Brighthope Railway

Brighthope Railway
The Brighthope Railway Engine
Overview
HeadquartersRichmond, Virginia
LocaleChesterfield, Virginia
Dates of operation1877–1889
SuccessorFarmville and Powhatan Railroad
Technical
Previous gaugeStandard until 1881, then was narrowed to narrow gauge, 3 ft (914 mm).[1]

In 1886, Randolph Harrison, of the Virginia department of Agriculture, cited Cumberland Mining Company, stating that the United States had purchased stock in the Brighthope Railway. He continued by citing their assertion that extending the railway into Cumberland would increase the value of farms there because they could sell consumer agricultural products such as fruit, dairy and vegetables to all markets of Virginia.[2] The Brighthope Railway was founded in 1877 by the creditors of the Clover Hill Railroad who bought that railroad when the Clover Hill Railroad went bankrupt. The Brighthope Railway continued in the role of the Clover Hill Railroad, hauling coal from the Clover Hill Pits at Winterpock, Virginia. In addition to coal, the Bright Hope Railway transported timber and agricultural products and had passenger service.[3] The Bright Hope Railway was narrowed from standard gauge to narrow gauge and rerouted in 1881. In 1886, much of the southern rails were changed to standard gauge. The Brighthope Railway was not changed back.[4]

In 1889 the Bright Hope Railway was sold in foreclosure for $200,000 to the Farmville and Powhatan Railroad,[5] which became the main line of the Tidewater and Western Railroad. The line survived until 1917 when it was pulled up and sent to France for the World War I effort.[5][6]

  1. ^ Virginia. State Corporation Commission (1915). Annual Report. p. 747.
  2. ^ Virginia. Dept. of Agriculture; Randolph Harrison (1886). Hand-book of Virginia. Johns & Company, Book and Job Printers. pp. 65–66.
  3. ^ "Historic Beach Station National Register of Historic Places Virginia Historic Landmark Chesterfield County Historic Landmark" (PDF). The Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia. July 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  4. ^ Southern Railfan, The Days They Changed the Gauge
  5. ^ a b George Woodman Hilton (1990). American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford University Press. pp. 543–. ISBN 978-0-8047-1731-1.
  6. ^ The Southeastern Reporter. West Publishing Company. 1903. pp. 555–.