Southside Railroad was formed in Virginia in 1846. Construction was begun in 1849 and completed in 1854.[1] [2] The gauge[3] railroad connected City Point, a port on the James River with the farm country south and west of Petersburg, Virginia, to Lynchburg, Virginia, a distance of about .
| Railroad Name: | Southside Railroad |
| Logo Filename: | SouthSideRailroadDepotPetersburgVA.JPG |
| Caption: | South Side Railroad Depot in Petersburg, VA at corner of Rock and River streets, built 1851, 1853. |
| Locale: | Virginia |
| Start Year: | 1854 |
| End Year: | 1870 |
| Successor Line: | Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad |
| Gauge: | gauge[4] |
| Hq City: | Petersburg, Virginia |
The Southside Railroad was important to the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Ravaged by the war, it was rebuilt and later became an important part of Norfolk and Western and Norfolk Southern's coal route from the mountains to port at Hampton Roads. 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.
The State of Virginia issued the charter for the new Southside Railroad in 1846, with a capital of $1 million. directed towards the project. The State of Virginia gave all of its stock in the Petersburg Railroad 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 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 ties, made of trees which resisted rot, Juniper, American chestnut and Post Oak 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. 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 bought a subscription of $100,000. Individual investors bought $150,000 worth of stock. The company could begin grading and building the railroad to Lynchburg.[5]
Construction began from the eastern end in 1849, reaching Burkeville and a connection with the Richmond and Danville Railroad in 1852. (The latter was still also building east-to-west, but had been completed east to Richmond.)
Following a more circuitous route through Farmville 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 across the James River from Lynchburg in 1854.
Also in 1854, the Southside Railroad acquired the 9miles long City Point Railroad. 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.
South Side Railroad StationsCity Point Spur (Formerly City Point Railroad) 9
Petersburg to Shops Spur 1
Main Line
By late 1860, the Southside Railroad provided connections with the following other transportation entities:
The Southside Railroad from Petersburg west was a vital resource for the Confederacy as a supply line for Richmond and Petersburg during the American Civil War (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 destroyed most of the rail around Petersburg. Half of the eight-mile City Point Railroad was completely removed and another two miles were beyond repair. Only two-and-a-half miles from Petersburg was the track even salvageable.[7]
The United States Army rebuilt it. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant requested a railroad to help with supplies for the Siege of Petersburg, 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.[7]
The City Point Railroad portion of the Southside Railroad was of great value to the Union forces during the Siege of Petersburg 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 bridges.[8]
Stations & Waypoints of the Military railroad
After the War, the stockholders of the Southside Railroad elected former Major General (CSA) William Mahone, chief engineer on the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, as president of their road. He had some fame from his part in the Battle of the Crater. In the post-war years, William Mahone became the driving force in the linkage of N&P, Southside Railroad and the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. 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 to gain the legislation necessary to form the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O), a new line composed of the 3 railroads he headed, extending 408 miles from Norfolk to Bristol, Virginia in 1870. The former Southside Railroad formed one of three original A, M & O divisions.
The former Southside Railroad formed a major piece of the Norfolk and Western used to transport bituminous coal from the mines in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia to port at Norfolk, where a huge coal pier was built at Lambert's Point. 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. 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. 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.