The Port Royal and Augusta Railway was a South Carolina railroad that existed in the latter half of the 19th century. The

Port Royal Railroad The Port Royal Railroad was a South Carolina railroad that was constructed following the American Civil War. The line was chartered in 1856 but wasn't built until 1870. By 1871, it ran from Port Royal, South Carolina, to Yemassee, South Carolina. I ...

Company was chartered in 1856 and the line was completed in 1870. In 1873, the

Georgia Railroad Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

provided financial assistance to the

Company, but Port Royal Railroad Company defaulted in November 1873 and the railroad was sold to the Georgia Railroad under

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...

in June 1878, with the Union Trust Company of New York as

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

s.Thomas (1895), p. 202-203. The Georgia Railroad reorganized it under the name Port Royal and Augusta Railway,Poor (1889), p. 604 and the company expanded.West Publishing Company (1896), p. 383. In 1881 Georgia Railroad leased its rail lines for 99 years to Colonel William M. Wadley, who assigned half of the interest to

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

and the other half to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia.District of Columbia (1897), pp. 398-399. That same year, Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia acquired controlling stock in Port Royal and Augusta Railway. In 1893, the

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 = ...

filed suit in ''State of South Carolina v. Port Royal and Augustra Railway Company'', alleging that Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia was intentionally diverting trade from Port Royal to its own lines by misuse of its voting power. Under the directors they appointed, the State alleged, the facilities of Port Royal Railroad Company had been allowed to deteriorate. Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia was forced into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

and sold, reorganized as Central of Georgia Railway. Central's purchasers, Ryan and Thomas, claimed to have purchased the company's interest in the lease, a claim denied by one of the receivers.District of Columbia (1897), p. 399. Louisville and Nashville Railroad had continued to pay their lease and receive their profits, while Central of Georgia had not. In light of this, the Port Royal and Augusta Railway Company filed suited against Central of Georgia for unpaid leases.West Publishing Company (1896), p. 375. However, in 1894, before resolution of any suit, the State of Georgia repealed the charter of the Port Royal and Augusta Railway and liquidated its assets, rendering legal action moot. By 1898, The Port Royal and Augusta Railway and the

Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway The Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway (PR&WC) was a railroad company in the southern United States that operated on of gauge track. It was formed in 1886 by the merger of the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad, Greenwood, Laurens and Spartanbu ...

had been combined into the new

Charleston and Western Carolina Railway The Charleston and Western Carolina Railway (C&WC) was formed in 1896 to operate the lines of the former Port Royal and Augusta Railway (PR&A) and the Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway (PR&WC). The PR&A and PR&WC had originally been part o ...

.South Carolina. Public Service Commission. (1898), p. 22. Today the segment between Augusta and Yemassee are part of the

CSX 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. ...

Augusta Subdivision The Augusta Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina. The line runs from Augusta, Georgia, to Yemassee, South Carolina, for a total of . At its north end it continues south from the ...

, while the segment south of Yemassee to Seabrook are part of the

Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority (often shortened to BJWSA) is a public water system and non-profit corporation which handles water and wastewater operations for many areas in Beaufort and Jasper counties in the Lowcountry region of S ...

and the

Spanish Moss Trail The Spanish Moss Trail is a partially-completed, ten-mile multi-purpose rail trail in northern Beaufort County, South Carolina. Using the former Port Royal Railroad right-of-way now owned by Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, the dedic ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * Defunct South Carolina railroads Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Railway companies established in 1873 Railway companies disestablished in 1959 {{SouthCarolina-transport-stub