CHESAPEAKE & OHIO RAILWAY, The. The road had its origin in the charter of a company by the legislature of Virginia on 18 Feb. 1836, to build a branch from the Rich mond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad, through the county of Louisa, Va., and was styled The Louisa Railroad. The road was built under this charter from Hanover Junction (now Doswell), on the Richmond, Fredericks burg & Potomac Railroad, 26 miles from Rich mond, to Louisa Court House, 34.7 miles, and was operated by the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Company. Subsequently it was extended in short sections at various times under several acts of the legislature to Jackson River, 10 miles east of Covmgton, Va., on the west, and to the city of Richmond on the east, between which points it was being operated in the spring of 1861. Prior to this time, 'however, in 1850, its name was changed to °Virginia Central Railroad Company.* In 1853, the State authorized the construe tion of the Covington & Ohio Railroad, from Covington, Va., to the Ohio River; work was had by the Civil War after about $3,000,000 had been expended by the State. When the war was over, the State having been dismem bered, Virginia and West Virginia united in efforts which resulted in combining the Vir ginia Central and the Covington & Ohio rail road companies, in 1868, under the name of Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company and the completion of the road westward to Hunting ton, on the Ohio River, in West Virginia, in the year 1873.
In 1878 the road was sold under foreclosure and reorganized as The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company.
Under legislative authority the road was ex tended from Richmond to Newport News, in 1880, and to the government reservation at Fort Monroe, in 1882. In the meantime it had been extended westward from Huntington to the Big Sandy River, the western boundary of West Virginia, and established connection with the Elizabethtown, Lexington & Big Sandy Railroad Company, in October 1880, opening up through service to Lexington, Cincinnati and the West and South. In 1888 the road was again reorganized and secured control, through stock ownership of the Maysville & Big Sandy Rail road Company and the new railway bridge at Cincinnati, giving it a direct through line from tidewater to Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1892, the Elizabethtown, Lexington & Big Sandy Railroad Company, extending to Lexing ton, Ky., was acquired, and in 1895 through service to Louisville, Ky., was established by an agreement with the Louisville & Nashville for the joint use of its line from Lexington to Louisville. In the same year The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company became owner jointly with the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & Saint Louis Railway Company of the Louisville & Jeffersonville Bridge Company, giving entrance into Jeffersonville, Ind., and connection with the Big Four Railway northward.
The Richmond & Allegheny Railroad located in the James River Valley, 231 miles long, be tween Richmond and Clifton Forge, Va., was acquired in January, 1890, affording a low grade route from the Ohio River to Newport News.
Entrance into Washington, D. C., was secured in 1891, under agreements for the joint use of tracks of the Richmond & Danville Railroad Company (now the Southern Railway Com pany) and the Washington Southern Railway Company.
A number of subsidiary lines and branches have been built penetrating mineral and timber regions; among them are the Big Sandy Rail way, Kentucicy, the Guyandot Valley Branch, Coal River Railway, Cabin Creek Branch, Point Creek Branch, Gauley Branch, Loup Creek Branch, Piney Creek Branch, the Greenbrier Railway, in West Virginia, and the Warm Springs Valley Branch, Craig Valley Branch and Buckingham Branch, in Virginia.
The eastern termini of this railway are Washington, D. C., Newport News, Fort Mon roe and (by ferry transfer) Norfolk, Va. From these places it extends westward, passing through the agricultural, tidewater and Pied mont regions, crossing the Blue Ridge Moun tains and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, thence through the iron ore regions, across the Allegheny Mountains to and through the coal and timber fields of West Virginia, to the Ohio River, at Huntington. One of its lines con tinues on along the Ohio River within the north boundary line of Kentucky to Cincinnati, Ohio, and another extends from Ashland, Ky., through the Blue Grass region to Lexington and Louisville, Ky., and Jefferson, Ind.
As of 30 June 1916, the company's lines And sidings comprised 3,992.7 miles of track; the mileage operated, exclusive of second track and sidings, was 2,385.6, of which 2,123.5 miles are owned, 37.9 miles are leased and 2242 miles used jointly with other railway companies. Steel rails 125 and 100 pounds to the yard are the standard in use. Facilities for handling traffic are excellent in every respect. It is essentially a low grade line from Cincinnati to the coast. Crossing the mountains the maxi mum grade ascending eastward in the direction of heavy traffic is only 30 feet to the mile. .- In the fiscal year 1916 the number of reve nue tons of freight carried one mile was 10,296,523,340; the tonnage of coal handled was 26,979,519; and passenger miles run were 281, 348,788. In the same year the equipment of the road consisted of the following: Loco 827; freight cars, all classes, 44,770; passenger, baggage and express cars, 370. In 1894-95 the equipment was as follows: Locomo tives, 355; freight cars, all classes, 13,808; pas senger, baggage and express cars, 212. The increase in freight car and locomotive capacity is greater than appears from their number, as the average capacity of freight cars increased from 25.1 tons each to 49.7 tons, and the loco motives are of much greater power.
The capital stock outstanding (1916) was $62,792,600, and the total bonded indebtedness was $181,535,169.54. The gross earnings for year ending 30 June 1916 were: $48,239,012.10, operating expenses, $31,789,17922; net earnings, $16,449,832.88; taxes, $1,587,407.08; other in come, $191,989.10; fixed. charges, $8,175,199.15; net income, $6,879,215.84.