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A Lynchburg landmark marks its 100th anniversary this year: Kemper Street Station. The controversial “West End” station was put into commission by the Southern Railway (now a part of Norfolk Southern) on October 31, 1912. Its completion closed the book on a huge line-improvement project.
LAY OF THE LAND
The first railroad rights-of-way were built following the lay of the land to achieve a route as gentle as possible, with as little heavy excavating as possible. Even then, following the lay of the land often resulted in a finished line with many challenging grades and curves. The two railroads that crossed the James River at Lynchburg were originally built in this fashion, and operating trains through the city became more and more difficult as the size of rolling stock and length of trains increased over the years.
In the first decade of the twentieth century, the Southern Railway approached Lynchburg from the north, more or less following Harris Creek from the Winesap area in Amherst County down to the James River. After crossing the James about a half mile above Scott’s Mill dam, the Southern
followed the south bank of the river, passing below Point of Honor. Trains crossed Blackwater Creek to enter downtown Lynchburg, passed through a small tunnel under Ninth Street, and continued down the middle of what is now Jefferson Street.
The Norfolk & Western Railway, the other railroad that crossed the James at Lynchburg, entered the city from the west by following Blackwater Creek down to the riverfront. From downtown, the N&W crossed the James onto Percival’s Island where its main railroad yard at the time was located, and then continued across the river into Amherst County.
Downtown Lynchburg had already become a terrible bottleneck for the Southern and the N&W when a third
BY GARLAND HARPER
Belt Line and Depot
Southern
N&W
C&O
Southern Belt Line
LARS:
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