The Blue Ridge Railway was a 19th-century railroad in the U.S. state of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. It was originally chartered in 1852 as the Blue Ridge Railroad of South Carolina. Original plans were for a 195-mile line from

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Green ...

, to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

going through the mountains with as many as 13 tunnels including the incomplete Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel. By 1859, the railroad had built between Anderson and West Union, South Carolina and substantial work on several tunnels had started. However, with the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, no further work was ever completed on the tunnels despite efforts after the war, including one by the Black Diamond Railroad. A final extension from West Union to

Walhalla, South Carolina Walhalla is a city in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. Designated in 1868 as the county seat, it lies within the area of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, an area of transition between mountains ...

at the urging of the Town Council and local citizens saw the first train arrive November 14, 1877, but no more track would ever be laid along the alignment up Stumphouse Mountain. In 1880, the Columbia and Greenville Railroad acquired the of track that had been laid. In 1901 the Southern Railway, successor to the Columbia and Greenville, split out the line as the Blue Ridge Railway. The Southern leased the Blue Ridge to subsidiary Carolina and Northwestern Railway on July 1, 1951, and eventually merged the company. Passenger service from Belton, South Carolina, through Anderson to Walhalla ended by the latter part of 1951.

References

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External links

Blue Ridge Railroad history

at Stumphouse Tunnel Park and Issaqueena Falls in Oconee County, South Carolina Defunct South Carolina railroads Predecessors of the Southern Railway (U.S.) Railway companies established in 1901 American companies established in 1901 {{SouthCarolina-transport-stub