The Virginian Railway ( VGN ), an engineering marvel of its day, was conceived and built by William Nelson Page and Henry Huttleston Rogers.

Following the Roanoke River, the VGN was built through the City of Roanoke early in the twentieth century.

The low gradient VGN was considered an engineering marvel of the time when it was completed in 1909.

Local customers on the former VGN line through Victoria and nearby Kenbridge were few, and the portion of the line through Victoria and Kenbridge was eventually abandoned in the 1980s.

After several years of work, one of the last C-10 cabooses built in-house by VGN employees at the company's massive shops complex in Princeton, West Virginia in the 1950s was located.

The VGN was created to transport high quality " smokeless " bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads.

The Virginian Railway ( VGN ) was conceived early in the 20th century by two men.

Beginning in 1917 the former Jamestown Exposition grounds adjacent to the VGN coal pier was an important facility for the United States Navy.

In the mid 1950s VGN management realized that the company's devotion to coal as its energy source ( for steam locomotives and the power plant at Narrows for the electrification system ) was becoming overshadowed by the economies of diesel-electric locomotives and a scarcity of parts for the older steam locomotives.

Beginning in 1903 Page, West Virginia, named for Col. William Page, was the site of a switching yard, roundhouse, and station on the Deepwater Railway and later the Virginian Railway ( VGN ).

During World War I the VGN was jointly operated with its adjacent competitor, the Norfolk & Western Railway ( N & W ), under the USRA's wartime takeover of the Pocahontas Roads.

Two years after the merger, the VGN began gaining new life in a book, as it was presented as classic story of competitive business intrigue mixed with a story-telling writing style about the lore of the railroad and its people.

This proved just in time to serve the Jamestown Exposition, which was held on land just north of the VGN coal pier site at Sewells Point, which opened in the spring of 1907.

An engineering marvel of the day, the final spike in the VGN was driven on January 29, 1909.

When the VGN was merged with the Norfolk & Western in 1959, civilian coal loading was shifted to Lambert's Point, and the Navy purchased the site a few years later.

Completed in 1909, the VGN was built to be very efficient and during the first half of the 20th century, became widely known as the " Richest Little Railroad in the World.

This proved just in time for the new railroad to serve the Jamestown Exposition, which was held on land adjacent to the VGN coal pier site at Sewell's Point.

However, from that point east, the combination brought an increase to the South Side Railroad alignment as former VGN traffic was rerouted through Crewe to connect with the former N & P on its way to Lambert's Point.

The VGN was merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1959, which itself became part of Norfolk Southern in 1982.

However, from that point east, the combination brought an increase to the Southside Railroad alignment as former VGN traffic was rerouted through Crewe to connect with the former N & P on its way to Lambert ;' s Point.

After the VGN merger with the Norfolk and Western in 1959, it was renamed R. B.

Finally, as the Interstate Commerce Commission began to realize that railroads needed to be able to compete successfully with trucking and other modes of transportation more than primarily each other, in 1959, the Norfolk and Western succeeded in reaching a merge with the VGN and gaining regulatory approvals, marking what became called the " modern merger era " in North American railroading which eventually resulted in Princeton's current service by Norfolk Southern Railway, one of only 6 large class 1 railroads operating in the United States in the 21st century.

The profitable VGN experimented with the finest and largest steam, electric, and diesel locomotives.

VGN 36 Fairbanks-Morse H-16-44 diesel locomotive crossing the diamond with Norfolk & Western Railway at South Norfolk, VA

Hobbyists around the world model the VGN in many scales and gauges, with some items considered to be valuable collectibles.

Feucht has numerous stops throughout the town and is serviced by VGN / VAG busline with direct service to Nuremberg.

" Merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1959, a large portion of the former VGN remains in service in the 21st century for the Norfolk Southern Railway, a Class I railroad headquartered in Norfolk, a few blocks from the former Virginian Railway offices in Norfolk Terminal Station.

The VGN had a very major grade at Clark's Gap, West Virginia, and tried ever-larger steam locomotives before turning to an alternative already in use by one of its neighboring competitors, Norfolk & Western Railway: a railway electrification system.

When the VGN lost its identity upon purchase by the Norfolk & Western in 1959, author and photographer H. Reid wrote the epic book " The Virginian Railway " and stated " There will always be a Virginian.

Today, major portions of the VGN low-gradient route are the preferred eastbound coal path for the N & W's successor, the Norfolk Southern Railway.

The former VGN property at Sewell's Point is part of the US Naval Station, Norfolk, the largest naval facility in the world.

The former VGN Sewells Point site is now part of the United States ' Naval Station Norfolk.

In addition to President Roosevelt, the VGN and the original Norfolk Southern Railway transported many of the 3 million persons who attended before the Exposition closed on December 1, 1907.

Transported by the N & W and neighboring Virginian Railway ( VGN ), local coal fueled half the world's navies.

In 1907, as they began nearing completion, the Tidewater and Deepwater Railways were combined to form the Virginian Railway ( VGN ).

* Virginian Railway ( VGN ) Enthusiasts non-profit group of preservationists, authors, photographers, historians, modelers, and railfans

In 1907, The Deepwater and Tidewater were combined to become the Virginian Railway ( VGN ).

Completed in 1909, the Virginian Railway ( VGN ) established engine terminal and yard facilities near Mullens which employed hundreds of workers during the first half of the 20th century.

Transported by the N & W, and later the neighboring Virginian Railway ( VGN ), it fueled half the world's navies and today stokes steel mills and power plants all over the globe.

Early in 1907, the Deepwater and Tidewater Railways, still under construction, were combined to become the Virginian Railway ( VGN ).

* Virginian Railway ( VGN ) Enthusiasts.

However, of all of his many activities, William Nelson Page is probably best known for the founding and building of the Virginian Railway ( VGN ).

In addition to President Roosevelt, the newly renamed Virginian Railway ( VGN ) transported many of the 3 million persons who attended before the Exposition closed on December 1, 1907.