The Southern Railway – Carolina Division was one of the first railroads chartered in the United States.
The
South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company was chartered in South Carolina in 1827, eventually building a line from
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, to
Hamburg, South Carolina
Hamburg, South Carolina is a ghost town in Aiken County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was once a thriving upriver market located across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia in the Edgefield District. It was founded by Henry Shultz ...
. It merged with the
Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad The Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad was an antebellum railroad that served the State of South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia. It was a gauge railroad line.
History
The Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston was chartered in the Stat ...
in 1843 to become the
South Carolina Railroad
The South Carolina Rail Road Company was a railroad company that operated in South Carolina from 1843 to 1894, when it was succeeded by the Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. It was formed in 1844 by the merger of the South Carolina Canal a ...
In 1881, the line was reorganized as the
South Carolina Railway. After entering receivership in 1889, it was reorganized once again five years later as the
South Carolina and Georgia Railroad.
Southern Railway gained control of the line in 1899. The South Carolina and Georgia Railroad remained separate corporation until May 1902, when it was consolidated with several other lines controlled by Southern.
Southern Railway obtained a 999-year lease of the line in 1902, which is still in effect.
In December 1990, the Southern changed its name to
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 ...
. In 1996, the Southern Railway – Carolina Division merged into the renamed Norfolk Southern Railway, bringing an end to the Southern Railway – Carolina Division.
[ .S. Fed News, Surface Transport Board Issues Decision on Norfolk Southern Railway Abandonment Exemption in McDowell County, North Carolina, June 13, 2006/ref>
]
References
Defunct South Carolina railroads
Railway companies established in 1902
Railway companies disestablished in 1996
5 ft gauge railways in the United States
Predecessors of the Southern Railway (U.S.)
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