The Carolina Central Railroad, was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1855 as the Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad and was renamed the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad shortly after. It was reorganized as the Carolina Central Railway in 1873. It built of track, in two unconnected sections, in the southern part of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The company was again reorganized as the Carolina Central Railroad in 1880. In 1900, the Carolina Central Railroad was merged into the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

. Its lines are now owned by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

History

Formation and early years

The Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad was incorporated on February 13, 1855, but the name was changed soon after to the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad. The company intended to build a railway line from

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

, on the Atlantic Ocean, to

Rutherford County, North Carolina Rutherford County is a county in the southwestern area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,444. Its county seat is Rutherfordton. Rutherford County comprises the Forest City, NC Micropolitan St ...

, via

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. The company completed a line from

Navassa Navassa Island (; ht, Lanavaz; french: l'île de la Navasse, sometimes ) is a small uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea. Located northeast of Jamaica, south of Cuba, and west of Jérémie on the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti, it is subject to ...

, outside Wilmington, to Rockingham, in 1861. This line included a -long segment of straight track between Laurel Hill and East Arcadia, the longest such line in the United States. Separately, the company built a from Charlotte to Lincolnton, in the direction of Rutherford County. The outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

prevented any further construction from taking place. In 1870 an additional opened between Rockingham and

Pee Dee The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, a Native American tribe that historically inhabited the region. His ...

, on the

Pee Dee River The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River The Uwharri ...

, leaving the a gap between the two sections of the railroad. When the east end of the line in Navassa was completed in 1861, it ran just north of Royster Road to its terminus at the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

just south of the Interstate 140 bridge (both road locations ). In 1866, the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad created the Wilmington Railway Bridge Company as a joint venture with the

Wilmington and Manchester Railroad The Wilmington and Manchester Railroad was a railroad that served South Carolina and North Carolina before, during and after the American Civil War. It received its charter in 1846 and began operation in 1853 from Wilmington, North Carolina, extend ...

to build a bridge over the Cape Fear River. The bridge, which was jointly owned by both railroads, was completed in 1867 allowing both railroad to extend into central Wilmington. The company entered receivership in 1872 and was sold in 1873 to the Carolina Central Railway, which in 1874 completed the connection between Wilmington and Charlotte. The railroad finally reached Rutherford via a new extension of the line in 1877. Another change in corporate identity occurred in 1880, when the Carolina Central Railway became the Carolina Central Railroad, controlled by a predecessor of the

. In 1896, a branch was built from Ellenboro south to Caroleen and the Henrietta Mill. The Carolina Central Railroad was ultimately merged into the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1900.

Seaboard Air Line years

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad operated the line as their Wilmington Subdivision east of

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and as their Monroe Subdivision west of Hamlet to Rutherfordton. The branch to Caroleen was known as the Caroleen Subdivision.Seaboard Air Line Railroad Virginia Division Timetable (1955)
/ref>Seaboard Air Line Railroad Georgia Division Timetable (1955)
/ref> The line would be the Seaboard Air Line's only line to the port city of Wilmington, which by then was the headquarters and a major hub of their main competitor, the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

. The Seaboard built their historic Hamlet station at the junction with the

main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

in Hamlet which would become a major junction for the company. In the 1950s, the company was running a local passenger train from Wilmington to Charlotte daily. At the same time, Seaboard's '' Silver Comet'', ''The Cherry Blossoms'', and ''The Capitol'' ran the line daily from the

at Hamlet to Monroe, where they turned down the

Abbeville Subdivision The Abbeville Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of South Carolina and Georgia. The line is a former Seaboard Air Line Railroad line that runs from Tucker, Georgia, to Abbeville, South Carolina Abbe ...

toward

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. On the Wilmington Subdivision, a through-freight train ran daily along with separate local freight trains which ran three days a week. On the Monroe Subdivision, the ''Tar Heel'', a named freight train ran from Hamlet to Bostic daily along with separate local freight trains. Seaboard discontinued its local passenger train from Wilmington to Charlotte in 1958, ending its passenger service to Wilmington.

Later years

In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line merged with its rival, the

(ACL). The merged company was named the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

(SCL). Seaboard Coast Line continued operating the line as the Wilmington Subdivision and Monroe Subdivision. The ''Silver Comet'' was discontinued the following year. In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated und ...

, creating the

CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. T ...

. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into

. CSX extended the Monroe Subdivision name from Monroe to Abbeville as it is today and truncated the Abbeville Subdivision to Abbeville. The former Monroe Subdivision west of Monroe towards

is now the

Charlotte Subdivision Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

Current operations

Today, the former Carolina Central Railroad is still in service from Wilmington to Bostic and is still operated by

Wilmington Subdivision

The segment from Wilmington to East Junction in Hamlet is still operated as CSX's Wilmington Subdivision.CSX Florence Division Timetable
/ref> It is now the only remaining rail line serving

since all former

lines to Wilmington have since been severed.

East Junction to Monroe

The line from East Junction in Hamlet west to

is now the east-west segment of CSX's

Hamlet Terminal Subdivision The Hamlet Terminal Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in North Carolina. The Hamlet Terminal Subdivision is composed of three lines, all of which originate in Marston and terminate in Hamlet. Lines The Hamlet Terminal Su ...

. From Pee Dee west to Monroe is still known as the

Monroe Subdivision The Monroe Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. The line runs from Pee Dee, North Carolina to Abbeville, South Carolina, for a total of 177 miles. The full line is disp ...

, which now continues beyond Monroe down to Abbeville on the former

Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway The Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway was a Southeastern railroad that began after Reconstruction and operated up until the start of the 20th century. It ran from Monroe, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia and later became part of the Seaboa ...

Charlotte Subdivision

The line from Monroe though

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

to Bostic is now CSX's Charlotte Subdivision. The Charlotte Subdivision now terminates at CSX's

Blue Ridge Subdivision The Blue Ridge Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It was formerly part of the CSX Huntington West Division. It became part of the CSX Florence Division o ...

(a former

Clinchfield Railroad The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segment ...

line) in Bostic. It connects to the

Terrell Subdivision The Terrell Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The line runs from Mount Holly, North Carolina, to Terrell, North Carolina, for a total of . At its southern end the line continues north fr ...

and the Charlotte Western Railroad in Mount Holly.

West of Bostic

In the 1980s, CSX and

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

consolidated their parallel lines between Forest City and Rutherfordton. In the 1990, this remaining track and track from Forest City to Bostic was sold to the Thermal Belt Railway. Track from Forest City to Rutherfordton was abandoned in the early 2000s and is now part of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail. Track from Bostic to Forest City is still in place but has not been used since 2013.