the Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad was completed in 1900 between Petersburg and Ridgeway Junction (now Norlina), North Carolina
Source: Library of Congress, Railroad map of North Carolina, 1900 (H. C. Brown, 1900)
the Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad was completed in 1900 between Petersburg and Ridgeway Junction (now Norlina), North Carolina
Source: Library of Congress, Railroad map of North Carolina, 1900 (H. C. Brown, 1900)
In 1882, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the Virginia & Carolina Railroad to build from Petersburg to connect with the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad at Ridgeway Junction (now Norlina), North Carolina. That was the former terminus of the Roanoke Valley Railroad, which was not rebuilt after the Civil War. Initial construction efforts quickly stalled for lack of funding.
The city of Petersburg acquired the rights in 1897 and reorganized the line as the Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad.
When the Seaboard Air Line was formally organized in 1900, the Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad became part of it. That year, track was completed between Richmond and Ridgeway Junction on the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad, which had also been incorporated in the Seaboard Air Line. Completing the Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad enabled the Seaboard Air Line to stop paying its competitor, the Atlantic Coast Line, for trackage rights north of Weldon, North Carolina.1
"North Carolina Railroads - Virginia & Carolina Railroad," Carolana, http://www.carolana.com/NC/Transportation/railroads/nc_rrs_virginia_carolina.html; "North Carolina Railroads - Richmond, Petersburg & Carolina Railroad," Carolana, http://www.carolana.com/NC/Transportation/railroads/nc_rrs_richmond_petersburg_carolina.html; "Annual Report of the State Corporation Commission of Virginia. Compilations from Returns of Railroads, Canals, Electric Railways and Other Corporate Companies," Virginia State Corporation Commission, 1917, p.419, https://books.google.com/books?id=BN8lAQAAIAAJ (last checked June 30, 2020)
the Seaboard Air Line built track (red line) from Petersburg to Norlina, eliminating the use of the rival Atlantic Coast Line track from Weldon to Petersburg (blue line)
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
Ridgeway Junction was renamed Norlina in 1913. The bridge over the Roanoke River was rebuilt when Lake Gaston was created in 1963.1
"Home," Town of Norlina, http://norlinanc.com/ (last checked June 30, 2020)
the Seaboard Air Line rebuilt its Roanoke River bridge when Gaston Dam was completed in 1963
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Bracey VA 1:24,000 topographic quadrangle (2019)
When the Seaboard Air Line was merged with the Atlantic Coast Line in 1967, the route to Norlina became secondary. The Seaboard Coast Line chose to use the Atlantic Coast Line as its mainline, the A-Line. The S-Line to Norlina was formally abandoned in 1986, and rails were removed in 1987.2
"The Norlina Subdivision," Rails in Virginia, http://www.railsinvirginia.com/abandoned/sal/norlina_subdivision.html (last checked January 25, 2019)
Proposals for high-speed rail between Washington to Raleigh involve re-using the S-Line which was abandoned in 1986.3 "Record of Decision - Southeast High Speed Rail Richmond, VA, to Raleigh, NC, Tier II Environmental Impact Statement," North Carolina Department of Transportation, March 24, 2017, pp.12-13, https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/Rail-Division-Resources/Documents/SEHSR%20Raleigh%20to%20Richmond%20Signed%20Record%20of%20Decision.pdf (last checked January 25, 2019)
the S-Line abandoned by the Seaboard Coast Line could become a high-speed rail route to Raleigh
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online