Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad

The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built between Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia and was completed by 1858. The line was 85 miles (137 km) of 5 ft (1,524 mm)track gauge.

It played a role on the American Civil War (1861–1865), and became part of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O) in 1870. The AM&O became the Norfolk and Western (N&W) in 1881. About 100 years later, the Norfolk and Western was combined with the Southern Railway, another profitable carrier, to form the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982.

In the 21st century, almost all of the original well-engineered N&P, including the corduroy roadbed through the Great Dismal Swamp and 52-mile tangent alignment is still in service. It forms part of a major coal export route terminating at Lambert's Point near 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.

Although railroads emerged as a new transport technology in the 1830s, and a line of the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad reached nearby Portsmouth in 1835, Norfolk was to wait 20 more years for a railroad line. In 1851, the authority to build the line was finally obtained followed many years of lobbying by Norfolk area politicians who were attempting to overcome opposition in the Virginia General Assembly. The representatives of inland port cities such as Richmond and Petersburg correctly foresaw that building the new railroad would lessen their role in export shipping trade. Dr. Francis Mallory (1807–1860) a former Representative in the United States Congress and later a member of the Virginia General Assembly was named the railroad's first president.

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