B-Line (Norfolk Southern)

This article is about a US rail line in Virginia. For the rail route in Indiana, United States, see Bee Line Railroad.

The B-Line is a railroad line in the state of Virginia in the United States. It runs 111 miles (179 km) from Manassas, Virginia, to Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was built by predecessors of the Southern Railway between 1854 and 1873. Today, ownership is split between the Norfolk Southern Railway and the Chesapeake Western Railway.

History

The Manassas Gap Railroad was incorporated on March 9, 1850.[1] It completed a line between Manassas, Virginia, and Strasburg, Virginia, 61 miles (98 km) long, in 1854.[2] The line was badly damaged during the American Civil War. Following the war, the Manassas Gap Railroad merged with the Orange and Alexandria Railroad to create the Orange, Alexandria and Manassas Railroad.[3] That company began building south toward Harrisonburg, Virginia. In 1872, it was consolidated with several other railroads to create the Virginia and North Carolina Railroad, later known as the Washington City, Virginia Midland and Great Southern Railway.[1] That company completed the 50-mile (80 km) line between Strasburg and Harrisonburg in 1873.[4]

The Washington City, Virginia Midland and Great Southern Railway was reorganized in 1881 as the Virginia Midland Railway.[4] The Southern Railway acquired the Virginia Midland in 1898.[1] The Southern Railway merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1982 to create the Norfolk Southern Railway.[5] The Norfolk Southern sold the portion between Strasburg and Mount Jackson, Virginia, to the Chesapeake Western Railway in 1989.[6]

The B-Line has been out of service between Edinburg, Virginia, and Strasburg, since 2013. Service between Strasburg and Front Royal ended in 2020 following a derailment. The Northern Shenandoah Valley Transportation Preservation Corporation is seeking proposals for restoring service on that portion of the line.[7][8]

Route

The eastern end of the line is in Manassas, where it connects with Norfolk Southern's Washington District. It crosses the ex-Norfolk and Western Railway Hagerstown District at Front Royal, Virginia. In Strasburg, it connects with the Shenandoah Subdivision. Norfolk Southern ownership ends south of Edinburg.[9]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c ICC (1931), p. 215.
  2. ^ ICC (1931), p. 670.
  3. ^ Thomas (1961), p. 26.
  4. ^ a b ICC (1931), p. 224.
  5. ^ "Southern Rail, N&". The Washington Post. February 22, 1982. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  6. ^ Lewis (1996), p. 78.
  7. ^ Worrell, Carolina (June 26, 2024). "Shenandoah Seeks Qualified Operator of Existing NS 'B Line'". Railway Age. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  8. ^ Fitzmaurice, Ryan (December 23, 2025). "Rail operators step forward as Shenandoah corridor debate enters new phase". Daily News-Record. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  9. ^ Norfolk Southern Railway (August 4, 2008). "Piedmont Division" (PDF). p. 15. Retrieved March 23, 2026.

References

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to B-Line (Norfolk Southern).
  • Hamlin, George W. (May 1997). "Norfolk Southern's corridor bypass". Trains. Vol. 57, no. 5. pp. 44–47.
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