Chesterfield Railroad

Chesterfield Railroad

Locale	eastern Virginia
Dates of operation	1831 – 1851
Track gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters

1856 map, note: labeled as Coal Brook RR

The Chesterfield Railroad was located in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was a 13 mile (21 km) long mule-and-gravity powered line that connected the Midlothian coal mines with wharves that were located at Manchester, directly across from Richmond. It began operating in 1831, was Virginia's first railroad, and one of the first in the U.S.

History

Coal mining in the Midlothian area of Chesterfield County began in the 18th century. By 1824, Midlothian coal mine owners were frustrated by the difficulty of transporting on the toll road now known as Midlothian Turnpike more than 1,000,000 bushels of coal by wagons and horse teams to waiting ships below the falls at Manchester in the James River. Seeking a better method of transportation so that their markets could be expanded, in 1825, a group of mine owners, including Nicholas Mills, Beverly Randolph and Abraham S. Wooldridge, resolved to build a tramway.

Planning and construction 1827-1831

In the winter of 1827, Claudius Crozet, Virginia's State Engineer, surveyed the proposed route, deeming it feasible for construction. This feasibility study was necessary to obtain funding assistance from the Virginia Board of Public Works.

In February, 1828, the Chesterfield Railroad Company obtained its charter from the Virginia General Assembly. Within a year, $100,000 stock was subscribed, half purchased by the colliers of Chesterfield County and half by Richmond-area investors. The company hired Moncure Robinson, (1802-1891) a European-trained engineer and U.S. railroad pioneer to supervise construction.

In 1830, capital stock was increased to $150,000 to cover unexpectedly high construction expenses. By June, 1831, the construction was completed at $127,000 total cost.

Most profitable railroad in the world 1831-1850

By September, 1831, the railroad was operational, using horses, mules and gravity as motive power. 160 cars were put into operation, and it was an instant financial success.

In 1836, the Chesterfield Railroad Company reported carrying 25,903 cars, 84,976 tons (77,089 tonnes) of coal. It received gross revenues of $83,409. This equaled 19% of stockholders' original investment repaid plus 6% dividend. It was reputed to be the most profitable railroad in the world at the time.

By 1844, it had repaid the stockholders' entire original investment and consequently came under regulation of Virginia Board of Public Works, which adjusted charges to fix a dividend return of 6%. The rate for carrying coal reduced from 6¢ per bushel to 3¢.

Outmoded by steam railroad competition 1850-1851

In 1850, the new steam-driven Richmond and Danville Railroad began operation to Coalfield Station (later renamed Midlothian). Unsuccessful lawsuits followed, and the Chesterfield Railroad was quickly supplanted by the competition. It filed its last report with the Virginia Board of Public Works in 1851. With permission from the state legislature, the Chesterfield Railroad was dismantled before the American Civil War.

Design features

Operating its entire lifetime without any locomotives, Chesterfield Railroads moved it railcars loaded with coal mostly by gravity downhill to the docks on the James River at the southern edge of Manchester. In places where the line ran uphill, mules helped the cars climb some slopes. The empty cars were hauled back uphill by the mules to the mine, to be reloaded again. In one area the weight of the loaded cars and their downhill motion pulled the empty cars (connected to the full ones by ropes and drums) back toward the mines.

One of the most remarkable features was a cycloidal inclined plane, a drum and rope device by which loaded coal-carrying cars lowered down the steep western slope of Falling Creek Valley pull two empty cars up the slope.

Heritage & Remnants

The Chesterfield Railroad is commemorated by two Virginia Historical Markers and an exhibit in the Chesterfield Museum.

First Railroad in Virginia Historical marker & remnant site nearby

Historical marker First Railroad in Virginia, S-30, is located on U.S. Highway 60, 3.78 miles (6.08 km) west of the Richmond city limits at State Route 150, and 1.5 miles (2.41 km) west of the junctions of US Highway 60 and State Route 76.

At this location, a short portion of the former rail bed on a fill is still visible just south of the marker, between a retail center and a condominium complex.