DILLWYN, Va. — Robert E. Bryant, founder and chairman of Virginia’s largest short line, the family-owned Buckingham Branch Railroad, died May 8 at his home. He was 87.
After a long career with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and its successors, Chessie System and CSX Transportation, Bryant formed the short line in 1988 by acquiring a 16-mile-long line, the former C&O Buckingham Branch between Bremo and Dillwyn. The latter town remains the company’s corporate headquarters.
Over time, Bryant expanded operations to form a 280-mile network with four divisions, the largest of which includes the 192-mile-long former C&O main line between Richmond, Charlottesville, and Clifton Forge.
Starting as a C&O messenger at age 18 the day after he graduated from high school, Bryant moved up in management and retired from a CSX marketing position in Baltimore in 1988. He and his wife Annie returned to their roots in Virginia and started the Buckingham Branch Railroad with one locomotive and two employees, operating their first train on March 6, 1989.
The company grew exponentially in 2004 with the lease of CSX’s Richmond-Clifton Forge line, the Richmond & Allegheny Division. In addition to handling local business, the line sees overhead CSX westbound freights and Amtrak’s triweekly Cardinal passenger train between New York, Washington, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Chicago.
Five years later, the company took over operations on Norfolk Southern’s 59-mile line between Burkeville and Clarksville, a former Southern Railway route. In 2018, the company began operating on a 5-mile line between Virginia Beach and Norfolk. The company now fields seven train crews and has about 80 employees.
As the Buckingham Branch grew, it became a family business, with Bryant’s wife Annie (vice chair of board of directors), a son, Mark (CEO), and a daughter, Lois Bryant Frank (corporate secretary), all playing key roles in the company.
Another shortline owner, Alan Maples, remembers Bryant fondly. “I met him in 1984, when he was with Chessie in Baltimore,” he said. “We had a joint move coming to [our] Everett Railroad out of the Port of Baltimore. He was very kind to me, a young railroader at the time. He came out to see us, and see our railroad. He showed a real interest in short-line railroading.
“He was a very successful railroader, always a gentleman, always gracious to everyone. He always tried to do things right, and always showed interest in all the people he worked with, and who worked for him.”
In founding the Buckingham Branch, Maples said, Bryant was “the right man at the right place at the right time. He was a great friend.”
Bryant was a founding member of the Virginia Railroad Association, a group of Class II and III short lines and terminal roads, and a fellow of the Virginia Rail Policy Institute, a freight-and-passenger-rail advocacy group. In addition, he was a member of the Clifton Forge-based Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society, and the Richmond-based Old Dominion Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The railroad has partnered with the chapter in running passenger excursion trains on the original segment of the Buckingham Branch Railroad.
In addition to his wife of 66 years, Bryant is survived by two sons, a daughter, several grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Always sad when a gentleman in this business passes on. Condolences to his family…
Is there any service at this time on the Burkeville to Clarksville line?
Great Railroad leader with the ability and foresight to operate and grow the business. Unfortunately leaders like him are in short supply.
A real loss to the Industry. Best wishes for his family.