Virginia Air Line Railway
| Reporting mark | VAL |
|---|---|
| Locale | Central Virginia |
| Dates of operation | 1908–1975 |
| Successor | abandoned |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 29.8 miles (48.0 km) |
| Headquarters | Troy, Virginia |
Virginia Air Line Railroad (VAL) was a short-line railroad that operated from 1908 to 1975 in Central Virginia. It was built by the Virginia Air Line Railway Company to connect the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's (C&O) Piedmont Subdivision at Lindsay, Virginia, to the Rivanna Subdivision of C&O's James River Line at Strathmore Yard, near Bremo Bluff, Virginia.
The route was once an important link for providing coal to power the Washington, D.C. area. However, facing increased competition from other modes of transportation such as trucks and automobiles, service on the rail line was cut back and eventually abandoned after 67 years of declining use.
The idea for the railroad originated from C&O president George Stevens. The Commonwealth of Virginia issued a charter to the Virginia Air Line Railway Company on April 10, 1906. Construction began in October 1906, under chief engineer Walter Washabaugh of Charlottesville, Virginia. Designed as an air-line railroad, the slope of grades were limited to 1 percent and the curvature of tracks were limited to six degrees. By 1907, 17 miles (27 km) of the approximately 30 miles (48 km) of planned track had been laid from the initial junction of Lindsay to the Fluvanna County seat of Palmyra. Six bridges were built on the railway: four under contract with the American Bridge Company, and one each by the Phoenix Bridge Company and the Virginia Bridge & Iron Company. A quarry was opened in Carysbrook to mine granite for bridge construction. The project was budgeted at $900,000 at a cost of about $30,000 per mile. Around May 1908, a full-service agency for the rail line was built in the town of Clarkland, newly renamed Troy after Virginia Air Line Railway company president "Captain" T. O. Troy.
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