1854: A Leader in Railway Development is Born in Virginia

January 6, 1854

William Nelson Page, a civil engineer and industrialist who proved to be instrumental in the development of key railway routes within both Virginia and West Virginia, was born in Campbell County, Virginia. Page received his education in engineering at the University of Virginia and leveraged both that expertise and his considerable energies into harnessing the potential of railroads to get to and transport the abundant mineral resources in West Virginia.

During the early-to-mid 1870s, Page played a major role in planning for and constructing the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railway. Page’s contributions to this effort included leading a survey party charged with mapping the route for that railway, which would run between Richmond, Virginia, and the Ohio River (at present-day Huntington, West Virginia) via the valleys of the James River and Jackson River in Virginia and the New River and Kanawha River in West Virginia. Along with selecting the route for the C&O, Page oversaw the construction of several of the railroad’s bridges. 

Page also played a pivotal part in developing the Virginian Railway (VGN), which was built to transport bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to the port at Hampton Roads, Virginia. Even before that railroad was completed, Page and the others involved in constructing the VGN put it to high-profile use throughout much of 1907 for the Jamestown Exposition. 

The railroad ended up transporting about three million people to and from the exposition, which was held at Sewell’s Point on Hampton Roads to commemorate the 300^th anniversary of the establishment of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony. The final spike for the VGN was driven in early 1909. (The accompanying photo of a VGN steam locomotive was taken that same year.)

Page died at his home in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 1932. He was 78. One of his sons, Randolph Gilham “Dizzy” Page (1893-1930), made his own important contributions to the world of transportation as a pioneer of U.S. air mail service.    

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on William Nelson Page, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Nelson_Page and https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/repositories/2/resources/5333