Virginia & Southwestern Railway

V&SW History

In 1899, George L. Carter bought the South Atlantic & Ohio Railway (Bristol to Appalachia VA via Moccasin Gap and Natural Tunnel) and the Bristol Elizabethton & North Carolina Railroad (Bristol to Butler and Maymead TN). The new name for the combined railroad was the Virginia & Southwestern Railway. The northern segment was focused on coal, the southern segment on timber.

The Railway’s Headquarters, Yard, and Shops were in Bristol, Tennessee, and provided a key interchange for the Norfolk & Western and Southern Railways. There was also a yard in Appalchia VA.

Over the few years that Carter owned the railroad, he acquired a few spur railroads. He also extended the line to Mountain City TN.

Narrative by Ron Flanary

Virginia & Southwestern 2-8-0 No. 70 and crew are shown in this undated (but prior to 1916) scene at Appalachia, Va. The L&N CV Division main line is just above and behind the engine. Check out the Indian silhouette and brass candle sticks mounted in front of the headlight. I’m not a steam expert, but this engine appears to have inboard Stephenson valve gear and piston valves. Two of these hogs double headed could probably handle no more than 18 to 20 loaded coal cars eastbound.”

V&SW Stats

Founded: 1899
Operated: 1899 – 1906
Abbreviation: V&SW
Predecessor: Virginia & Kentucky Railroad, Bristol Coal & Iron Narrow Gauge Railroad, South Atlantic & Ohio
Initial Route: Bristol/Abingdon VA to Big Stone Gap VA
Final Length: 128 Miles, Mountain City TN to Appalachia VA
Noteworthy: ‘The Natural Tunnel Route’
Headquarters: Bristol
Cities: Bristol, Hiltons, Mendota, Gate City, Big Stone Gap, Appalachia VA, Bluff City, Elizabethton, Mountain City TN
Key Individuals: George L. Carter
Successor: Southern Railway
Today: Norfolk Southern Railway. The segment from Bristol to Moccasin Gap was abandoned. The eastern segment from Bristol to Mendota is now the Mendota Trail (Rails-to-Trails).

Southern Railway

The V&SW was eventually sold to the Southern Railway in 1906, during the period when Carter started making plans to build the Clinchfield Railroad. The V&SW was initially part of his business plan to haul coal southward from Virginia, but eventually it was clear he needed a shorter, more direct and easy to operate line across the mountains to the Carolinas.

One of the related rail lines the Southern Railway purchased was the Holston River Railroad in 1908. The line, which was under construction, connected the Virginia and Southwestern Railroad at Moccasin Gap with the Southern Railway at Bulls Gap TN. This allowed the railroads a much easier route for westbound or southbound coal, through either Knoxville TN or Asheville NC. It also increased railroad competition in the the coalfields, especially with the L&N.

For a decade the V&SW operated as a independent railroad, but in 1916 it became an operating division of the Southern Railway.

Virginia & Southwestern Railway Railfan Guide

Click here for a complete Railfan Guide for the V&SW Railway, including an interactive map and pictures.

More Southern Railway information will be added to this page and others in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the railroads, the region, or model railroading.

Links for Additional Information

NY Times article announcing sale of V&S to Southern Railway for a rumored $10M

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/08/30/101795496.html?pageNumber=8

http://www.virginiaplaces.org/rail/vasouthwestern.html

Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Southern Railway and its predecessors. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Southern-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.

Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
Book – Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
Book – Harshaw: ‘Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians’
Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
Book – Reisweber: ‘Southern Railway Power’
Book – Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone’
Book – Stout: ‘Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service’
Book – Ward: ‘Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979’
Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
Book – Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Southern Railway Handbook’
Book – Withers & Sink: ‘Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial’
Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
Website – Hawkinsrails.net
Website – Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
Website – Multimodalways.org: Norfolk Southern Track Charts
Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
Website – SteamLocomotive.com
Website – TheDieselShop.us
Website – VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia

Contact Us

Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the Southern or Model Railroads.

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org