This line was first built in the 1890s as the Abingdon Coal and Iron Company Railroad. In 1900, it was renamed to the Virgina-Carolina Railroad, becoming part of the Norfolk and Western Railroad in 1918.
The line was known to locals as the "Virginia Creeper".
Flooding in 1977 ended service along the line. Today, the right-of-way forms the Virginia Creeper rail-trail.
