Southern Railway History

The Southern Railway achieved financial and operational success by being a well-run business in a region of the United States with great national resources, manufacturing, and a growing population. The Southern provided a unified and common level of service across 15 southern and mid-western states. However, it’s history was just the opposite, it was once a collection of many disparate companies that did not always work together.

Many railroad history sources state that 125 to 150 railroads were eventually bought, merged, or constructed to form the Southern Railway in 1894. To simplify this initial historical timeline, we will focus on the earliest and the primary railroads that are were part of the Southern Railway and now the Norfolk Southern Railway. We will pay close attention to those in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina.

1827 – South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company

1827 – South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company was chartered
1830 – SCC&RRC construction began
1830 – On Christmas Day, the ‘Best Friend of Charleston’ goes down in history as the first passenger train. It traveled 6 miles.
1831 – First railroad to carry the U.S. Mail
1833 – Entire length from Charleston to Hamburg SC (near Augusta GA) was completed. At that time it was the longest railroad in the world.

Click here for more information on the SCC&RR

1828 – Chesterfield Railroad Company

1828 – Chesterfield Railroad Company was chartered. It ran 10 miles from coal mines west of Richmond VA to the shore of the James River opposite of the city of Richmond

1833 – Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad Company

1833 – Charter was granted by several states, but not all in which the railroad traversed on its way from Charleston to Cincinnati/Louisville
1837 – Financial Panic doomed the railroad

Click here for more information on the LC&C Railroad

1836 – East Tennessee & Georgia Railway

1836 – Chartered as the Hiwassee Railroad
1852 – Began operation between Dalton GA and Knoxville TN

Click here for more information on the ET&G

1846 – Memphis & Charleston Railroad

1846 – Chartered to run between Memphis and Stevenson AL (nearby Chattanooga TN)
1857 – Operation began on the entire line between Memphis, Stevenson, and trackage rights to Chattanooga.

Click here for more information on the M&C

1847 – Richmond & Danville Railroad

1847 – Chartered
1856 – Completed, running 145 miles between its namesake cities
Purchased the Chesterfield Railroad, it’s competitor

Click here for more information on the R&D

1848 – East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad

1848 – Chartered to run from Knoxville to Bristol TN
1850 – Partial operation began
1856 – Entire 131 miles completed and operated.

Click here for more information on the ET&V.

1869 – East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia Railroad

1869 – The East Tennessee & Virginia and the East Tennessee & Georgia were purchased and brought together to form the ETV&G.

Click here for more information on the ETV&G

1869 – Cincinnati New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway

1869 – Chartered to run between Cincinnati and Chattanooga
1877 – Some segments began operation
1880 – All 377 miles in operation

Click here for more information on the CNO&TP

1894 – Southern Railway

1894 – Created with the vision and backing of J. P. Morgan, saving many of the smaller railroads that were experiencing financial hardships due to economic downturns.
Primary railroads included the Richmond & Danville, East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia, Memphis & Charleston, Cincinnati New Orleans & Texas Pacific, and the Richmond, York River & Chesapeake.

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.

Additional Links for Information

The Southern Railway Historical Association is a wonderful source and organization to preserve the railroad’s history.

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