The Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad was a

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railroad that served South Carolina following the Civil War. In 1873, the Chester and Lenoir acquired the route of the Kings Mountain Railroad, which had been started before the American

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 ...

but was destroyed by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

and not rebuilt afterward. The line lay abandoned for several years until it was acquired by the Chester and Lenoir. Within a decade the Chester and Lenoir had extended the line to

Lenoir, North Carolina Lenoir is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,263 at the 2020 census. Lenoir is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. To the northeast are the Brushy Mountains, ...

. At over , the Chester and Lenoir was the largest

narrow-gauge railroad A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

in the Carolinas. Over the next decade, the railroad operated under the umbrella of the

Richmond and Danville Railroad The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on of track in nine states. Chartered on March 9, 1847, the railroad completed its ...

. When the Richmond and Danville were re-organized as the Southern Railway In 1894, the Chester and Lenoir operated on its own for a short while. By 1896, it went into receivership, and the following year was re-organized as the Carolina & North-Western Railway. The Carolina & North-Western was absorbed into the Southern Railway around 1940.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad Defunct South Carolina railroads Predecessors of the Southern Railway (U.S.) Railway companies established in 1873 Railway companies disestablished in 1897 3 ft gauge railways in the United States American companies established in 1873 1873 establishments in South Carolina 1897 disestablishments in South Carolina