Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad
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- 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
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.
Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources
- Personal Maps, Timetables & Memorabilia – Documents, maps and track charts that I have from the SOU and predecessor railroads
- 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 – 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
- Magazine – ‘Trains‘
- Magazine – ‘Classic Trains‘
- Website – StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot
- Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website – Hawkinsrails.net
- Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
- Website – Norfolk Southern Track Charts at Multimodalways.org
- Website – TheDieselShop.us
- Website – SteamLocomotive.com
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3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org