The was an
American railroad that existed between 1898 and
July 1 ,
1967 , when it merged with the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad , its long-time rival, to form the
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad . The company was headquartered in
Jacksonville, Florida (
Wilmington, North Carolina before 1961). After several more mergers and consolidations, the former ACL is now part of
CSX Transportation , also headquartered in Jacksonville.
The was organized on
May 29 ,
1889 as a
Holding Company for a system of railroads from
Richmond and
Norfolk, Virginia south and southwest to
Augusta, Georgia .
The
Wilmington And Raleigh Railroad was chartered in 1835, opening in 1840 from
Wilmington, North Carolina north to
Weldon , where the
Petersburg Railroad continued to
Petersburg, Virginia . The name was changed in 1855 to the
Wilmington And Weldon Railroad .
The
Wilmington And Manchester Railroad was chartered in 1846 and opened in 1853 from Wilmington west to
Camden Crossing, South Carolina on the
South Carolina Railroad 's branch to
Camden . After the
American Civil War , the company was reorganized in 1870 as the
Wilmington, Columbia And Augusta Railroad , opening an extension west to
Columbia in 1873 but never reaching
Augusta, Georgia .
In 1872 the
Wilmington, Columbia And Augusta Railroad leased the
Wilmington And Weldon Railroad , forming a continuous line through Wilmington, which was advertised as the . That lease was cancelled in 1878 due to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta's
Bankruptcy ; that company was sold in 1879 and reorganized in 1880 under the same name.
Over the years, the Wilmington and Weldon bought many other lines. Most notable among those was the
Wilson And Fayetteville Railroad , built as a cutoff from near
Wilson to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta at
Pee Dee, South Carolina . This was chartered in South Carolina as the
Florence Railroad .
The
Northeastern Railroad was chartered in 1851 and opened in 1856 from
Charleston north to the
Wilmington And Manchester Railroad at
Florence . The
Central Railroad , connecting this line at
Lane northwest to the
Wilmington, Columbia And Augusta Railroad at
Sumter , was chartered in 1881 and opened in 1882. From opening it was leased by both railroads in connected to.
The was formed on
July 18 ,
1898 as a consolidation of the
Wilmington, Columbia And Augusta Railroad and
Northeastern Railroad with several other lines:
- The Florence Railroad was chartered in 1882, continuing the Wilson And Fayetteville Railroad from the North Carolina state line south-southwest to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta at Pee Dee . This was part of a shorter route avoiding Wilmington, North Carolina .
- The Cheraw And Darlington Railroad was chartered in 1849 and opened in 1853, running from Florence north via Darlington to Cheraw . The Cheraw and Darlington acquired the Cheraw And Salisbury Railroad , an extension north to Wadesboro, North Carolina , in 1892.
- The Manchester And Augusta Railroad was chartered in 1875, and built a line from Sumter southwest to Denmark . On June 30 , 1899 , the ACL opened a continuation west-southwest to the Charleston And Western Carolina Railway at Robbins .
The
Central Railroad stayed separate, leased but not merged.
Also involved in this was the
Charleston, Sumter And Northern Railroad , a failed plan to build a main line from
Charleston through
Sumter into
North Carolina . That company went
Bankrupt in 1892, and the bridge over the
Santee River burned down. In 1895 the ACL bought and reorganized it as the
Charleston And Northern Railroad to prevent it from being used by a competitor. The short
Wilson And Summerton Railroad acquired a section south of Sumter, the
Manchester And Augusta Railroad obtained the southernmost section (cut from the rest by the burned bridge) and the line from Sumter northeast to
Darlington , extending the M&A's line to Darlington, and the
Cheraw And Darlington Railroad was assigned the rest of the line, from Darlington north to
Gibson, North Carolina . All but the Wilson and Summerton became part of the ACL in 1898. That company was renamed to the
Northwestern Railroad in 1899, and with help from the ACL built an extension northwest from Sumter to
Camden , opened in 1901.
In August 1899 the ACL acquired a half interest in the
Georgia Railroad And Banking Company , fully owned by the
Louisville And Nashville Railroad since 1898. This gave the ACL access to
Atlanta and
Macon, Georgia via the former
Manchester And Augusta Railroad and the Georgia Railroad.
By 1899 the ACL also owned the
Charleston And Western Carolina Railway , running from
Port Royal, South Carolina at the south orner of the state northwest into the northwest part of the state, with lines ending at
Anderson ,
Greenville and
Spartanburg .
The
Petersburg Railroad was chartered in 1830 and opened in 1833, running from
Petersburg, Virginia south to
Garysburg, North Carolina , from which it ran to
Weldon via
Trackage Rights over the
Seaboard And Roanoke Railroad (later eliminated with a new alignment). The
Richmond And Petersburg Railroad was chartered in 1836 and opened in 1838, continuing north from Petersburg to
Richmond .
In March 1898, the Petersburg Railroad was merged into the Richmond and Petersburg, which was renamed to the on
November 21 .
The
Norfolk And Carolina Railroad was chartered in 1887 as the
Chowan And Southern Railroad and renamed in 1889, opening in 1890 as a connection from the
Wilmington And Weldon Railroad 's branch to
Tarboro, North Carolina northeast to
Pinner's Point, Virginia , serving the
Hampton Roads area.
The was a system of
Railroad s and
Steamboat s in the
U.S. South , founded by Florida's west coast developer
Henry B. Plant . After his death in 1899, the Plant system was taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system, named after its owner, Henry Plant, was the '''Savannah, Florida and Western Railway''', running across southern
Georgia .
The was formed on
April 21 ,
1900 as a merger of the two companies in Virginia and South Carolina, as well as the
Wilmington And Weldon Railroad and
Norfolk And Carolina Railroad .
In 1902 the ACL acquired the massive
Plant System , stretching from
Charleston, South Carolina southwest via
Savannah, Georgia to
Waycross , with lines branching out from there to
Albany, Georgia ,
Montgomery, Alabama , and many points in
Florida (including the main line to
Tampa ). The
Jacksonville And Southwestern Railroad was bought
July 28 ,
1904 , running from
Jacksonville, Florida southwest to
Newberry . Around this time, the ACL built a new line from
High Springs south to
Juliette, Florida , connecting two Plant System lines and forming a shortcut around
Gainesville down the west side of Florida.
The ACL bought the large
Louisville And Nashville Railroad system on
November 1 ,
1902 , but kept operations separate for its entire life.
A short branch from
Climax, Georgia south to
Amsterdam opened in 1903.
The ACL bought the
Conway Coast And Western Railroad on
July 1 ,
1912 , giving it access to
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina .
On
October 15 ,
1913 , the ACL acquired the
Sanford And Everglades Railroad , a short line near
Sanford, Florida .
The
Florida Central Railroad , bought
February 27 ,
1915 , provided a spur to
Fanlew, Florida .
In July 1922 the ACL acquired the
Rockingham Railroad , extending the former
Charleston, Sumter And Northern Railroad from
Gibson, North Carolina to
Rockingham .
Also in 1922 the ACL leased the
Virginia And Carolina Southern Railroad , running from
Fayetteville, North Carolina south to
Lumberton with a spur to
Elizabethtown .
The ACL acquired the
Moore Haven And Clewiston Railway on
July 1 ,
1925 , and the
Deep Lake Railroad , a short line from the
Gulf Of Mexico port of
Everglades City north to
Deep Lake, Florida , on
December 8 ,
1928 . These formed short parts of a new line from the main line at
Haines City south to Everglades City, with a branch to
Lake Harbor on
Lake Okeechobee via
Moore Haven and
Clewiston .
Also in 1925, the ACL leased the
Fort Myers Southern Railroad , which continued the line of the
Florida Southern Railroad south from
Fort Myers to
Marco . That same year, the
Tampa Southern Railroad was leased, running from
Uceta Yard in eastern
Tampa south via
Sarasota to the Florida Southern at
Fort Ogden .
In 1926 the ACL acquired the
Columbia, Newberry And Laurens Railroad , running from the end of the old
Wilmington, Columbia And Augusta Railroad at
Columbia, South Carolina northwest to
Laurens .
The ACL incorporated the
Atlanta, Birmingham And Coast Railroad on
November 22 ,
1926 as a reorganization of the
Atlantic, Birmingham And Atlantic Railway . This gave the ACL lines from
Waycross to
Atlanta, Georgia and
Birmingham, Alabama , with a branch east to
Brunswick
On
May 1 ,
1927 the ACL leased the
Washington And Vandemere Railroad , extending the old
Wilmington And Weldon Railroad branch to
Washington southeast to
Vandemere .
In 1928 the
Perry Cutoff was finished, providing a new shortcut from
Thomasville, Georgia via
Perry, Florida to
Dunnellon, Florida , with a branch to
Newberry, Florida . Additionally, the old
Tampa And Thonotosassa Railroad line was extended northeast from
Thonotosassa to
Vitis , providing a shortcut between
Tampa and the newly-important west Florida line.
The ACL acquired the
East Carolina Railway at some point, running south from
Tarboro to
Hookerton .
On
July 1 ,
1967 the ACL merged with the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad , its longtime rival, to form the
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad .
CSX Transportation was formed on
July 1 ,
1986 as a renaming of the
Seaboard System Railroad , which had absorbed the former
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ,
Louisville And Nashville Railroad and
Seaboard Air Line Railroad , as well as several smaller subsidiaries. On
August 31 ,
1987 the
Chesapeake And Ohio Railway , which had absorbed the
Baltimore And Ohio Railroad April 30 of that year, merged into CSX. The merger had been started in 1980 with the merger of
Chessie System and
Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form the
CSX Corporation .
For stations on the main line (now
CSX 's "A" line), see the following articles:
- Richmond And Petersburg Railroad , Richmond, Virginia to Petersburg, Virginia
- Petersburg Railroad , Petersburg to Weldon, North Carolina
- Wilmington And Weldon Railroad , Weldon to Wilson, North Carolina
- Wilson And Fayetteville Railroad , Wilson to North Carolina/South Carolina state line
- Florence Railroad , state line to Pee Dee, South Carolina
- Wilmington And Manchester Railroad , Pee Dee to Florence, South Carolina
- Northeastern Railroad , Florence to Charleston, South Carolina
- Plant System railroads:
- --- Ashley River Railroad , around Charleston
- --- Charleston And Savannah Railroad , Charleston to Savannah, Georgia
- --- Atlantic And Gulf Railroad , Savannah to Jesup, Georgia
- --- Folkston Cutoff , Jesup to Folkston, Georgia
- --- Waycross And Florida Railroad , Folkston to Georgia/Florida state line
- --- East Florida Railroad , state line to Jacksonville, Florida
- --- Jacksonville, Tampa And Key West Railway , Jacksonville to Sanford, Florida
- --- South Florida Railroad , Sanford to Tampa, Florida
