Norfolk & Western Financial Documents, 1882-1954 (Ms2003-004)
Dates
- 1882 - 1954
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from Norfolk & Western Financial Documents must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Historical Note
The Norfolk & Western Railroad was organized in 1881 from the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio Railroad. Primarily a line carrying agricultural products at its inception, the Norfolk and Western rapidly became associated with the mineral development of the southwestern part of Virginia and West Virginia. In 1881 it acquired the franchises to four other lines: the New River Railroad, the New River Railroad, Mining, and Manufacturing Company, the Bluestone Railroad, and the East River Railroad. These companies became the basis for Norfolk and Western's New River Division, which ran to the coalfields to the west.
Much of the early history of the Norfolk & Western Railway can be written in terms of expansion and consolidation with other lines. In 1890, it acquired the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, which ran from Roanoke, Virginia, to Hagerstown, Maryland. By 1891, an Ohio extension was well underway, giving the railroad access to the industrial Midwest. In 1892, Norfolk & Western Railroad leased the Roanoke and Southern Railroad, connecting Roanoke with Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and in 1893 it leased the Lynchburg and Durham, connecting Lynchburg with Durham, North Carolina. But this program of expansion, coupled with the economic depression of the 1890s, forced the railroad into receivership in 1895. It emerged as the reorganized Norfolk and Western Railway the next year.
Through expansion and various mergers, the Norfolk & Western Railway grew to become a major U.S. carrier, serving 14 states. The company manufactured steam locomotives at its own Roanoke Machine Works (established in Roanoke, Virginia in 1882), and among the railroad's affiliated holdings were several hotels (represented in this collection by the Bluefield Inn and the Hotel Roanoke). Among the company's larger merger acquisitions was the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad--the "Nickel Plate Road"--in 1964. In 1982, the Norfolk & Western Railway combined with the Southern Railway to form Norfolk Southern Corporation.
Language of Materials
English
Acquisition Information
The Norfolk & Western Financial Documents were purchased by Special Collections in 2003. An additional item was purchased in 2010.
Abstract
The collection contains bills and invoices from Norfolk & Western Railroad, Norfolk & Western Railway, and several subsidiaries and contracted companies.
Abstract
The collection contains bills, invoices, checks and other financial documents from Norfolk & Western Railroad, Norfolk & Western Railway, and several subsidiaries, contracted, and related companies. Companies include, but are not limited to: Adams Express Company, Bluefield Inn, Cincinnati Northern Railroad Company, Deepwater Railway Company, Hotel Roanoke, Maple Shade Inn, Roanoke Machine Works, Seaboard Air Line Railway Company, Southern Express Company, Southern States Dispatch, Tidewater Railway Company, Virginia Company, Virginia Holding Corporation, and Virginia, Tennessee, & Georgia Air Line-Fast Freight Line.
Please note: Wherever possible, materials are separated to the related company or subsidiary level. However, there is some overlap between individual companies and documents in the Norfolk & Western Railroad Company and Norfolk & Western Railway Company folders.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Norfolk & Western Financial Documents commenced in October 2010 and was completed in December 2010.
- Aberdeen & Asheboro Railway Company
- Adams Express Company (1854-2015)
- Bluefield Inn (W. Va.)
- Cincinnati Northern Railroad Company
- Cumberland Valley Railroad Company
- Deepwater Railway Company (1898-1907)
- East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railway Company
- Hotel Roanoke
- Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
- Maple Shade Inn Company (Pulaski, Va.)
- Norfolk and Western Railroad Company (1881-1896)
- Norfolk and Western Railway Company (1896-1982)
- Railroad
- Roanoke Machine Works
- Seaboard Air Line Railway Company
- Southern Express Company
- Southern States Dispatch
- Tidewater Railway Company (1904-1907)
- Virginia Holding Corporation
- Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia Air Line
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu