Virginian Railway Station

K-122

The Virginian Railway's 440-mile main line was completed in 1909 to transport coal from West Virginia to Tidewater. Standard Oil magnate Henry H. Rogers financed the $40 million project with William N. Page as his agent. The Virginian, famous for its superior infrastructure and innovative equipment, built its most substantial brick passenger depot in 1909 to serve Roanoke. Passenger service ended in 1956, and the Virginian merged with its longtime rival, the Norfolk and Western Railway, in 1959. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the depot is one of the few surviving structures of Roanoke’s “other railroad.”

Department of Historic Resources, 2016

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Baltimore American, 27 Sept. 1908, 6 Apr. 1909. Ben Dulaney, N&W—Virginian Merger is Approved,” Commonwealth (Oct. 1959). Nathaniel Mason Pawlett, “The Virginian: A Railroad from the Romantic Era,” Bulletin, Virginia Dept. of Highways and Transportation, Sept. 1985. First Annual Report, The Virginian Railway Company (1910). Industrial World, 17 Jan. 1910. H. Reid, The Virginian Railway (1961) Richmond Times-Dispatch, 4 Apr. 1909, 4 June 1911, 30 Jan. 1956, 25 Oct. 1959. Roanoke Times, 26 April 1909. Virginian Railway Company, Inspection Trip Notes, 25 June 1930. Virginian Railway Heritage Trail, www.virginianrailwayheritagetrail.blogspot.com Virginian Railway Passenger Station, NRHP nomination (2003). Washington Herald, 15 Feb. 1909. Washington Post, 19 Oct., 10 Dec. 1908, 18 Dec. 1909, 2 May 1923, 19 July 1928, 1 Apr. 1959. Lou Athey, “William Nelson Page,” West Virginia Encyclopedia (www.wvencyclopedia.org) Karl C. Lilly III, “Virginian Railway,” West Virginia Encyclopedia (www.wvencyclopedia.org)