Christiansburg station

Christiansburg station was an intercity rail station located in Christiansburg, Virginia. Originally built in 1906 to replace a previous station, it was served by Norfolk and Western Railway passenger trains until 1971. It was later served by Amtrak's Mountaineer from 1975 to 1977, then the Hilltopper until 1979. The station building remains extant.

Christiansburg, VA
Christiansburg station in July 1987
LocationDepot Street NE at East Main Street
Christiansburg, Virginia
Coordinates37°8′28.79″N 80°24′6.35″W
Line(s)NS Christiansburg District
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections Blacksburg Transit
Valley Metro
History
Opened1857
March 24, 1975[1]
ClosedApril 30, 1971
October 1, 1979[2]
Rebuilt1906
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Narrows
toward Tri-State
 Hilltopper Roanoke
toward Boston South
Narrows
toward Chicago
 Mountaineer Roanoke
toward Norfolk
Preceding station Norfolk and Western Railway Following station
Pearlsburg
toward Cincinnati
 Main Line Shawsville
toward Norfolk

History
The Cambria Freight Station, which served as Christiansburg's train station from 1869 to 1906, is also still extant

The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was built through Christiansburg in 1857. Originally planned to go through the town center, it was rerouted to the north due to the concerns of town leaders. A train station was built in Cambria (which was a separate municipality until 1964).

Much of the railroad was destroyed by Union forces during the Civil War. In 1868–69, a larger one-story station was built. That station was itself too small after several decades; a new station was built in 1906 and the older station because the town's freight house.[3]

Amtrak service

Even as local service petered out in the 1960s, the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) continued to run the crack Norfolk-Cincinnati Pocahontas and the local station counterpart on the same route, the Powhatan Arrow. The N&W also operated the Birmingham–Washington Birmingham Special (unnamed after February 1970 and cut back to Bristol in August 1970), the New Orleans-Washington Pelican (discontinued, 1970) and the Memphis-bound Tennessean. When Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail service on May 1, 1971, it chose not to continue service on the two trains, thus ending service to Christiansburg.

Service was restored on March 24, 1975 with the introduction of the Mountaineer service between Norfolk and Chicago.[1] The Mountaineer was replaced by the Hilltopper on June 1, 1977.[4] The Hilltopper was discontinued on October 1, 1979, ending rail service to Christiansburg for the second time.[2]

Proposed new service

Amtrak's Northeast Regional service was extended to Roanoke station in late 2017. In January 2016, the New River Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization named three sites in Christiansburg – two off Franklin Street and one in Cambria – as possible sites for a station in the New River Valley should service be extended further to Bristol. Sites in Dublin, Pulaski, and Radford were also considered.[5] In May 2016, the town purchased 1 acre (0.40 ha) of residential land off Franklin Street for potential future station use.[6] Christiansburg is also proposed to be the western terminus of east-west cross-state service to the Hampton Roads area, which would be the first such service since the Hilltopper.[7]

References
  1. "Amtrak's 'Mountaineer' makes first run today". Williamson Daily News. March 24, 1975. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
  2. Nagasaki, Hikki. "Christiansburg, Virginia". USA Rail Guide. TrainWeb.
  3. Gibson Worsham and Charlotte Worsham (January 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Cambria Freight Station" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-07-14. and Accompanying photo Archived 2016-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Hilltopper Begins Service". Amtrak NEWS. 4 (11). 15 June 1977. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  5. Gentry, Matt (14 January 2016). "Christiansburg sites considered possible passenger train stops". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. Moxley, Tonia (August 17, 2016). "Christiansburg buys property for proposed rail station". Roanoke Times. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  7. "Expanding Virginia's Passenger Rail: Connecting the Blue Ridge to the Beach with the Commonwealth Corridor" (PDF). Virginians for High Speed Rail. September 2019.
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