Covington and Ohio Railroad was part of a planned railroad link between Eastern Virginia and the Ohio River in the 1850s. The mountainous region of the Allegheny Front (eastern side) of the Appalachian Plateau between an existing canal, railroads and navigable rivers represented a formidable obstacle. The railroad was never formally incorporated. Instead, it became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1868. Under the leadership of Williams Carter Wickham and Collis P. Huntington, it opened to through traffic in 1873. In the early 21st century, the tracks form a vital portion of the rail network for CSX Transportation as part of a pathway from the bituminous coal mines of West Virginia to the coal piers at Newport News, Virginia. Historical transportation need Beginning in the 18th century, for purposes of shipping goods and passenger transportation, Virginians had long sought a canal or railroad link between the navigable rivers which drain to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at the Fall Line and the Ohio River, which leads to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. As a surveyor, George Washington had mapped out several potential routes, and in 1785, he had been an early investor in a canal venture. The James River and Kanawha Canal was the last final effort to do so by canal, and was partially completed. However, after 1830, emerging railroad technology made it increasingly clear that it offered a better solution to providing the desired link. Virginia Central Railroad The early railroads in Virginia were privately owned, but often received partial state-funding through investments by the Virginia Board of Public Works, which was always keen to help with internal improvements in the state's transportation infrastructure. The Virginia Central Railroad, earlier known as the Louisa Railroad, had been formed in 1836 and was one of the state's oldest railroads. 40% of its stock was owned by the Virginia Board of Public Works. By the 1850s, it extended westerly from Richmond on the fall line of the James River through the Piedmont region of Virginia. A plan was developed to extend the Virginia Central across the Blue Ridge Mountains and into the Shenandoah Valley and points west. However, the railroad had found that a planned crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Swift Run Gap was financially unfeasible. Blue Ridge Railroad To protect its investment and enable transportation, the Virginia General Assembly then incorporated