Shenandoah Valley Railroad (1867–1890)
| Locale | Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1867–1890 |
| Successor | Norfolk and Western Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Roanoke, Virginia |
Shenandoah Valley Railroad was a line completed on June 19, 1882, extending down the Shenandoah Valley from Hagerstown, Maryland through the West Virginia panhandle into Virginia to reach Roanoke, Virginia and to connect with the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). The development of this railroad had considerable backing from the Pennsylvania Railroad. In September 1890 it went into bankruptcy and was reorganized as the Shenandoah Valley Railway. In December 1890, it became part of N&W. Today the tracks are a major artery of the Norfolk Southern system.
South of Harrisonburg, Virginia, a former part of the Norfolk Southern System a few miles west was a parallel line originally called the Valley Railroad. It was built in the late 19th century by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a fierce competitor of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The line was purchased in 1942 by the Chesapeake Western Railway. A portion extending northward from Staunton, Virginia in Augusta County and Rockingham County became a new short-line railroad formed late in the 20th century by several major shippers. The historic name of the once rival was adopted for the current privately owned intrastate Shenandoah Valley Railroad.
The organizers of the SVRR planned to construct a railroad from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) station in Hagerstown, Maryland (a branch out of Harrisburg, PA called the Cumberland Valley Railroad) to the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad (V&T) in Salem, Virginia. The route called for 243 miles (391 km) of new construction. The line follows closely the great iron ore belt along the western slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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