Existing comment:
Golden spike ("the last spike"), silver mallet, and gold presentation cup used in ceremonies to mark completion of the Seaboard Air Line Railway
1900: Riding the Rails to Recovery
Railroads were critical to Virginia's postwar economic revival. Factories in Richmond and Roanoke built locomotives, while lines carried coal, lumber, and tourists to new markets. John Skelton Williams of Richmond looked beyond the state to link Virginia with Florida by rail and thereby create additional commerce and jobs. The line he built was so flat and straight that it was called an "air line" railway. |