| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Troy, Virginia |
| Reporting mark | VAL |
| Locale | Central Virginia |
| Dates of operation | 1908–1975 |
| Successor | abandoned |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 29.8 miles (48.0 km) |
Virginia Air Line Railroad (VAL) was a short-line railroad that operated from 1908 to 1975 in Central Virginia. It was built by the Virginia Air Line Railway Company to connect the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's (C&O) Piedmont Subdivision at Lindsay, Virginia, to the Rivanna Subdivision of C&O's James River Line at Strathmore Yard, near Bremo Bluff, Virginia.[1]
The route was once an important link for providing coal to power the Washington, D.C. area.[1] However, facing increased competition from other modes of transportation such as trucks and automobiles,[2] service on the rail line was cut back and eventually abandoned after 67 years of declining use.[1]