Carolina Special on the Southern Railway
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- Passenger Trains | Asheville Special | Birmingham Special | Carolina Special | Crescent | Peach Queen | Pelican | Piedmont Limited | Ponce de Leon | Royal Palm | Southerner | Tennessean
- Cities: Bristol TN/VA
- Related Lines: Embreeville Branch | Johnson City & Carolina | Johnson City Southern
- Notable People: Dr. Samuel B. Cunningham | Samuel Spencer | W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
- Today: Norfolk Southern
- Railfan Guides: Virginia & Southwestern
- Resources & Sources: Books | Scholars-Authors | Museums | Associations | Website Editor | Site Map
- Related Websites: Rails Across the Appalachians | Clinchfield.org
Southern Railway Carolina Special
Carolina Special Stats
- Route: Cincinnati OH to Goldsboro NC/Charleston SC (split at Asheville)
- Cities: Cincinnati, Lexington, Knoxville, and Asheville. NC section on to Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh and Goldsboro. SC section on to Spartanburg, Columbia, and Charleston.
- Numbers: 27 southbound & 28 northbound
- Years in Service: 1911 to 1968
- Partner Railroads: Connections with the New York Central and Baltimore & Ohio at Cincinnati.
- Dieselized: Late 1940s (EMD Es and Fs)
- Streamlined: Never fully streamlined
- Distance: 638 miles to Charleston SC, 731 miles to Goldsboro NC
- Scheduled Time: 22 hours 40 minutes to Charleston SC, 25 hours 56 minutes to Goldsboro NC (1952)
- Average Speed: 28 MPH to Charleston and to Goldsboro, (1952)
- Equipment: Coach, Sleeper, Diner, Dinette/Coach, and Lounge in variation throughout its history. In 1952: Diner: Knoxville to Columbia, Lounge: Cincinnati to Asheville, Dinette/Coach: Asheville to Goldsboro, 1 Sleeper: Chicago to Charleston, 1 Sleeper: Chicago to Greensboro, 1 Sleeper: Cincinnati to Asheville, 1 Sleeper: Louisville to Columbia
Southern Railway’s Carolina Special
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.
Carolina Special Schedule – 1952
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
