The City Point Railroad was a nine-mile railroad in eastern Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 established in 1836 which ran from City Point

City Point, Virginia

City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...

 (now part of the independent City of Hopewell

Hopewell, Virginia

Hopewell is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 22,591 at the 2010 Census . It is in Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...

) on the navigable portion of the James River

James River (Virginia)

The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...

 to Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

. It was reorganized as the Appomattox Railroad in 1847 and acquired by the Southside Railroad in 1854.

This short-line played a crucial role in the US Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 during the Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

 in 1864-1865, and was operated by the United States Military Railroad

United States Military Railroad

The United States Military Railroad was an organization during the American Civil War that ran railroads for the Union Army wherever they were needed. It was established in 1862 under General Daniel McCallum.- Petersburg Campaign :...

 (USMRR) for more than a year.

After the War, it became part of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad

Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad

Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad was formed in 1870 in Virginia from 3 east-west railroads which traversed across the southern portion of the state. Organized and led by former Confederate general William Mahone , the 428-mile line linked Norfolk with Bristol, Virginia by way of Suffolk,...

 formed in 1870, and was the oldest portion of the Norfolk and Western when it was formed in 1881.

Today the former City Point Railroad is part of the Norfolk Southern system.