Predecessors of the Southern Railway

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Southern Railway Predecessors

Southern’s Family Tree

The Southern Railway was made up of almost 150 early railroads that could eventually operate and generate revenue more easily as one entity. Additionally, a larger, cohesive railroad could weather the economic downturns and lean years. J.P. Morgan provided the vision and the funding for the Southern Railway. Below are the primary, but not all of the railroads, that made up the Southern Railway. We will add more information and early SOU railroads in the coming weeks.

Bristol Coal & Iron Narrow Gauge Railroad

  • Originally intended to run from Bristol VA to Cumberland Gap VA
  • Construction 1876-1882, but never operated until it was purchased by the South Atlantic & Ohio
  • Click here for more information on the BC&ING

Bristol Elizabethton & North Carolina Railroad

  • Originally was said to provide a route from Bristol, through Elizabethton TN and North Carolina to an Atlantic port. Eventually only made it to Mountain City TN.
  • Began operation in 1892
  • Click here for more information on the BE&NC Railroad

Cincinnati New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railroad

East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad

  • Knoxville TN to Bristol TN/VA
  • Completed in 1858
  • Click here for more ET&V Railroad information

East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad

  • Dalton GA to Knoxville TN with a branch to Chattanooga TN
  • Completed in 1859
  • Click here for more ET&G Railroad information

East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia Railroad

  • Created in 1869 by combining the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad with the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad
  • In the years that followed, the railroad grew to 2,500 miles across 5 states
  • Click here for more ETV&G Railroad information

Holston River Railroad

  • Moccasin Gap VA to Bulls Gap TN. A much more direct route to the south and west to haul coal.
  • Completed in 1910
  • Click here for more information on the Holston River Railroad

Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad

  • Initial Plan was a route from Louisville/Cincinnati to Charleston SC. Eventually, only a segment from Columbia SC to Branchville SC was built to connect with the SCC&RR.
  • Completed 1840
  • Click here for more information on the Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad.

Memphis & Charleston Railroad

Richmond & Danville Railroad

  • Initially from Richmond VA to Danville VA. By the 1890s stretched from Washington DC to Atlanta, Birmingham, Greeville MS, Augusta GA, and Asheville NC.
  • Initial segment completed in 1847
  • Click here for more information on the Richmond & Danville Railroad

South Atlantic & Ohio Railway

  • Bristol VA to Big Stone Gap VA (purchased the Bristol Iron & Coal Narrow Gauge)
  • Began operation in 1890.
  • Click here for more information on the South Atlantic & Ohio Railway

South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company

  • Initial line from Charleston to Hamburg SC (across the river from Augusta GA).
  • Completed in 1833
  • First passenger train service in America with ‘Best Friend of Charleston.’
  • Click here for more information on the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road.

Virginia Tennessee & Georgia Air Line

  • The VT&G Airline was a marketing umbrella in the 1880s to promote a railroad partnership connecting Northeast major cities to the Southeast region such as Norfolk, Roanoke, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Atlanta, New Orleans and many more cities.
  • It was a partnership including the East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, and the Norfolk & Western Railway.
  • Click here for more information on the VT&G Air Line

Virginia & Kentucky Railroad

  • Bristol/Abingdon VA to Cumberland Gap KY
  • Chartered in 1852, but never operated. Minimal construction.
  • Click here for more information on the Virginia & Kentucky Railroad.

Virginia & Southwestern Railroad

  • George Carter purchased the South Atlantic & Ohio and the Bristol Elizabethton & North Carolina in 1899, giving the new company the name Virginia and Southwestern Railroad
  • Bristol TN/VA northward to Appalachia VA, focused on coal
  • Bristol TN/VA southward to Elizabethton TN and Mountain City TN, focused on timber
  • The Natural Tunnel Line
  • Click here for more information on the V&SW Railroad

Key Connecting Railways to the Southern

Virginia & Tennessee Railroad (Initially part of the N&W)

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