“B” is for Blue Ridge Railroad

“B” is for Blue Ridge Railroad. Chartered in 1852, the Blue Ridge Railroad revived earlier plans to connect Charleston to the Midwest by rail. Built by Irish and German immigrants and local enslaved persons, the Blue Ridge Railroad was intended to return Charleston to commercial prominence in the American South. Funding was problematic, and only a massive infusion of state funds kept the railroad construction alive, but it was not enough to complete the line. The most costly and famous portion of the route was the uncompleted Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel. After the Civil War, the idea of completing the railroad was revived but financial difficulties quickly overtook the company. In 1874 the assets of the Blue Ridge Railroad were broken up and the completed portion of the track was eventually incorporated into the Southern Railway System.