Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad

Even though the Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad was one of the south’s first railroad efforts, the venture failed due disagreements between the various states in which it was seeking charters. Today, segments of the railroad remain as part of the Norfolk Southern Railway (Southern Railway).

LC&C Stats

Founded/Chartered: 1836 Operated: 1840-1844
Reporting Marks: LC&C
Proposed Route: Charleston, Columbia, northward along the French Broad River, Asheville, Knoxville, Lexington, then to Cincinnati
Predecessor: Cincinnati & Charleston Railway
Merged With: Charleston & Hamburg Railroad (South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company)
Successor: South Carolina Rail Road (1844-1894)
Initial Length: 60 Miles (Branchville to Columbia) Final Length: 196 Miles (including Charleston to Hamburg)
Related Railroads: Charleston & Hamburg Railroad (Charleston SC to outskirts of Augusta GA)
Headquarters:
Cities: Charleston, Branchville, Columbia, and Hamburg SC.
Key Individuals: Robert Y. Hayne
Today: Southern Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway

Atlantic Ocean to the Ohio River

The Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad (LC&C) was the first railroad with the stated goal of connecting the Ohio River with the Atlantic Ocean. However, the LC&C would have taken a more western route through or nearby Columbia SC, Asheville NC, Knoxville TN, and Lexington KY. States began to charter the railroad as early as 1835.

Knoxville Railroad Convention

A Railroad Convention was held in Knoxville TN in 1836 to show support for a Charleston SC to Cincinnati OH line which had already been chartered in several states. As usual, there were lots of ideas and opinions as to the route the railroad should take and also what its name should be.

A New Name: Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad

To try and appease Louisville and Kentucky, it was finally decided that the name of the railroad should be the LC&C, with Louisville taking the top billing. Because of the continued disagreements, the railroad was never able to obtain a charter from every state which delayed and wounded the effort. Eventually the financial panic of 1837 made it impossible to obtain the funding needed to build a lengthy railroad, much of it through mountains.

South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Purchase

Instead, the LC&C purchased the existing South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1839 and operated it during the 1840s and beyond. The SCC&RRC was a 136 mile line from Charleston SC to Hamburg SC.

Before and after the Civil War, additional lines were built from:

Branchville SC to Columbia SC
Kingsville SC to Camden SC
Hamburg SC to Augusta GA

This construction created a railroad that connected the major cities of Charleston SC, Columbia SC, Camden SC, and Augusta GA. However, the railroad did not financially prosper and entered receivership and reorganization in 1881. It eventually emerged as part of the Southern Railway in 1896.

More Southern Railway information will be added to this page and others in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the railroads, the region, or model railroading.

Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Southern Railway and its predecessors. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Southern-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.

Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
Book – Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
Book – Harshaw: ‘Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians’
Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
Book – Reisweber: ‘Southern Railway Power’
Book – Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone’
Book – Stout: ‘Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service’
Book – Ward: ‘Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979’
Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
Book – Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Southern Railway Handbook’
Book – Withers & Sink: ‘Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial’
Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
Website – Hawkinsrails.net
Website – Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
Website – Multimodalways.org: Norfolk Southern Track Charts
Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
Website – SteamLocomotive.com
Website – TheDieselShop.us
Website – VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia

Contact Us

Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the Southern or Model Railroads.

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org