Wilmington and Weldon Railroad

Originally chartered in 1835 as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad name began use in 1855. At the time of its 1840 completion, the line was the longest railroad in the world with 161.5 miles (259.9 km) of track.[1] It was constructed in 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) gauge.[2] At its terminus in Weldon, North Carolina, it connected with the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad (to Portsmouth, Virginia) and the Petersburg Railroad (to Petersburg, Virginia).

The railroad also gave rise to the City of Goldsboro, North Carolina, the midpoint of the W&W RR and the railroad intersection with the North Carolina Railroad.[3] The railroad played a key role in the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.

Among the early employees of the W&W RR was assistant engineer William G. Lewis. The future Civil War general began his railroad career in 1858. From 1854 to 1871 S.L. Fremont was Chief Engineer and Superintendent. Fremont, North Carolina is named in his honor.

In 1872, the railroad was leased by the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad, but this lease ended in 1878 when the WC&A went bankrupt. Eventually the W&R was merged into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad on April 21, 1900.

Stations

Below is a list of stations along the Wilmington and Weldon railroad in 1859.[4]

Station Number Mile
Wilmington 1 0
North East 2 9
Marlboro 3 11
Rocky Point 4 14
Asheton 4 1/2
Burgaw 5 22
So. Washington 6 29
Leesburg 7 33
Teachey 8 38
Rose Hill 8 1/2 43
Magnolia 9 48
Warsaw 10 55
Bowden 10 1/2 59
Faison 11 63
Goshen Grove 11 1/2
Mount Olive 12 70
Milton 12 1/2
Dudley 13 75
Everettsville 14 78
Goldsboro 15 84
Pikeville 16 92
Nahunta (Fremont) 17 95
Black Creek 18 102
Wilson 19 108
Joyner 20 116
Rocky Mount 21 125
Schrader 21 1/2
Battleboro 22 133
Whitaker 22 1/2 137
Enfield 23 143
Ruggles 23 1/2 150
Halifax 24 154
Weldon 25 162

References

  1. ↑ UNC University Libraries: This Month in North Carolina History - March 1840
  2. ↑ Confederate Railroads - Wilmington & Weldon
  3. ↑ About Goldsboro
  4. ↑ "Wilmington and Weldon Rail Road. Wilmington & Weldon R. R. Company. Time Table No. 5, From and After Monday, October 31st., 1859". docsouth.unc.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.