The Heath Gravity Railroad

The Heath Gravity Railroad. . Some 500 feet beyond this point along both sides of Salisbury Road, roadbed remains of the Heath Gravity Railroad are visible. The railroad ran through this area from 1838 until approximately 1850. It was used to transport coal mined from the Midlothian area for use in the Richmond iron foundries and in Richmond homes for heat. This carefully engineered six-mile railroad moved coal by horse and by gravity from a ridge line in the present-day Sycamore Square area through Salisbury to a point on the James River west of Bellona Arsenal. The coal was loaded onto bateaux which transported it across the river and then east on the Kanawha Canal., The rails and ties of the railroad within Salisbury were removed and used in the construction of the nearby former Richmond and Danville Railroad (now Norfolk Southern) and for repairing this same railroad, and others, during the Civil War., The coal mines of the Midlothian area represent the earliest systematic excavation of fossil fuel in the United States., The 18.26 acres along this entrance corridor were deeded by the Salisbury Corporation in April, 2004, to the Salisbury Homeowners Association, which owns and maintains this area for the enjoyment of Salisbury residents.