after the american civil war funds for resuming construction were unavailable from either the war-torn commonwealth or private sources and the project did poorly against railroad competition, finally succumbing to damage done by massive flooding in 1877. in the end its right-of-way was bought and the canal was largely dismantled by the new richmond and allegheny railroad, which laid tracks on the former towpath. the r&a became part of the chesapeake and ohio railway in the 1890s, which developed much of the former canal route into an important line for west virginia bituminous coal headed eastbound for the peninsula extension to reach the hampton roads coal piers at newport news for worldwide export aboard large colliers.