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Chattaroi Railroad: Purchased by 3Cs in 1887

Researched and chronicled by Scott Jessee and Sandhi Kozsuch

The goal of the initial owners of the Chattaroi in the 1870s was to serve the coalfields at Peach Orchard KY. However, for the Charleston Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad, it was a vital link to its destination of the Ohio River at Ashland KY.

Chattaroi Railroad - Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin - University of Kentucky - Library of Congress

In 1887, the 3Cs announced they had purchased the Chattaroi, giving them a ready-built railroad for their final 50 miles northward from the Virginia and Kentucky coalfields to the Ohio River at Ashland. This completed segment of the Chattaroi ran from Richardson Ky, northward to Ashland.

But for an unknown reason, the purchase was never consummated during the two years that followed. The 3Cs had also begun construction on the line extending the Chattaroi from Richardson southward to Whitehouse KY, the beginning of its goal of reaching the Breaks on the Kentucky border.

Newspaper: Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin, May 7 1987, provided by the University of Kentucky and the Library of Congress.

Chattaroi Purchased by Collis Huntington – The Ohio & Big Sandy Railroad

In 1889, as a surprise to everyone, Collis Huntington purchased the Chattaroi and changed its name to the Ohio & Big Sandy Railroad (O&BS). Huntington had lost control of the C&O just months before. It was reported that Huntington intended to build the O&BS through the Breaks, with the goal of reaching Norfolk VA.

Chattaroi Timeline

Many thanks to Scott Jessee who did the majority of the research on the Chattaroi, combing through many old newspapers and documents. Additionally, Elmer Sulzer’s ‘Ghost Railroads of Kentucky’ has a good, well-researched history of the Chattaroi.

  • 1873 Chartered
  • 1873-1880 Existed as a narrow gauge railroad south from Ashland KY for several miles
  • 1880 Construction began on upgrading the railroad to standard gauge
  • 1882 Chattaroi reaches Peach Orchard
  • 1885 Chattaroi enters receivership, and continues operating under receivership for several years
  • 1887 Charleston Cincinnati & Chicago announces the purchase of the Chattaroi
  • 1888 Railroad reached Richardson KY on the Big Sandy River, a total of 49 miles
  • 1889 Chattaroi purchased by Collis Huntington. The name was changed to Ohio & Big Sandy Railroad Company (O&BS)
  • 1892 OB&S constructs a new line from Louisa to Richardson, avoiding the old Chattaroi’s steep grades and tight curves. The new line follows the Big Sandy River. Three miles of the Chattaroi from Richardson to Peach Orchard was retained as a branch. The rest of the original grade was abandoned.
  • 1892 Chesapeake & Ohio Railway purchases the O&BS.
  • 1939 C&O Peach Orchard Branch was abandoned

Interactive Map of the Chattaroi, O&BS, and C&O/CSX

Chattaroi Railroad - Walbridge KY to Richardson KY

Click this link for a Google interactive map showing you the Chattaroi route (red line) from Walbridge to Richardson, the C&O/CSX current mainline (yellow line), and the short segment of the O&BS intermediate alignment that passes through a short tunnel (green line).

I highly recommend visiting Walbridge to see the old bridge and tunnel, and then traveling highway 1690 following the Chattaroi.

Chatteroi and C&O/CSX Crossing at Walbridge KY

Once the OB&S took control of the Chattaroi in 1892, it was apparent that the railroad desperately needed a new mainline routing that avoided the steep grades, sharp curves, and switchbacks of the Chattaroi. The O&BS built their new alignment to follow the Big Sandy River, which was a few miles longer, but certainly avoided the operational headaches and expenses, and much slower train speeds.

The old Chattaroi mainline was then abandoned, however, you can still drive and see the roadbed, bridge, and tunnel at Walbridge KY. Additionally, my guess is that some sections of KY State Route 1690 are built on the original roadbed.

Below, the Chattaroi bridge and alignment is now a single lane for cars, crossing the C&O/CSX mainline.

Chattaroi Railroad

O&BS Railroad Tunnel at Walbridge KY

Chattaroi Railroad

O&BS Tunnel and C&O-CSX Mainline at Walbridge KY

Chattaroi Railroad

Chattaroi Branch, now a short siding, at Richardson KY

Chattaroi Branch and C&O

Chattaroi abandoned rails at Richardson KY

Chattaroi Railroad

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For More Information – Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the history and operation of the Appalachian Railroads. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Appalachian-Railroads.org. Much of the collective railroad history data points on this website are verified across multiple sources.

  • Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps, timetables, and track charts
  • Associations, Historical Societies and their Archives
  • Archives of Appalachia: ETSU, Johnson City TN
  • Newspaper Articles: Newspapers.com
  • Magazines/Online: ‘Trains‘, ‘Classic Trains‘
  • Books
    • Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
    • Appalachian Region
      • Grant: ‘The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road’
      • Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City
      • Huddleston: ‘Appalachian Crossings – The Pocahontas Roads‘ and ‘Appalachian Conquest‘
      • Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina‘
      • Timko and Young: ‘Appalchian Coal Mines and Railroads, Vol. 1, 2, & 3‘
      • Roberts: ‘Sand Patch, Clash of the Titans‘
      • Yanosey: ‘Tidewater Triangle’
    • Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
      • Calloway: ‘Atlantic Coast Line, The Diesel Years‘
      • Griffin: ‘Atlantic Coast Line, The Standard Railroad of the South‘
      • Goolsby: ‘Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Service, The Postwar Years‘
    • Baltimore & Ohio Railway
      • Jacobs: ‘The History of the Baltimore & Ohio’
      • McGuirk: ‘Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the Potomac Valley‘
      • Ori, Salamon and Oroszi: Baltimore & Ohio/Reflections of the Capitol Dome‘ and ‘Baltimore & Ohio/Sunburst Trail to Chicago’
    • C&O Railway/Chessie System
      • Dixon: ‘Chesapeake & Ohio, Superpower to Diesels‘, Chesapeake & Ohio in the Coalfields, ‘C&O Allegheny Subdivision‘, and ‘Chesapeake & Ohio Railway – A Concise History and Fact Book‘, and ‘The Chessie Era’
      • Dorin: ‘The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway’
      • Huddleston: ‘Riding the New River Train‘
      • Ori – ‘Chessie System‘
      • Paton: ‘Allegheny with an A’
      • Turner: ‘Chessie’s Road‘
    • Clinchfield Railroad
      • Beach: ‘The Black Mountain Railway’
      • Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield‘ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield‘
      • Helm: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad in the Coal Fields‘
      • Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter‘
      • King: ‘Clinchfield Country‘
      • Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color‘
      • Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century‘
      • Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine‘
      • Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains‘
    • CSX Railroad
      • Springirth: ‘CSX Transportation Heritage‘
    • ET&WNC: Listed on the website’s ET&WNC pages
    • Interstate Railroad
      • Wolfe & Wolfe: ‘Appalachian Coal Hauler’
      • Wolfe: ‘The Interstate Railroad‘
    • L&N Railroad
      • Castner, Flanary & Dorin: Louisville & Nashville Railroad The Old Reliable‘
      • Flanary: The Louisville & Nashville Cumberland Valley Division
      • Flanary, Oroszi & McKee: ‘The Louisville & Nashville in the Appalachians‘
      • Oroszi & Flanary: ‘Dixie Lines, The Louisville & Nashville Railroad‘
    • NC&StL Railway
      • Prince: ‘Nashville Chattanooga & St Louis Railway‘
    • Norfolk Southern
      • Esposito: ‘Norfolk Southern Railroad’
      • Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review‘
    • Norfolk & Western Railway
      • Newton: ‘Rails Remembered, Volumes 1-6
      • Warden: ‘Norfolk & Western: Diesel’s Last Conquest‘ and ‘Norfolk & Western’s Passenger Service’
      • Wolfe, Wilson & Mandelkern: ‘Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line‘
    • Pennsylvania Railroad
      • Jacobs: ‘The History of the Pennsylvania Railroad‘
    • Seaboard Air Line, Seaboard Coast Line, Seaboard System
      • Calloway and Withers: ‘Seaboard Motive Power‘
      • Carleton: ‘Locomotives of the Seaboard System‘
      • Griffin: ‘Seaboard Coast Line and Family Lines Railroad‘ and ‘All Lines North of Raleigh‘
      • Johnson: ‘Through the Heart of the South‘
    • Southern Railway
      • Davis: The Southern Railway, Road of the Innovators‘
      • Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi. The Southern Railway‘
      • Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History‘
      • Wolfe: ‘Southern Railway Appalachia Division‘
    • Virginian Railway
      • Reisweber: ‘Virginian Rails’
      • Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Virginian Railway Handbook‘
  • Online Article: Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘; Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
  • Online Videos: Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1 | Video #2:
  • Websites:

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org