Clover Hill Railroad
| Locale | Chesterfield, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1841–1877 |
| Successor | Brighthope Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia |
The Clover Hill Railroad was a railroad company that operated for 36 years in central Virginia near Richmond. The railroad was created to carry coal most efficiently from the Clover Hill Pitts in Winterpock, Virginia, to further transportation points in Chester, Virginia, where it could sold for a better price than on the Appomattox River in the Piedmont region. This made the railroad important to the Confederacy in the Civil War to ensure a supply of coal for munitions and iron working. The mines were dangerous for the miners, and many accidents occurred. The railroad had to be sold when coal mining declined so that new owners could find other uses for the railroad.
The Clover Hill Railroad Company was chartered in 1841 by the Virginia General Assembly to do business with the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad but was not allowed to charge more than 2 cents per bushel of coal shipped over the railroad. In 1845 the Clover Hill Railroad replaced the mules that brought coal from the Clover Hill Pitts to the Appomattox at Eppington to be shipped on the Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation System to Petersburg. In 1847, October 1, the Clover Mining Company built 18 miles (29 km) of railroad from the coal mines at Winterpock to the town of Chester to make a spur of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. By 1848 the railroad spur had hauled 56 tons of coal for export and 22 tons for use in Richmond and Petersburg.
The Clover Hill struggled with increases charged on prices for transporting coal to Richmond, Petersburg and Port Walthall by the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad in 1854. The Clover Hill also found it necessary to ask the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad to fulfill their agreements and maintain the Clover Hill Railroad tracks. In 1866 the Clover Hill Mining Company built a wharf at Osborne's Landing in order to load the coal on to ships to the coast. The line was extended to Osborne's Landing in 1867.
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