Station Number: 167
Code Number: 0285
Telegraph Callsign: BX
Cobham was most likely named for the estate Cobham Park, which lies
across the tracks and Mechunk Creek from the station location. Cobham
was one of the earliest depots on the line; the Louisa Railroad reached Cobham
on August 14, 1848 and had a station and agent here in 1850. In the late 1850’s
and early 1860’s, the Piedmont Female Academy operated near Cobham and promised
to have transportation waiting at the station to meet incoming students the first
week in September.
The earliest known standard drawing for a C&O structure was a little passenger
station. It was dated 1881. An example of this type of building once stood in Cobham.
In 1905 it was replaced by a new station. The original was dismantled and moved to Brackett’s farm
by Matthew Maury Crebbs. There it was converted into a residence. The 1905 station was itself remodeled in
1909 (McChord, 1979). Cobham was the site of a test of an automatic train stop system in 1920. The system
proved expensive, so the C&O discontinued it. The telegraph office at Cobham was discontinued in 1931.
The 1937 Side Track Record shows that Cobham had a 1366' passing siding (track number 894) and a
1067' house track (track number 895). The passing siding was retired in 1943. Cobham had a station and an
agent listed in 1948. As of 1963, Cobham still had its passenger station and house track and, across from
the station, a water tank and pump house. The station was retired by the
C&O in November of 1967*. The house track was retired in 1978.
* - My copy of the valuation maps lists this retirement in March of 1968.
Photos
This is the 1881 station at its current location. The photo is a bit fuzzy
because I took it with a telephoto lens and no tripod. For better pictures see the
Library of Congress
page. (November, 2002 photo)
The top view is the C&O station at Cobham circa 1930. It is from a C&O negative. The
bottom view is from a postcard and is, I believe, from considerably later. The station doesn’t look
as well-maintained and the right-of-way is looking a bit scraggly. (Top photo from a C&O Railway negative
in the collection of Thomas W. Dixon, Jr. Used with permission. Bottom photo from a postcard in the collection
of Larry Z. Daily)
These are the footings of the old steam-era water tank. (November, 2002
photo)
In this view I’m looking north (east by timetable) at Cobham. The
station once stood to the left in the photo. On the right, next to the
tracks, is the base for the water column that once stood here. In the distance
is the Rt. 22 bridge (#H-1673). The bridge was built circa 1935 and eliminated
the Rt. 22 grade crossing, which was just to the east of the station. (1999 photo)
This is the C&O’s bridge over Turkeysag Creek. It once
carried a siding as well as the mainline, but the second track has been
removed. The bridge is approximately 40' long and was built in 1897.
(November, 2002 photo)
This store, called A. J. Bell’s, served Cobham for many years.
(November, 2002 photo)
Map
This map was prepared from U.S.G.S. topological maps, C&O track charts dated 1963, C&O Side
Track Records dated 1937, a copy of the Side Track Records updated through the 1990’s, and
C&O Valuation maps, also updated through the 1990’s.
Please note that, due to a huge volume of spam coming in on my email account, I’ve had to change my email address.
The new address is lzdaily@nospam.piedmontsub.com (but remove the nospam and the dot before piedmontsub.com).
All materials on this Web site are protected by United States
copyright law. This includes, but is not limited to, articles and graphics. Unless
otherwise indicated, these materials are the property of Larry Z. Daily and may not
be used without prior written permission of Larry Z. Daily
