Our Founders

Photo by Zane Craig

Robert E. Bryant

Robert Earl “Bob” Bryant, along with his wife Annie, founded the Buckingham Branch Railroad in 1988. Bob was instrumental in establishing the BB’s customer and commodity base and in bringing the right people into the organization to ensure its success. Importantly, he provided the vision and the principles that continue to guide the Buckingham Branch today. He served as the Buckingham Branch’s first President, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Directors.

Bob’s railroad career started in 1953 when he was 18 years old and he went to work for the C&O Railway as a Telegraph Messenger in Richmond, Virginia. He advanced at the C&O, and its successor railroads, through a variety of positions with increasing responsibility, working in cities such as Columbia, South Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta, Georgia until finally retiring as a Market Manager in Planning & Analysis for CSX in Baltimore after almost 35 years of service.

After retiring from CSX, Bob and Annie moved back home to Buckingham County and founded the Buckingham Branch. It was founded out of Bob’s love of railroading and his desire to continue freight service to his home county of Buckingham and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Under his guidance, the BB grew from a tiny 17.3 mile long railroad with two employees to its size today of 280 miles of track with 90 employees, now the largest short line railroad in Virginia.

Robert’s love of railroading extended well beyond the Buckingham Branch to his being a founding member and longtime President of the Virginia Railroad Association, a Fellow in the Virginia Rail Policy Institute, and a member of both the Old Dominion Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and the C&O Historical Society.

When not railroading, Bob loved tending to his small cattle farm. He loved being out on the land, caring for the pastures, working the hayfields, and taking care of his small herd of Angus cattle. He was also an avid gardener and each year his garden provided a bounty of vegetables for family and friends. One of his passions was making sorghum syrup (molasses) and each year it would become a community project at harvesting time. After pressing and cooking the sorghum, he would bottle it and give it away to family, friends, and local community. He also loved making music and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandson.

Bob passed away in May of 2022 leaving behind a remarkable legacy in the Buckingham Branch Railroad and a remarkable legacy in the railroad industry. His railroad career spanned 69 years.

In February of 2023, the Virginia General Assembly passed a Memorial Resolution honoring Bob for his significant contributions to strengthening the Commonwealth’s rail and transportation infrastructure and for his honesty and integrity as a businessman and citizen of the Commonwealth. Similar Memorial Resolutions were passed by the County of Buckingham and Town of Dillwyn where the Buckingham Branch was founded and is headquartered.

Annie J. Bryant

Annie J. Bryant co-founded the Buckingham Branch Railroad with her husband, Robert E. “Bob” Bryant and was the BB’s first Vice President.  In the early days of the railroad, she set up and managed the BB’s accounting and financial systems as well as many of its administrative systems.  She took care of Human Resources matters and was the BB’s first Freight Agent.  She was also the Vice Chair of the BB’s Board of Directors and like everyone else in the early days, did whatever was needed to help run the railroad. She remained active in the company for many years, was well known for her kind and gentle spirit, and she remains an inspiration to all Buckingham Branch employees.  Along with Bob, Annie was central to establishing the values and principles that still guide the Buckingham Branch.  And as Bob often noted, the Buckingham Branch would have never succeeded without her.

Annie and Bob were high school sweethearts and they married in 1955, soon after Bob started working for the C&O Railway in Richmond, Virginia.  They moved to Columbia, South Carolina and started a family as Bob pursued his railroad career.  In addition to being a housewife and mother, Annie pursued a career as an educator and teaacher after Bob received a promotion from CSX and they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. Annie had started her university education at Longwood College in Virginia, prior to getting married, and she completed it receiving a degree in Business Education from Morgan State University in Maryland.  She taught business education in Baltimore County until she and Bob returned to Virginia.

In 2015, the Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution honoring Annie and Bob for starting and developing the Buckingham Branch Railroad and for their exceptional service to the Commonwealth by restoring rail lines, strengthening transportation infrastructure, and doing so with honesty, integrity, and strength of character.

In Annie’s retirement years, she enjoyed a quiet and simple life, spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and going for walks. She passed away in August of 2024 but, along with her husband Bob, she left a remarkable legacy in the Buckingham Branch.

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