09/10/2026
LIVE at 12:05: Off the Rails in Isle of Wight County, Virginia
Today’s discussion highlights two rusty pieces of steel unearthed last week during milling operations for the repaving of Grace Street in Smithfield.
Director Jennifer England highlights these artifacts which are most likely from the Smithfield Terminal Railway Company which connected to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in Newport News. The tracks themselves were former Virginia Transit Company streetcar rails.
In total, the line had a one-mile track and a 13-mile float over the James River to deliver meat, livestock, supplies and fuel to and from the Smithfield packing houses. Operations began on June 8, 1948.
Success, however, was short-lived. Smithfield Terminal Railway, inactive since 1950, was broken up beneath an auctioneer’s gavel in 1960.
Recorded and produced September 10, 2026.
