Dear Fellow Forum Dwellers:

I am embarking on a project wherein I am assisting in the researching of Richmond, VA circa 1860 and the rail lines servicing that area including, but not limited to the following:

Richmond & Danville
Richmond & Petersburg
Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac
Virginia Central
Richmond & York River

and connections to those lines such as the following:

Orange & Alexandria
Manassas Gap
Norfolk & Petersburg
South Side
Petersburg RR

What I am seeking is any information on that subject including surviving ephemera (printed materials – tickets, timetables, maps, &c.) equipment rosters, newspaper articles, leads on repositories of the above listed historical data, &c.

Any information that you may have and be willing to share or leads with which you are able to assist me are greatly appreciated. The goal is gaining a comprehensive knowledge of rail travel to Richmond, VA on the eve of “Mr. Lincoln’s War” and the material culture associated therewith, with the hope of examining extant ephemera.

Thank you for your collective time, attention and assistance.

--Jim

Check out the following links:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Civil_War_RRs/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Civil_War_Railroads_Pix/

http://www.csa-railroads.com/

The Civil War RR's group is one of the nicest groups of people in cyberdom. The're mostly concentrated in the east between Georgia and the northeast. They occasionally have get togethers, a City Point tour is under development for this fall. They are primarily focused on modeling, but there are a number of collectors and "railfan" reenactors in the group also. CSA Railroads will have much of the info you are seeking available online. I have some of the Richard Prince steam locomotive books if you need any info from them, although most of the CW era information in them is duplicated on CSA Railroads.

Regards,

Gary,

Thank you for the links. The Confederate Railroads site looks like a great starting point!

A tour of City Point sounds intriguing as well. I think I need to get in on that fun!

Kind regards,

--Jim

Also don't miss http://usmrr.blogspot.com/

Bernie Kempinski, a well known modeler, has tackled the Fredericksburg-Aquia Line in 1863. It's not quite the same, but there are probably a number of links there that will be helpful.

Excellent, Ed. Thanks!

Kind regards,

--Jim

I believe there was a book on the history of the C&O; it had several chapters on the O&A, Manassas Gap, and other early railroads that interchanged in Richmond.

I seem to remember that an NRHS Bulletin from the 70s had a history of the Virginia Central.

Dave Crow

Bernie is a member of the Civil War RR's group. He also makes some very nice kits.