The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad was a

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, based railroad opened in April 1840 between Raleigh and the town of

Gaston, North Carolina Gaston is a town in Northampton County, North Carolina, Northampton County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,152 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Roanoke Rapids micropolitan area, Micropolitan ...

, on the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the App ...

. It was

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 ...

's second railroad (the

Wilmington and Weldon Railroad The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. At the time of its completion in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with of track ...

opened one month earlier). The length was and built with

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

. Part of the Raleigh and Gaston's tracks remains in service today as part of CSX's S Line as the

Norlina Subdivision The Norlina Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. State of North Carolina. The line currently runs from Norlina, North Carolina to Raleigh, North Carolina for a total of 51.2 miles. At its north end the line comes t ...

of CSX's Florence Division.

History

Raleigh_And_Gaston_Building_Cornerstone-20080912

Construction on the line began in 1836. At the north end, the line initially crossed the

near

Roanoke Rapids Roanoke Rapids () is a city in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,754 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Roanoke Rapids Micropolitan Statistical Area, and is also an anchor city of the Rocky Mo ...

on a 1,040-foot long bridge to connect the line to

Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

. In Gaston, it connected with the Greensville and Roanoke Railroad (which was operated by the

Petersburg Railroad The Petersburg Railroad ran from Petersburg, Virginia, south to Garysburg, North Carolina, from which it ran to Weldon via trackage rights over the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad (later eliminated with a new alignment). History Founding In 183 ...

). In 1852, the line was extended from Roanoke Rapids east to Weldon. The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad served the Confederacy during 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 ...

. Its track provided a link in a route that provided the most direct route from

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

and

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

at the time. During the fall of Richmond, the original bridge over the Roanoke River at Gaston was destroyed and was never rebuilt. After the war, the line was reconnected to the north side of the river when the

Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad The Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad was organized in 1833 (as the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad) to extend from the area of the rapids of the Roanoke River at its fall line near Weldon, North Carolina to Portsmouth, Virginia, across the Elizabet ...

rebuilt their bridge over the Roanoke River at Weldon. The railroad built the Franklinton Depot in 1886. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1990. The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad merged with 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 ...

(SAL) in 1900. At the same time, SAL finished a line running from Norlina north to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

(which was chartered by the

Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad The Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad was a railroad built in the early 1900s. As its name suggests, it ran from Richmond, Virginia south through Petersburg into northern North Carolina. It was a key part of the network of the Seaboar ...

). This line, along with the former Raleigh and Gaston Railroad from Norlina south became the SAL's main line. The line from Norlina to Weldon became part of SAL's

Portsmouth Subdivision The Portsmouth Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Virginia and North Carolina. The line connects CSX's network with the port city of Portsmouth, Virginia. The Portsmouth Subdivision was historically operated by the Seab ...

.Seaboard Air Line Railroad Virginia Division Timetable (1955)
/ref> In 1967, the SAL merged with its rival, 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 ...

(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). After the merger, the ex-SAL main line became known as the S Line in the combined network. Track from Norlina to Weldon was then known as the Roanoke Rapid Subdivision, which has since been abandoned. 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 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. ...

. CSX abandoned the S Line (the designation for the former Seaboard Air Line main line) north of Norlina into Virginia in 1985.

Current Conditions

Today, much of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad remains in service. Track from Raleigh to Norlina is now CSX's

. Track from Norlina to Roanoke Rapids was abandoned in 1983, but the short segment from Weldon to Roanoke Rapids is still in service as CSX's Roanoke Rapids Spur (which connects to CSX's A Line).CSX Florence Division Timetable
/ref>

Station listing

Raleigh-and-Gaston-Seaboard-Coast-Line-Building-20080321

Notes

References

External links

North Carolina Office of Archives and History: Marker E-22: Raleigh and Gaston Railroad

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00EFD91530E132A25751C2A9649D94689ED7CF NY Times: Raleigh and Gaston shareholders approve Seaboard consolidation
NPS: Early History -- Raleigh: A Capital City

NC Go - History of Transportation - 1800-1850
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raleigh Gaston Railroad 4 ft 8 in gauge railways in the United States Defunct North Carolina railroads Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Railway companies established in 1835 Railway companies disestablished in 1901 Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Defunct South Carolina railroads American companies established in 1835 American companies disestablished in 1901