Virginia Southern Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Virginia Southern Railroad is a shortline railroad
division of the North Carolina and Virginia Railroad
, a RailAmerica
subsidiary, operating 78 miles (125.5 km) of track between Norfolk Southern Railway
connections at Oxford, North Carolina
and Burkeville, Virginia
. The line was built by the Oxford and Clarksville Railroad, Clarksville and North Carolina Railroad, Atlantic and Danville Railway, Richmond and Mecklenburg Railroad, and Richmond and Danville Railroad
, all predecessors of the Southern Railway (except for the short piece of A&D, which left the Southern system for the Norfolk and Western Railway
), and in November 1988 successor Norfolk Southern leased it to the new Virginia Southern Railroad as the first spin-off in its Thoroughbred Shortline Program
.
Shortline railroad
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the USA and Canada...
division of the North Carolina and Virginia Railroad
North Carolina and Virginia Railroad
The North Carolina and Virginia Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates of track.The NCVA began operations in 1987 on a former Seaboard Coast Line Railroad from Boykins, Virginia, to Tunis in Cofield, North Carolina. The headquarters are in Ahoskie, North Carolina...
, a RailAmerica
RailAmerica
RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada....
subsidiary, operating 78 miles (125.5 km) of track between Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
connections at Oxford, North Carolina
Oxford, North Carolina
Oxford is a city in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,461 at the 2010 census It is the county seat of Granville County.-History:...
and Burkeville, Virginia
Burkeville, Virginia
Burkeville is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, United States. The population was 489 at the 2000 census. The source of the town name is disputed. The town is located on the crossroads of U.S. Routes 360 and 460....
. The line was built by the Oxford and Clarksville Railroad, Clarksville and North Carolina Railroad, Atlantic and Danville Railway, Richmond and Mecklenburg Railroad, and Richmond and Danville Railroad
Richmond and Danville Railroad
The Richmond and Danville Railroad was chartered in Virginia in the United States in 1847. The portion between Richmond and Danville, Virginia was completed in 1856...
, all predecessors of the Southern Railway (except for the short piece of A&D, which left the Southern system for the Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
), and in November 1988 successor Norfolk Southern leased it to the new Virginia Southern Railroad as the first spin-off in its Thoroughbred Shortline Program
Thoroughbred Shortline Program
The Thoroughbred Shortline Program was a system of shortline creation devised by Norfolk Southern in the late 1980s. It involved an alternative to the typical practice of a Class I railroad selling rail lines outright to shortlines in the post-Staggers Act era...
.