the Meherrin Valley Railroad connected the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad to Emporia, also served by the Atlantic and Danville Railway and the Petersburg Railroad/Atlantic Coast Line
Source: Library of Congress, Maps showing the Norfolk, Albermarle & Atlantic Railroad and its connections
The Meherrin Valley Railroad was an 18-mile connection between Emporia and the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad at Margaretsville, NC. It was a narrow gauge line (3.5' wide), and built with old-fashioned iron strap rails. The light infrastructure required light locomotives.1
It was constructed in two stages starting in 1882. The railroad went bankrupt after completing the first 10 miles of track headed northwest from Margaretsville and crossed Fountains Creek. After emerging from receivership in 1887, the Meherrin Valley Railway built the last eight miles to link with the Atlantic Coast Line (successor to the old Petersburg Railroad) and the Atlantic & Danville Railroad. It stayed south of the Meherrin River, avoiding the cost of building a bridge. Most of the mileage followed the watershed divide between the Meherrin River and Fountains Creek.
The ultimate destination was planned to be Danville. By the time the Meherrin Valley Railway reached Emporia, however, the Atlantic & Danville Railroad was already building west from that city to Danville.
The Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad starting joining with other railroads in 1881 to create the Seaboard Air Line. It could ue its tracks to carry traffic from the North Carolina Piedmont to the port city of Portsmouth, so there was no justification for it to finance an extension of the Meherrin Valley Railway. There was not enough potential business to invest in building a Seaboard Air Line track to Danville, parallel to the Atlantic & Danville Railroad.
The Seaboard Air Line, the Atlantic Coast Line, and the Atlantic & Danville Railroad had little desire to maintain a connection between Margaretsville and Emporia. They were stiff competitors, with a reluctance to interchange cars.
The Greenville Land & Lumber Company, owner of the Meherrin Valley Railroad, found it too expensive to maintain even a narrow gauge line. There were no generators of significant local traffic, no major industries in that part of Virginia and North Carolina to generate the needed revenues.
The Meherrin Valley Railway shut down in 1892, after just a decade of existence. Today, Route 730 follows the old roadbed north of Fountains Creek to Emporia.2
Low Ground Road (Route 730) follows much of the roadbed of the Meherrin Valley Railroad
Source: ESRIs, ArcGIS Online