Chesterfield Railroad
Posted by: 
johnjm99
N 37° 30.416 W 077° 34.834
18S E 271904 N 4154239
Transportation for the coal mined in Virginia.
Waymark Code: WM89Y
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 03/03/2006
Views: 19
In 1829 the Virginia General Assembly chartered the Chesterfield Rail Road Company, which built the first railroad in Virginia. Moncure Robinson (1802-1891), a railroad pioneer, designed the track, which once passed by here. In 1831, the company began hauling coal 13 miles from the Midlothian mines to the Manchester wharves on the James River. Horses and mules towed the loaded cars on some sections. Gravity propelled them on down hill grades and in one area the weight of the cars tugged the empty ones (connected to the full ones by ropes and drums) back toward the mines. This railroad functioned until 1851, when the locomotive-operated Richmond & Danville Railroad provided service to Chesterfield.
Marker Number: O 64
Marker Title: Chesterfield Raildroad
Marker Location: Route 60 and Robius Road
County or Independent City: Chesterfield
Marker Program Sponsor: Department of Historic Resources, 2002
Web Site: Not listed
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