The Potomac, Fredericksburg, and Piedmont Railroad (PF&P) was a narrow gauge short-line railroad in central Virginia that operated between Fredericksburg and Orange, Virginia
AKA "The Poor Folks & Preachers" railroad.
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HistoryThe PF&P began as the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad, incorporated in 1853 by the Virginia General Assembly. By the time of the American Civil War, the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad had only completed precursory grading work and had laid no track; therefore, it was referred to as the "unfinished railroad." Construction of the line began in 1872 as a standard gauge line; the effort succeeded in laying eighteen miles of track west from Fredericksburg. Late in 1872, the railroad defaulted on a mortgage and was sold under foreclosure. The Fredericksburg, Orange, and Charlottesville Railroad, incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly in February 1872, bought the railroad with the stipulation that if the remaining 20 mile extension was not completed to Orange by July 1873, the railroad would forfeit its ownership of the line. After the Fredericksburg, Orange, and Charlottesville failed to bring the railroad to Orange by the specified time, the line was returned to the state and the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville name restored.
In 1876, the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad was renamed as the Potomac, Fredericksburg, and Piedmont Railroad. The new PF&P railroad was soon thereafter sold to the Royal Land Company of Virginia, which had in the same year purchased over 150,000 acres of coal, iron, and timber tracts in Virginia and West Virginia. The company planned to use the PF&P, which would be extended westward from Orange by the Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad, to transport these resources eastward.
The Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad was planned to construct a rail line from Orange, the western terminus of the PF&P, across Swift Run Gap into the Shenandoah Valley. The total cost of the 93 mile long Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad was projected to be $970,500, including depots and sidings. The PF&P's track was narrow gauged to 3' and was extended to Orange by early 1877, a distance of 38 miles from Fredericksburg, the eastern terminus of the line. The use of 3' narrow gauge instead of standard gauge allowed for a savings of 40%, and because of this, the company switched the original plans for the Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad from standard gauge to the more cost effective narrow gauge. Although the Royal Land Company had planned to extend the line from Mathias' Point (27 miles east of Fredericksburg on the Potomac River) to somewhere near Harrisonburg, Virginia, it failed to build beyond Orange to the west and Fredericksburg to the east. The cost of the 38 mile section that was actually constructed was $956,425.83, and since the Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad never came to fruition, its projected costs were not realized. The previous owners of the railroad regained control in 1878, and continued operations hauling mainly timber eastward.
AKA "The Poor Folks & Preachers" railroad.
.
HistoryThe PF&P began as the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad, incorporated in 1853 by the Virginia General Assembly. By the time of the American Civil War, the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad had only completed precursory grading work and had laid no track; therefore, it was referred to as the "unfinished railroad." Construction of the line began in 1872 as a standard gauge line; the effort succeeded in laying eighteen miles of track west from Fredericksburg. Late in 1872, the railroad defaulted on a mortgage and was sold under foreclosure. The Fredericksburg, Orange, and Charlottesville Railroad, incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly in February 1872, bought the railroad with the stipulation that if the remaining 20 mile extension was not completed to Orange by July 1873, the railroad would forfeit its ownership of the line. After the Fredericksburg, Orange, and Charlottesville failed to bring the railroad to Orange by the specified time, the line was returned to the state and the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville name restored.
In 1876, the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad was renamed as the Potomac, Fredericksburg, and Piedmont Railroad. The new PF&P railroad was soon thereafter sold to the Royal Land Company of Virginia, which had in the same year purchased over 150,000 acres of coal, iron, and timber tracts in Virginia and West Virginia. The company planned to use the PF&P, which would be extended westward from Orange by the Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad, to transport these resources eastward.
The Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad was planned to construct a rail line from Orange, the western terminus of the PF&P, across Swift Run Gap into the Shenandoah Valley. The total cost of the 93 mile long Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad was projected to be $970,500, including depots and sidings. The PF&P's track was narrow gauged to 3' and was extended to Orange by early 1877, a distance of 38 miles from Fredericksburg, the eastern terminus of the line. The use of 3' narrow gauge instead of standard gauge allowed for a savings of 40%, and because of this, the company switched the original plans for the Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad from standard gauge to the more cost effective narrow gauge. Although the Royal Land Company had planned to extend the line from Mathias' Point (27 miles east of Fredericksburg on the Potomac River) to somewhere near Harrisonburg, Virginia, it failed to build beyond Orange to the west and Fredericksburg to the east. The cost of the 38 mile section that was actually constructed was $956,425.83, and since the Shenandoah Valley and Ohio Railroad never came to fruition, its projected costs were not realized. The previous owners of the railroad regained control in 1878, and continued operations hauling mainly timber eastward.