I am doing research on the Chesapeake Steamship Company, previously known as the Baltimore, Chesapeake and Richmond Steamboat Company, which was owned by the Southern Railway. The dates, I believe, were about 1896 to 1941. In particular, I am in need of material on the York River Line between Baltimore and West Point, Virginia where the steamers connected to a Southern train to Richmond. I would like to know if there are any books or other sources which you can recommend that would provide background on the railroad's ownership of this line. I am also in need of photographs depicting the trains meeting the steamers at the West Point dock, people photos, timetables, etc.

Any leads will be most appreciated.

John H. Shaum, Jr.

-- John H. Shaum, Jr. (jmshaum@erols.com), April 17, 2001

Answers

Good luck, I have been researching various types of properties owned by railroads like steam ship lines, ferry boats and hotels. These seem to be some of the hardest areas to get fresh information on. Some share executive officers with the owners, for example the President of the ship line might be a VP of the railroad that owns them (get this info from an Official Guide). Sometimes timetables will mention this kind of thing. Other than that it can be hard to research, I have even found many company histories to be lacking in this area. Let us know if you come up with anything interesting. AEP

-- albert pope (aepope2@aol.com), April 19, 2001.