However, immediately after the War, both states wanted to encourage completion of the Covington and Ohio line. To do without government funding, the state legislatures of both Virginia and West Virginia authorized incorporation of the Covington and Ohio Railroad in 1866 and again in 1867. However, with no state funds were available to subsidize the project, the offer found no takers. Instead, under a plan offered by the Virginia General Assembly, in 1868, the existing project was merged with the extant Virginia Central Railroad to form a new enterprise to be known as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O).
