{"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bplaces%5D%5B%5D=Rockingham+County+%28Va.%29+--+Industries+--+Sources","last":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bplaces%5D%5B%5D=Rockingham+County+%28Va.%29+--+Industries+--+Sources\u0026page=1"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":1,"next_page":null,"prev_page":null,"total_pages":1,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":0,"total_count":2,"first_page?":true,"last_page?":true}},"data":[{"id":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records","creator":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihart_repositories_4_resources_466#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Chesapeake Western Railway","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihart_repositories_4_resources_466#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"The Chespeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, are comprised of 24.36 cubic feet of records pertaining to the administrative and business activities of a small Shenandoah Valley railroad through the period of America's Great Depression and up to the CW's eventual acquisition by the Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vihart_repositories_4_resources_466#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","ead_ssi":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","_root_":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","_nest_parent_":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/JMU/repositories_4_resources_466.xml","title_ssm":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"title_tesim":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1916-1982"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1916-1982"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC 0154","/repositories/4/resources/466"],"text":["SC 0154","/repositories/4/resources/466","Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records","Elkton (Va.) -- History","Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History","Bridgewater (Va.) -- History","Mt. Solon (Va.) -- History","Stokesville (Va.) -- History","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Augusta County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Virginia -- Economic conditions -- History -- Sources","Virginia -- Industries -- History","Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Transportation -- History -- Sources","Railroads -- Southern States -- History","Coal -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Bark -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Timber -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Poultry -- Feeding and feeds -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Railroads -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History","Railroads -- Virginia -- History","Letters (correspondence)","Account books","Reports","Blueprints (reprographic copies)","Personnel records","Publications (documents)","Business records","Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.","The collection is arranged in seven series with the largest first; then arranged further chronologically:","Personnel Records, 1929-1982 Reports, 1953-1981 Account Books, 1916-1974 Correspondence, 1976-1979 Miscellaneous Documents, 1928-1976 Publications, 1963-1977 Blueprints and Schematics, 1951-1979","Cooper, Mason Y.   Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line . Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.","Cooper, Mason Y.   Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line .  Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.","Hawkins, Leighman.  \"The Shortline Railroads of Virginia.\"   Virginia and the Virginia County , January 1951.","Murray, Michael S.  \"Rails Through Rockingham County:  The Chesapeake Western Story.\"   Railpace Newsmagazine , January 1985.","\"Norfolk and Western to buy Chesapeake Western.\"   Daily News-Record , July 29, 1954.","Price, Charles Grattan Jr.  The Crooked and the Weedy: A History of Virginia's Chesapeake Western Railway . Harrisonburg, Virginia: Don Mills, Inc., 1992.","Thompson, Tommy. \"Shortline.\"  Daily News-Record , April 3, 1971.","The origins of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company date back at least to 1871, when the Washington, Cincinnati \u0026 St. Louis Railroad was chartered in Virginia as a narrow-gauge railroad to run from Washington, D.C., through Elkton, Harrisonburg, and Bridgewater, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio. Virginians bought stock in the coporation, including many people in Rockingham County; rights of way were purchased and railbed grading began.  Like similar ventures of the time, the goals of the company never bore fruit, and work halted in 1874.","In 1892, a group of promoters including Jedediah Hotchkiss incorporated to build a railway to carry coal from West Virginia mines to Gloucester Point, Virginia. Initially called the Chesapeake, Shendun, and Western Railroad, the name was quickly changed to Chesapeake \u0026 Western Railroad. Using part of the old WC\u0026StL right-of-way, and with $150,000 from the city of Harrisonburg to ensure that the railroad would pass through it, a 26-mile single-track, standard-gauge line was completed from Elkton to Bridgewater and began operating on March 23, 1896. In the next few years, substantial C\u0026W stock was purchased by New York investor Thomas Stokes, who hoped to develop the coal mines in western Rockingham County but became mired in financial difficulties. His brother, W.E.D Stokes, purchased control of the C\u0026W and also organized a new railroad, the Tidewater and West Virginia, in 1900. The Tidewater changed its name in 1901 to the Chesapeake Western Railway, leased the CW line for 99 years, and in 1902 completed 13 miles of rail from Bridgewater to the new town of Stokesville in North River Gap. Trains carried passengers as well as freight between Elkton and Stokesville. Plans were drawn up to continue the line into West Virginia but were not implemented.","For just over a decade, Stokesville boomed as timber, tanbark, and to a much more limited extent, coal, in the area were exploited. Stokes operated the CW with offices in Harrisonburg until his death in 1926. His estate continued to operate the railway until 1938. In 1928, the line from Mount Solon to North River Gap was abandoned for financial reasons. In 1933, the nine miles from Bridgewater to Mount Solon were also dropped.  When the Stokes' heirs put the CW up for sale in 1938, Don W. Thomas, a former Norfolk \u0026 Western Railroad employee who had been the general manager of the CW since 1926, fought a bid from Japanese scrap metal buyers and bought the line. In 1943, Thomas also bought the Baltimore \u0026 Ohio's Valley Road of Virginia line which rean between Harrisonburg and Lexington. The line south of Staunton was taken up and sold for scrap, but the road between Harrisonburg and Staunton was improved and became an important link in the CW system because of the connection with the Chesapeake \u0026 Ohio Railroad at Staunton. The CW linked with the Norfolk \u0026 Western at Elkton.","In 1954, the Norfolk \u0026 Western Railroad purchased CW, but the name was retained and was operated as a separate corporation. By about 1980, however, little or no rolling stock carried the CW logo any longer. Norfolk \u0026 Western and the Southern Railway Company merged as Norfolk Southern Corporation on June 1, 1982. Not long after that merger, a five-alarm fire burned the CW office located at Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg on July 28, 1982, and company offices and operations were eventually absorbed by the NS. Five miles of track east of Bridgewater were removed in 1988. The CW under the control of NS serves as the Harrisonburg area's poultry feed supplier passing through the campus of James Madison University daily. ","Records represent the day to day business operation of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company through 1982. After a fire that year, records were left in the CW building on Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and remained in that facility until 1997.","Due to the unwieldy nature of virtually off the bound ledgers, pages were removed from their covers and parceled into folders as both an aid to researchers and as a practical means to consolidate space.  The condition of some boards was also questionable with evidence of mold and pest damage. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017.  This collection was previously cataloged as SC 4010.","The Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, consist of 24.36 cubic feet of business records pertaining to the employees, assets, and business transactions of the company. The collection is topically arranged in seven series with the largest series first; then further arranged chronologically . Series consist of Personnel Records, Reports, Account Books, Correspondence, Blueprints and Schematics, Publications, and Miscellaneous Documents.","The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).","The Chespeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, are comprised of 24.36 cubic feet of records pertaining to the administrative and business activities of a small Shenandoah Valley railroad through the period of America's Great Depression and up to the CW's eventual acquisition by the Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation.","James Madison University Libraries Special Collections","Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Norfolk Southern Corporation","Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-","Stokes, W. E. D. (William Earl Dodge), 1852-1926","English"],"unitid_tesim":["SC 0154","/repositories/4/resources/466"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"collection_ssim":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"repository_ssm":["James Madison University"],"repository_ssim":["James Madison University"],"geogname_ssm":["Elkton (Va.) -- History","Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History","Bridgewater (Va.) -- History","Mt. Solon (Va.) -- History","Stokesville (Va.) -- History","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Augusta County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Virginia -- Economic conditions -- History -- Sources","Virginia -- Industries -- History","Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Transportation -- History -- Sources"],"geogname_ssim":["Elkton (Va.) -- History","Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History","Bridgewater (Va.) -- History","Mt. Solon (Va.) -- History","Stokesville (Va.) -- History","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Augusta County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Virginia -- Economic conditions -- History -- Sources","Virginia -- Industries -- History","Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Transportation -- History -- Sources"],"creator_ssm":["Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-"],"creator_ssim":["Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum"],"creators_ssim":["Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-","Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum"],"places_ssim":["Elkton (Va.) -- History","Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History","Bridgewater (Va.) -- History","Mt. Solon (Va.) -- History","Stokesville (Va.) -- History","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Augusta County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Virginia -- Economic conditions -- History -- Sources","Virginia -- Industries -- History","Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Transportation -- History -- Sources"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu)."],"acqinfo_ssim":["D.A. Brown, II Superintendent, VA Division of Norfolk Southern in Roanoke gave permission in April 1997 for JMU professors Raymond Hiser and Clarence Geier from the History and Anthropology Departments respectively to salvage records from the CW building on Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia which suffered a five-alarm fire at the site on July 28, 1982. After the fire, operating records remained in the building in disarray on the floor and suffered damage by fire or water or both. Following their initial cleaning and inventory by students in History and Anthropology, the materials were transferred to Carrier Library in February 1998. In September 2018, the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, donated one bound book: \"Returns to Valuation Orders 7, 8, and 16.\""],"access_subjects_ssim":["Railroads -- Southern States -- History","Coal -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Bark -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Timber -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Poultry -- Feeding and feeds -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Railroads -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History","Railroads -- Virginia -- History","Letters (correspondence)","Account books","Reports","Blueprints (reprographic copies)","Personnel records","Publications (documents)","Business records"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Railroads -- Southern States -- History","Coal -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Bark -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Timber -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Poultry -- Feeding and feeds -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Railroads -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History","Railroads -- Virginia -- History","Letters (correspondence)","Account books","Reports","Blueprints (reprographic copies)","Personnel records","Publications (documents)","Business records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["24.36 cubic feet 35 boxes, 1 rolled storage container"],"extent_tesim":["24.36 cubic feet 35 boxes, 1 rolled storage container"],"genreform_ssim":["Letters (correspondence)","Account books","Reports","Blueprints (reprographic copies)","Personnel records","Publications (documents)","Business records"],"date_range_isim":[1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged in seven series with the largest first; then arranged further chronologically:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist numeration=\"arabic\" type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003ePersonnel Records, 1929-1982\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eReports, 1953-1981\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eAccount Books, 1916-1974\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eCorrespondence, 1976-1979\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eMiscellaneous Documents, 1928-1976\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003ePublications, 1963-1977\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eBlueprints and Schematics, 1951-1979\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged in seven series with the largest first; then arranged further chronologically:","Personnel Records, 1929-1982 Reports, 1953-1981 Account Books, 1916-1974 Correspondence, 1976-1979 Miscellaneous Documents, 1928-1976 Publications, 1963-1977 Blueprints and Schematics, 1951-1979"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eCooper, Mason Y.  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eNorfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line\u003c/emph\u003e. Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eCooper, Mason Y.  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eNorfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line\u003c/emph\u003e.  Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHawkins, Leighman.  \"The Shortline Railroads of Virginia.\"  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eVirginia and the Virginia County\u003c/emph\u003e, January 1951.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMurray, Michael S.  \"Rails Through Rockingham County:  The Chesapeake Western Story.\"  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eRailpace Newsmagazine\u003c/emph\u003e, January 1985.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e\"Norfolk and Western to buy Chesapeake Western.\"  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eDaily News-Record\u003c/emph\u003e, July 29, 1954.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003ePrice, Charles Grattan Jr. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Crooked and the Weedy: A History of Virginia's Chesapeake Western Railway\u003c/emph\u003e. Harrisonburg, Virginia: Don Mills, Inc., 1992.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThompson, Tommy. \"Shortline.\" \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eDaily News-Record\u003c/emph\u003e, April 3, 1971.\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":["Cooper, Mason Y.   Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line . Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.","Cooper, Mason Y.   Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line .  Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.","Hawkins, Leighman.  \"The Shortline Railroads of Virginia.\"   Virginia and the Virginia County , January 1951.","Murray, Michael S.  \"Rails Through Rockingham County:  The Chesapeake Western Story.\"   Railpace Newsmagazine , January 1985.","\"Norfolk and Western to buy Chesapeake Western.\"   Daily News-Record , July 29, 1954.","Price, Charles Grattan Jr.  The Crooked and the Weedy: A History of Virginia's Chesapeake Western Railway . Harrisonburg, Virginia: Don Mills, Inc., 1992.","Thompson, Tommy. \"Shortline.\"  Daily News-Record , April 3, 1971."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe origins of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company date back at least to 1871, when the Washington, Cincinnati \u0026amp; St. Louis Railroad was chartered in Virginia as a narrow-gauge railroad to run from Washington, D.C., through Elkton, Harrisonburg, and Bridgewater, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio. Virginians bought stock in the coporation, including many people in Rockingham County; rights of way were purchased and railbed grading began.  Like similar ventures of the time, the goals of the company never bore fruit, and work halted in 1874.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1892, a group of promoters including Jedediah Hotchkiss incorporated to build a railway to carry coal from West Virginia mines to Gloucester Point, Virginia. Initially called the Chesapeake, Shendun, and Western Railroad, the name was quickly changed to Chesapeake \u0026amp; Western Railroad. Using part of the old WC\u0026amp;StL right-of-way, and with $150,000 from the city of Harrisonburg to ensure that the railroad would pass through it, a 26-mile single-track, standard-gauge line was completed from Elkton to Bridgewater and began operating on March 23, 1896. In the next few years, substantial C\u0026amp;W stock was purchased by New York investor Thomas Stokes, who hoped to develop the coal mines in western Rockingham County but became mired in financial difficulties. His brother, W.E.D Stokes, purchased control of the C\u0026amp;W and also organized a new railroad, the Tidewater and West Virginia, in 1900. The Tidewater changed its name in 1901 to the Chesapeake Western Railway, leased the CW line for 99 years, and in 1902 completed 13 miles of rail from Bridgewater to the new town of Stokesville in North River Gap. Trains carried passengers as well as freight between Elkton and Stokesville. Plans were drawn up to continue the line into West Virginia but were not implemented.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor just over a decade, Stokesville boomed as timber, tanbark, and to a much more limited extent, coal, in the area were exploited. Stokes operated the CW with offices in Harrisonburg until his death in 1926. His estate continued to operate the railway until 1938. In 1928, the line from Mount Solon to North River Gap was abandoned for financial reasons. In 1933, the nine miles from Bridgewater to Mount Solon were also dropped.  When the Stokes' heirs put the CW up for sale in 1938, Don W. Thomas, a former Norfolk \u0026amp; Western Railroad employee who had been the general manager of the CW since 1926, fought a bid from Japanese scrap metal buyers and bought the line. In 1943, Thomas also bought the Baltimore \u0026amp; Ohio's Valley Road of Virginia line which rean between Harrisonburg and Lexington. The line south of Staunton was taken up and sold for scrap, but the road between Harrisonburg and Staunton was improved and became an important link in the CW system because of the connection with the Chesapeake \u0026amp; Ohio Railroad at Staunton. The CW linked with the Norfolk \u0026amp; Western at Elkton.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1954, the Norfolk \u0026amp; Western Railroad purchased CW, but the name was retained and was operated as a separate corporation. By about 1980, however, little or no rolling stock carried the CW logo any longer. Norfolk \u0026amp; Western and the Southern Railway Company merged as Norfolk Southern Corporation on June 1, 1982. Not long after that merger, a five-alarm fire burned the CW office located at Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg on July 28, 1982, and company offices and operations were eventually absorbed by the NS. Five miles of track east of Bridgewater were removed in 1988. The CW under the control of NS serves as the Harrisonburg area's poultry feed supplier passing through the campus of James Madison University daily. \u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Administrative History"],"bioghist_tesim":["The origins of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company date back at least to 1871, when the Washington, Cincinnati \u0026 St. Louis Railroad was chartered in Virginia as a narrow-gauge railroad to run from Washington, D.C., through Elkton, Harrisonburg, and Bridgewater, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio. Virginians bought stock in the coporation, including many people in Rockingham County; rights of way were purchased and railbed grading began.  Like similar ventures of the time, the goals of the company never bore fruit, and work halted in 1874.","In 1892, a group of promoters including Jedediah Hotchkiss incorporated to build a railway to carry coal from West Virginia mines to Gloucester Point, Virginia. Initially called the Chesapeake, Shendun, and Western Railroad, the name was quickly changed to Chesapeake \u0026 Western Railroad. Using part of the old WC\u0026StL right-of-way, and with $150,000 from the city of Harrisonburg to ensure that the railroad would pass through it, a 26-mile single-track, standard-gauge line was completed from Elkton to Bridgewater and began operating on March 23, 1896. In the next few years, substantial C\u0026W stock was purchased by New York investor Thomas Stokes, who hoped to develop the coal mines in western Rockingham County but became mired in financial difficulties. His brother, W.E.D Stokes, purchased control of the C\u0026W and also organized a new railroad, the Tidewater and West Virginia, in 1900. The Tidewater changed its name in 1901 to the Chesapeake Western Railway, leased the CW line for 99 years, and in 1902 completed 13 miles of rail from Bridgewater to the new town of Stokesville in North River Gap. Trains carried passengers as well as freight between Elkton and Stokesville. Plans were drawn up to continue the line into West Virginia but were not implemented.","For just over a decade, Stokesville boomed as timber, tanbark, and to a much more limited extent, coal, in the area were exploited. Stokes operated the CW with offices in Harrisonburg until his death in 1926. His estate continued to operate the railway until 1938. In 1928, the line from Mount Solon to North River Gap was abandoned for financial reasons. In 1933, the nine miles from Bridgewater to Mount Solon were also dropped.  When the Stokes' heirs put the CW up for sale in 1938, Don W. Thomas, a former Norfolk \u0026 Western Railroad employee who had been the general manager of the CW since 1926, fought a bid from Japanese scrap metal buyers and bought the line. In 1943, Thomas also bought the Baltimore \u0026 Ohio's Valley Road of Virginia line which rean between Harrisonburg and Lexington. The line south of Staunton was taken up and sold for scrap, but the road between Harrisonburg and Staunton was improved and became an important link in the CW system because of the connection with the Chesapeake \u0026 Ohio Railroad at Staunton. The CW linked with the Norfolk \u0026 Western at Elkton.","In 1954, the Norfolk \u0026 Western Railroad purchased CW, but the name was retained and was operated as a separate corporation. By about 1980, however, little or no rolling stock carried the CW logo any longer. Norfolk \u0026 Western and the Southern Railway Company merged as Norfolk Southern Corporation on June 1, 1982. Not long after that merger, a five-alarm fire burned the CW office located at Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg on July 28, 1982, and company offices and operations were eventually absorbed by the NS. Five miles of track east of Bridgewater were removed in 1988. The CW under the control of NS serves as the Harrisonburg area's poultry feed supplier passing through the campus of James Madison University daily. "],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRecords represent the day to day business operation of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company through 1982. After a fire that year, records were left in the CW building on Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and remained in that facility until 1997.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["Records represent the day to day business operation of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company through 1982. After a fire that year, records were left in the CW building on Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and remained in that facility until 1997."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, SC 0154, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, SC 0154, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eDue to the unwieldy nature of virtually off the bound ledgers, pages were removed from their covers and parceled into folders as both an aid to researchers and as a practical means to consolidate space.  The condition of some boards was also questionable with evidence of mold and pest damage. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. \u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eThis collection was previously cataloged as SC 4010.\u003c/emph\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Due to the unwieldy nature of virtually off the bound ledgers, pages were removed from their covers and parceled into folders as both an aid to researchers and as a practical means to consolidate space.  The condition of some boards was also questionable with evidence of mold and pest damage. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017.  This collection was previously cataloged as SC 4010."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, consist of 24.36 cubic feet of business records pertaining to the employees, assets, and business transactions of the company. The collection is topically arranged in seven series with the largest series first; then further arranged chronologically . Series consist of Personnel Records, Reports, Account Books, Correspondence, Blueprints and Schematics, Publications, and Miscellaneous Documents.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, consist of 24.36 cubic feet of business records pertaining to the employees, assets, and business transactions of the company. The collection is topically arranged in seven series with the largest series first; then further arranged chronologically . Series consist of Personnel Records, Reports, Account Books, Correspondence, Blueprints and Schematics, Publications, and Miscellaneous Documents."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu)."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_57e226aed1de81b0112cfbe25b7f1b76\"\u003eThe Chespeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, are comprised of 24.36 cubic feet of records pertaining to the administrative and business activities of a small Shenandoah Valley railroad through the period of America's Great Depression and up to the CW's eventual acquisition by the Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Chespeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, are comprised of 24.36 cubic feet of records pertaining to the administrative and business activities of a small Shenandoah Valley railroad through the period of America's Great Depression and up to the CW's eventual acquisition by the Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation."],"names_coll_ssim":["Norfolk Southern Corporation","Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Stokes, W. E. D. (William Earl Dodge), 1852-1926","Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-"],"names_ssim":["James Madison University Libraries Special Collections","Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Norfolk Southern Corporation","Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-","Stokes, W. E. D. (William Earl Dodge), 1852-1926"],"corpname_ssim":["James Madison University Libraries Special Collections","Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Norfolk Southern Corporation"],"persname_ssim":["Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-","Stokes, W. E. D. (William Earl Dodge), 1852-1926"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":461,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-04-30T22:59:55.077Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","ead_ssi":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","_root_":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","_nest_parent_":"vihart_repositories_4_resources_466","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/JMU/repositories_4_resources_466.xml","title_ssm":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"title_tesim":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1916-1982"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1916-1982"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC 0154","/repositories/4/resources/466"],"text":["SC 0154","/repositories/4/resources/466","Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records","Elkton (Va.) -- History","Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History","Bridgewater (Va.) -- History","Mt. Solon (Va.) -- History","Stokesville (Va.) -- History","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Augusta County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Virginia -- Economic conditions -- History -- Sources","Virginia -- Industries -- History","Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Transportation -- History -- Sources","Railroads -- Southern States -- History","Coal -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Bark -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Timber -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Poultry -- Feeding and feeds -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Railroads -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History","Railroads -- Virginia -- History","Letters (correspondence)","Account books","Reports","Blueprints (reprographic copies)","Personnel records","Publications (documents)","Business records","Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.","The collection is arranged in seven series with the largest first; then arranged further chronologically:","Personnel Records, 1929-1982 Reports, 1953-1981 Account Books, 1916-1974 Correspondence, 1976-1979 Miscellaneous Documents, 1928-1976 Publications, 1963-1977 Blueprints and Schematics, 1951-1979","Cooper, Mason Y.   Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line . Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.","Cooper, Mason Y.   Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line .  Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.","Hawkins, Leighman.  \"The Shortline Railroads of Virginia.\"   Virginia and the Virginia County , January 1951.","Murray, Michael S.  \"Rails Through Rockingham County:  The Chesapeake Western Story.\"   Railpace Newsmagazine , January 1985.","\"Norfolk and Western to buy Chesapeake Western.\"   Daily News-Record , July 29, 1954.","Price, Charles Grattan Jr.  The Crooked and the Weedy: A History of Virginia's Chesapeake Western Railway . Harrisonburg, Virginia: Don Mills, Inc., 1992.","Thompson, Tommy. \"Shortline.\"  Daily News-Record , April 3, 1971.","The origins of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company date back at least to 1871, when the Washington, Cincinnati \u0026 St. Louis Railroad was chartered in Virginia as a narrow-gauge railroad to run from Washington, D.C., through Elkton, Harrisonburg, and Bridgewater, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio. Virginians bought stock in the coporation, including many people in Rockingham County; rights of way were purchased and railbed grading began.  Like similar ventures of the time, the goals of the company never bore fruit, and work halted in 1874.","In 1892, a group of promoters including Jedediah Hotchkiss incorporated to build a railway to carry coal from West Virginia mines to Gloucester Point, Virginia. Initially called the Chesapeake, Shendun, and Western Railroad, the name was quickly changed to Chesapeake \u0026 Western Railroad. Using part of the old WC\u0026StL right-of-way, and with $150,000 from the city of Harrisonburg to ensure that the railroad would pass through it, a 26-mile single-track, standard-gauge line was completed from Elkton to Bridgewater and began operating on March 23, 1896. In the next few years, substantial C\u0026W stock was purchased by New York investor Thomas Stokes, who hoped to develop the coal mines in western Rockingham County but became mired in financial difficulties. His brother, W.E.D Stokes, purchased control of the C\u0026W and also organized a new railroad, the Tidewater and West Virginia, in 1900. The Tidewater changed its name in 1901 to the Chesapeake Western Railway, leased the CW line for 99 years, and in 1902 completed 13 miles of rail from Bridgewater to the new town of Stokesville in North River Gap. Trains carried passengers as well as freight between Elkton and Stokesville. Plans were drawn up to continue the line into West Virginia but were not implemented.","For just over a decade, Stokesville boomed as timber, tanbark, and to a much more limited extent, coal, in the area were exploited. Stokes operated the CW with offices in Harrisonburg until his death in 1926. His estate continued to operate the railway until 1938. In 1928, the line from Mount Solon to North River Gap was abandoned for financial reasons. In 1933, the nine miles from Bridgewater to Mount Solon were also dropped.  When the Stokes' heirs put the CW up for sale in 1938, Don W. Thomas, a former Norfolk \u0026 Western Railroad employee who had been the general manager of the CW since 1926, fought a bid from Japanese scrap metal buyers and bought the line. In 1943, Thomas also bought the Baltimore \u0026 Ohio's Valley Road of Virginia line which rean between Harrisonburg and Lexington. The line south of Staunton was taken up and sold for scrap, but the road between Harrisonburg and Staunton was improved and became an important link in the CW system because of the connection with the Chesapeake \u0026 Ohio Railroad at Staunton. The CW linked with the Norfolk \u0026 Western at Elkton.","In 1954, the Norfolk \u0026 Western Railroad purchased CW, but the name was retained and was operated as a separate corporation. By about 1980, however, little or no rolling stock carried the CW logo any longer. Norfolk \u0026 Western and the Southern Railway Company merged as Norfolk Southern Corporation on June 1, 1982. Not long after that merger, a five-alarm fire burned the CW office located at Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg on July 28, 1982, and company offices and operations were eventually absorbed by the NS. Five miles of track east of Bridgewater were removed in 1988. The CW under the control of NS serves as the Harrisonburg area's poultry feed supplier passing through the campus of James Madison University daily. ","Records represent the day to day business operation of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company through 1982. After a fire that year, records were left in the CW building on Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and remained in that facility until 1997.","Due to the unwieldy nature of virtually off the bound ledgers, pages were removed from their covers and parceled into folders as both an aid to researchers and as a practical means to consolidate space.  The condition of some boards was also questionable with evidence of mold and pest damage. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017.  This collection was previously cataloged as SC 4010.","The Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, consist of 24.36 cubic feet of business records pertaining to the employees, assets, and business transactions of the company. The collection is topically arranged in seven series with the largest series first; then further arranged chronologically . Series consist of Personnel Records, Reports, Account Books, Correspondence, Blueprints and Schematics, Publications, and Miscellaneous Documents.","The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).","The Chespeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, are comprised of 24.36 cubic feet of records pertaining to the administrative and business activities of a small Shenandoah Valley railroad through the period of America's Great Depression and up to the CW's eventual acquisition by the Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation.","James Madison University Libraries Special Collections","Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Norfolk Southern Corporation","Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-","Stokes, W. E. D. (William Earl Dodge), 1852-1926","English"],"unitid_tesim":["SC 0154","/repositories/4/resources/466"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"collection_ssim":["Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records"],"repository_ssm":["James Madison University"],"repository_ssim":["James Madison University"],"geogname_ssm":["Elkton (Va.) -- History","Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History","Bridgewater (Va.) -- History","Mt. Solon (Va.) -- History","Stokesville (Va.) -- History","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Augusta County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Virginia -- Economic conditions -- History -- Sources","Virginia -- Industries -- History","Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Transportation -- History -- Sources"],"geogname_ssim":["Elkton (Va.) -- History","Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History","Bridgewater (Va.) -- History","Mt. Solon (Va.) -- History","Stokesville (Va.) -- History","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Augusta County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Virginia -- Economic conditions -- History -- Sources","Virginia -- Industries -- History","Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Transportation -- History -- Sources"],"creator_ssm":["Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-"],"creator_ssim":["Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum","Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum"],"creators_ssim":["Geier, Clarence R., 1944-","Hyser, Raymond M., 1955-","Chesapeake Western Railway","Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum"],"places_ssim":["Elkton (Va.) -- History","Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History","Bridgewater (Va.) -- History","Mt. Solon (Va.) -- History","Stokesville (Va.) -- History","Rockingham County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Augusta County (Va.) -- Industries -- Sources","Virginia -- Economic conditions -- History -- Sources","Virginia -- Industries -- History","Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Transportation -- History -- Sources"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu)."],"acqinfo_ssim":["D.A. Brown, II Superintendent, VA Division of Norfolk Southern in Roanoke gave permission in April 1997 for JMU professors Raymond Hiser and Clarence Geier from the History and Anthropology Departments respectively to salvage records from the CW building on Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia which suffered a five-alarm fire at the site on July 28, 1982. After the fire, operating records remained in the building in disarray on the floor and suffered damage by fire or water or both. Following their initial cleaning and inventory by students in History and Anthropology, the materials were transferred to Carrier Library in February 1998. In September 2018, the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, donated one bound book: \"Returns to Valuation Orders 7, 8, and 16.\""],"access_subjects_ssim":["Railroads -- Southern States -- History","Coal -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Bark -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Timber -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Poultry -- Feeding and feeds -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Railroads -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History","Railroads -- Virginia -- History","Letters (correspondence)","Account books","Reports","Blueprints (reprographic copies)","Personnel records","Publications (documents)","Business records"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Railroads -- Southern States -- History","Coal -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Bark -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Timber -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Poultry -- Feeding and feeds -- Transportation -- Southern States -- Sources","Railroads -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History","Railroads -- Virginia -- History","Letters (correspondence)","Account books","Reports","Blueprints (reprographic copies)","Personnel records","Publications (documents)","Business records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["24.36 cubic feet 35 boxes, 1 rolled storage container"],"extent_tesim":["24.36 cubic feet 35 boxes, 1 rolled storage container"],"genreform_ssim":["Letters (correspondence)","Account books","Reports","Blueprints (reprographic copies)","Personnel records","Publications (documents)","Business records"],"date_range_isim":[1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged in seven series with the largest first; then arranged further chronologically:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist numeration=\"arabic\" type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003ePersonnel Records, 1929-1982\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eReports, 1953-1981\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eAccount Books, 1916-1974\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eCorrespondence, 1976-1979\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eMiscellaneous Documents, 1928-1976\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003ePublications, 1963-1977\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eBlueprints and Schematics, 1951-1979\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged in seven series with the largest first; then arranged further chronologically:","Personnel Records, 1929-1982 Reports, 1953-1981 Account Books, 1916-1974 Correspondence, 1976-1979 Miscellaneous Documents, 1928-1976 Publications, 1963-1977 Blueprints and Schematics, 1951-1979"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eCooper, Mason Y.  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eNorfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line\u003c/emph\u003e. Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eCooper, Mason Y.  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eNorfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line\u003c/emph\u003e.  Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHawkins, Leighman.  \"The Shortline Railroads of Virginia.\"  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eVirginia and the Virginia County\u003c/emph\u003e, January 1951.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMurray, Michael S.  \"Rails Through Rockingham County:  The Chesapeake Western Story.\"  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eRailpace Newsmagazine\u003c/emph\u003e, January 1985.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e\"Norfolk and Western to buy Chesapeake Western.\"  \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eDaily News-Record\u003c/emph\u003e, July 29, 1954.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003ePrice, Charles Grattan Jr. \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eThe Crooked and the Weedy: A History of Virginia's Chesapeake Western Railway\u003c/emph\u003e. Harrisonburg, Virginia: Don Mills, Inc., 1992.\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThompson, Tommy. \"Shortline.\" \u003cemph render=\"italic\"\u003eDaily News-Record\u003c/emph\u003e, April 3, 1971.\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":["Cooper, Mason Y.   Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line . Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.","Cooper, Mason Y.   Norfolk and Western's Shenandoah Line .  Forest, Virginia:  Norfolk and Western Historical Society, Inc., 1998.","Hawkins, Leighman.  \"The Shortline Railroads of Virginia.\"   Virginia and the Virginia County , January 1951.","Murray, Michael S.  \"Rails Through Rockingham County:  The Chesapeake Western Story.\"   Railpace Newsmagazine , January 1985.","\"Norfolk and Western to buy Chesapeake Western.\"   Daily News-Record , July 29, 1954.","Price, Charles Grattan Jr.  The Crooked and the Weedy: A History of Virginia's Chesapeake Western Railway . Harrisonburg, Virginia: Don Mills, Inc., 1992.","Thompson, Tommy. \"Shortline.\"  Daily News-Record , April 3, 1971."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe origins of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company date back at least to 1871, when the Washington, Cincinnati \u0026amp; St. Louis Railroad was chartered in Virginia as a narrow-gauge railroad to run from Washington, D.C., through Elkton, Harrisonburg, and Bridgewater, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio. Virginians bought stock in the coporation, including many people in Rockingham County; rights of way were purchased and railbed grading began.  Like similar ventures of the time, the goals of the company never bore fruit, and work halted in 1874.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1892, a group of promoters including Jedediah Hotchkiss incorporated to build a railway to carry coal from West Virginia mines to Gloucester Point, Virginia. Initially called the Chesapeake, Shendun, and Western Railroad, the name was quickly changed to Chesapeake \u0026amp; Western Railroad. Using part of the old WC\u0026amp;StL right-of-way, and with $150,000 from the city of Harrisonburg to ensure that the railroad would pass through it, a 26-mile single-track, standard-gauge line was completed from Elkton to Bridgewater and began operating on March 23, 1896. In the next few years, substantial C\u0026amp;W stock was purchased by New York investor Thomas Stokes, who hoped to develop the coal mines in western Rockingham County but became mired in financial difficulties. His brother, W.E.D Stokes, purchased control of the C\u0026amp;W and also organized a new railroad, the Tidewater and West Virginia, in 1900. The Tidewater changed its name in 1901 to the Chesapeake Western Railway, leased the CW line for 99 years, and in 1902 completed 13 miles of rail from Bridgewater to the new town of Stokesville in North River Gap. Trains carried passengers as well as freight between Elkton and Stokesville. Plans were drawn up to continue the line into West Virginia but were not implemented.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eFor just over a decade, Stokesville boomed as timber, tanbark, and to a much more limited extent, coal, in the area were exploited. Stokes operated the CW with offices in Harrisonburg until his death in 1926. His estate continued to operate the railway until 1938. In 1928, the line from Mount Solon to North River Gap was abandoned for financial reasons. In 1933, the nine miles from Bridgewater to Mount Solon were also dropped.  When the Stokes' heirs put the CW up for sale in 1938, Don W. Thomas, a former Norfolk \u0026amp; Western Railroad employee who had been the general manager of the CW since 1926, fought a bid from Japanese scrap metal buyers and bought the line. In 1943, Thomas also bought the Baltimore \u0026amp; Ohio's Valley Road of Virginia line which rean between Harrisonburg and Lexington. The line south of Staunton was taken up and sold for scrap, but the road between Harrisonburg and Staunton was improved and became an important link in the CW system because of the connection with the Chesapeake \u0026amp; Ohio Railroad at Staunton. The CW linked with the Norfolk \u0026amp; Western at Elkton.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1954, the Norfolk \u0026amp; Western Railroad purchased CW, but the name was retained and was operated as a separate corporation. By about 1980, however, little or no rolling stock carried the CW logo any longer. Norfolk \u0026amp; Western and the Southern Railway Company merged as Norfolk Southern Corporation on June 1, 1982. Not long after that merger, a five-alarm fire burned the CW office located at Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg on July 28, 1982, and company offices and operations were eventually absorbed by the NS. Five miles of track east of Bridgewater were removed in 1988. The CW under the control of NS serves as the Harrisonburg area's poultry feed supplier passing through the campus of James Madison University daily. \u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Administrative History"],"bioghist_tesim":["The origins of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company date back at least to 1871, when the Washington, Cincinnati \u0026 St. Louis Railroad was chartered in Virginia as a narrow-gauge railroad to run from Washington, D.C., through Elkton, Harrisonburg, and Bridgewater, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio. Virginians bought stock in the coporation, including many people in Rockingham County; rights of way were purchased and railbed grading began.  Like similar ventures of the time, the goals of the company never bore fruit, and work halted in 1874.","In 1892, a group of promoters including Jedediah Hotchkiss incorporated to build a railway to carry coal from West Virginia mines to Gloucester Point, Virginia. Initially called the Chesapeake, Shendun, and Western Railroad, the name was quickly changed to Chesapeake \u0026 Western Railroad. Using part of the old WC\u0026StL right-of-way, and with $150,000 from the city of Harrisonburg to ensure that the railroad would pass through it, a 26-mile single-track, standard-gauge line was completed from Elkton to Bridgewater and began operating on March 23, 1896. In the next few years, substantial C\u0026W stock was purchased by New York investor Thomas Stokes, who hoped to develop the coal mines in western Rockingham County but became mired in financial difficulties. His brother, W.E.D Stokes, purchased control of the C\u0026W and also organized a new railroad, the Tidewater and West Virginia, in 1900. The Tidewater changed its name in 1901 to the Chesapeake Western Railway, leased the CW line for 99 years, and in 1902 completed 13 miles of rail from Bridgewater to the new town of Stokesville in North River Gap. Trains carried passengers as well as freight between Elkton and Stokesville. Plans were drawn up to continue the line into West Virginia but were not implemented.","For just over a decade, Stokesville boomed as timber, tanbark, and to a much more limited extent, coal, in the area were exploited. Stokes operated the CW with offices in Harrisonburg until his death in 1926. His estate continued to operate the railway until 1938. In 1928, the line from Mount Solon to North River Gap was abandoned for financial reasons. In 1933, the nine miles from Bridgewater to Mount Solon were also dropped.  When the Stokes' heirs put the CW up for sale in 1938, Don W. Thomas, a former Norfolk \u0026 Western Railroad employee who had been the general manager of the CW since 1926, fought a bid from Japanese scrap metal buyers and bought the line. In 1943, Thomas also bought the Baltimore \u0026 Ohio's Valley Road of Virginia line which rean between Harrisonburg and Lexington. The line south of Staunton was taken up and sold for scrap, but the road between Harrisonburg and Staunton was improved and became an important link in the CW system because of the connection with the Chesapeake \u0026 Ohio Railroad at Staunton. The CW linked with the Norfolk \u0026 Western at Elkton.","In 1954, the Norfolk \u0026 Western Railroad purchased CW, but the name was retained and was operated as a separate corporation. By about 1980, however, little or no rolling stock carried the CW logo any longer. Norfolk \u0026 Western and the Southern Railway Company merged as Norfolk Southern Corporation on June 1, 1982. Not long after that merger, a five-alarm fire burned the CW office located at Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg on July 28, 1982, and company offices and operations were eventually absorbed by the NS. Five miles of track east of Bridgewater were removed in 1988. The CW under the control of NS serves as the Harrisonburg area's poultry feed supplier passing through the campus of James Madison University daily. "],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRecords represent the day to day business operation of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company through 1982. After a fire that year, records were left in the CW building on Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and remained in that facility until 1997.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["Records represent the day to day business operation of the Chesapeake Western Railway Company through 1982. After a fire that year, records were left in the CW building on Chesapeake Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and remained in that facility until 1997."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, SC 0154, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, SC 0154, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eDue to the unwieldy nature of virtually off the bound ledgers, pages were removed from their covers and parceled into folders as both an aid to researchers and as a practical means to consolidate space.  The condition of some boards was also questionable with evidence of mold and pest damage. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. \u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eThis collection was previously cataloged as SC 4010.\u003c/emph\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Due to the unwieldy nature of virtually off the bound ledgers, pages were removed from their covers and parceled into folders as both an aid to researchers and as a practical means to consolidate space.  The condition of some boards was also questionable with evidence of mold and pest damage. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017.  This collection was previously cataloged as SC 4010."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, consist of 24.36 cubic feet of business records pertaining to the employees, assets, and business transactions of the company. The collection is topically arranged in seven series with the largest series first; then further arranged chronologically . Series consist of Personnel Records, Reports, Account Books, Correspondence, Blueprints and Schematics, Publications, and Miscellaneous Documents.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Chesapeake Western Railway Company Records, 1916-1982, consist of 24.36 cubic feet of business records pertaining to the employees, assets, and business transactions of the company. The collection is topically arranged in seven series with the largest series first; then further arranged chronologically . 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Wetsel, former president and consultant for the Wetsel Seed Company; an interview with Maxine Thomas, former employee (mostly in payroll accounting) at the Wetsel Seed Company in Harrisonburg, Va; a pamphlet, written by Russell Stultz, which gives a history of Wetsel Seed Company, Inc., from 1911 to 1971; and background papers written by interviewer, and JMU history undergraduate student, David James Rennyson."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. 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