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Employment Patterns at Various Confederate Railroads |
| Charts showing employment patterns at a
railroad give an insight into the importance of the railroad and the
traffic level it is handling. The Richmond & Danville Railroad
shows this clearly. In 1861, it was a railroad of modest value to the
war effort, but with enormous potential if the connection with the North Carolina Railroad
could be made at Greensboro. R&D employment rose slightly until the
connection, the Piedmont Railroad, was
completed in the summer of 1864. By then, the R&D was the sole
remaining link for Richmond and the Army of Northern Virginia to the
rest of the Confederacy. 9 locomotives and 2 dozen cars were
leased from other roads to carry the increased, vital traffic.
Employment in late 1864 shows a road with more than double the employees
of 1861, despite drastic conscription.
Richmond & Danville Railroad Employees Richmond & Petersburg Railroad Employees |