The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a
Class I railroad
Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...
company operating in the
Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lines to create the
Seaboard System in 1983.
At the end of 1970, SCL operated 9,230 miles of railroad, not including A&WP-Clinchfield-CN&L-GM-Georgia-L&N-Carrollton; that year it reported 31,293 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 512 million passenger-miles.
History
The Seaboard Coast Line emerged on July 1, 1967, following the merger of the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad with 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 ...
. The combined system totaled , the eighth largest in the United States at the time. The railroad had $1.2 billion in assets and revenue with a 54% market share of rail service in the
Southeast, facing competition primarily from the
Southern.
The seemingly redundant name resulted from the longstanding short-form names of these two major Southeastern railroads. For years, SAL had been popularly known as "Seaboard," while ACL was known as "the Coast Line."
Prior to the creation of
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
on May 1, 1971, the Seaboard Coast Line provided passenger service over much of its system, including local passenger trains on some lines. Local trains ended when the Amtrak era began.
Although several named passenger trains survived through the Amtrak era, many were renamed or combined with other services.
The first expansion for the Seaboard Coast Line came in 1969 with the acquisition of the
Piedmont and Northern Railway, which operated about in North and South Carolina.
SCL would buy out the remaining shares and gain control of the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) in 1971, and also bought the
Durham and Southern Railway from the Duke family in 1979. In 1978, SCL was approached by the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
(SP) and entered negotiations for a potential transcontinental merger, with the L&N being used to connect the two railroads.
In May of that year, then-SCL president Prime Osborn III personally called off the merger, but SCL still sold some of their stock to the SP.
On November 1, 1980,
CSX Corporation was created as a holding company for the
Family Lines and
Chessie System Railroad. Effective January 1, 1983, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad became
Seaboard System Railroad after a merger with the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad and
Clinchfield Railroad. For some years prior to this, the SCL and L&N had been under the common ownership of a holding company,
Seaboard Coast Line Industries (SCLI), the company's railroad subsidiaries being collectively known as the
Family Lines System which consisted of the L&N, SCL, Clinchfield and West Point Routes. During this time, the railroads adopted the same paint schemes but continued to operate as separate railroads.
In 1983, CSX combined the Family Lines System units as the
Seaboard System Railroad and later
CSX Transportation when the former Chessie units merged with the Seaboard in December 1986.
Notable SCL services
Passenger Trains
New York - Florida
*''
Silver Meteor'', inaugurated February 2, 1939
::Inherited from SAL. Initially an all-coach train (Pullman sleepers added in 1941), first
streamliner to serve Florida, New York to Tampa/St. Petersburg and Miami. Trains continued beyond Tampa to Sarasota and Venice. Preserving its reputation as "one of the finest
rainsin the country,"
[Seaboard condensed timetable, April 25, 1954 http://streamlinermemories.info/South/SAL54TT.pdf] the train retained its round-ended
observation cars until
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
took over operation in 1971. Still in Amtrak service today with updated equipment.
*''
Silver Star'', inaugurated December 12, 1947
::Inherited from SAL. Streamliner, coach and Pullman cars, New York to Tampa/St. Petersburg and Miami. Still in Amtrak service, with updated equipment (temporarily suspended and merged with the Capitol Limited as the Floridian).
*''
Champion'', December 1, 1939 - October 1, 1979
::Inherited from ACL. Streamliner, coach and Pullman cars, New York to Tampa/St. Petersburg and Miami. Initially continued by Amtrak, it was discontinued in 1979.
*''Gulf Coast Special'', 1920s – April 30, 1971
::Inherited from ACL. Coach and Pullman cars, New York – Tampa. The train was not continued by Amtrak in 1971.
*''Everglades'', 1940s – April 30, 1971
::Inherited from ACL. All-coach, New York – Jacksonville. The train was not continued by Amtrak in 1971.
*''Palmland'', Winter 1941 – April 30, 1971
::Inherited from SAL. Coach and Pullman cars, New York – St.Petersburg/Miami. The route was cut back to Columbia, South Carolina as the southern terminus by 1968, and the train was not continued by Amtrak in 1971.
*''Sunland'', Winter 1948 – December 1968
::Inherited from SAL. Coach and Pullman cars, New York – Tampa/Miami. Connections in Washington to New York and Boston. The route was cut back to Jacksonville, Florida as the southern terminus in February 1968, and later discontinued in December.
Winter Only
*''
Florida Special'', Late 1800s - Spring 1972
::Inherited from ACL. Streamliner, coach and Pullman cars, New York to Tampa/St. Petersburg and Miami. Initially continued by Amtrak, it was discontinued after the 1971-1972 winter season.
Miscellaneous
*''
Silver Comet'', May 18, 1947 – October 15, 1969
::Inherited from SAL. Streamliner, coach and Pullman cars, New York – Birmingham via Athens and Atlanta. The train was cut back to Washington – Atlanta only by January 1969, then to Richmond – Atlanta only by May, and finally discontinued October 15, 1969.
*''
Gulf Wind'', July 31, 1949 – April 30, 1971
::Inherited from SAL. Coach and Pullman cars, Jacksonville – New Orleans via Tallahassee, Pensacola and Mobile. Handled jointly by SCL and the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad, with motive power changed at Chattahoochee. The train was not continued by Amtrak in 1971.
*''Tidewater'', November 1, 1953 – February 1968
::Inherited from SAL. Streamliner, coach and Pullman cars, Portsmouth, Virginia – Jacksonville, Florida, forwarding cars to the ''Silver Comet'' at Hamlet, North Carolina. Ferries would transport passengers between Norfolk and Portsmouth. Coach only by 1968.
*''
Palmetto'', 1944 – 1968
::Inherited from ACL. All-coach, New York – Savannah. The name and route was later revived by Amtrak in 1976 and still operates today.
Juice Train
Juice Train is the popular name for famous
unit trains of
Tropicana fresh
orange juice
Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange (fruit), orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As ...
operated by
railroads in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. On June 7, 1970, beginning on Seaboard Coast Line railroad, a mile-long Tropicana Juice Train began carrying one million gallons of juice with one weekly round-trip from
Bradenton, Florida to
Kearny, New Jersey, in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
area. The trip spanned one way, and the 60 car train was the equivalent of 250 trucks.
Today it is no longer operated by SCL successor
CSX Transportation, a victim of CSX’s
PSR operating philosophy. Tropicana
refrigerated boxcars are still transported between Florida and New Jersey, however they are now mixed in with
Intermodal trains. In the past, the Juice Trains have been the focus of efficiency studies and awards as examples of how modern rail transportation can compete successfully against trucking and other modes to carry perishable products.
Motive power
Immediately following the 1967 merger, the newly created SCL network had 1,232 locomotives. The vast majority of the ACL roster contained
EMD (Electro-Motive Division of
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
) locomotives in addition to some
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
(GE) and
Alco models as well as
Baldwin switchers, while the SAL rostered mainly EMD and Alco diesels in addition to some GE models and Baldwin switchers.
Both railroads had purchased new freight locomotives in the 5 years leading up to the merger. Among the first new locomotives purchased by the Seaboard Coast Line were 28
GE U33B locomotives, acquired in 1967 and 1968. These were followed by 108
GE U36B locomotives between 1970 and 1972.
From EMD, SCL purchased
SD45 locomotives in 1968, with more to follow in 1971.
SD45-2 locomotives were added in 1974.
GP40 and
GP40-2 locomotives were added to the fleet between 1968 and 1972 for use on through freights and other high priority freight trains. All former SAL locomotives ran for many years in the "Split-image" scheme, still in full SAL paint, but relettered and renumbered SCL. Two GP-7's 915 & 981 went from pure SAL to SCL Black without being in split-image and GP-7 944 and RS-3 1156 were never painted black, and retained their SAL paint until retired in 1976. The last operating SCL locomotive in SAL paint was GP-40 1559, former SAL 644, and was repainted at Hamlet, NC in March 1976 according to records. There were former P&N locomotives that retained their P&N scheme from 1969 until 1977, only RS-3's 1250 & 1256 and S-4 230 ever were repainted SCL black.
Gainesville Midland SD-40, retained its SAL paint until 1986 when it was repainted Seaboard System 8300, it had been SBD 0010 and 8300 in SAL style "split-image" for several years prior to that.
SCL supplemented its local freight units with orders of
GE U18B and
EMD GP38-2
The EMD GP38-2 is an American four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors, Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier EMD GP38, GP38. Power is provided by an EMD 645E 1 ...
locomotives. Some U18B models contained a shorter, and therefore lighter, fuel tank which proved ideal for light density lines. Most units of this type were assigned to the Carolinas.
However, in 1978 the SCL decided not to purchase any more locomotives for local service on secondary mainlines and branchlines, instead aging GP7, GP9, and GP18 locomotives would be rebuilt into
GP16 models at the Uceta shops.
In the years leading up to the creation of the
Seaboard System in 1983, SCL began acquiring the next generation of locomotives from EMD and GE. These orders included
GE B23-7 locomotives in 1978 and 1980, including the
GE BQ23-7 variant, of which only 10 were built and all belonged to SCL.
EMD GP38-2
The EMD GP38-2 is an American four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors, Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier EMD GP38, GP38. Power is provided by an EMD 645E 1 ...
units were added in 1979 and 1980, and 5
EMD GP40-2 locomotives also delivered in 1980. Six axle
GE C30-7 and
EMD SD40-2
The EMD SD40-2 is a AAR wheel arrangement#C-C, C-C diesel–electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Diesel, EMD from 1972 to 1989.
The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD's ''EMD Dash 2, Dash 2'' series, competing against t ...
units were added to the roster between 1979 and 1980.
Heritage unit
On May 21, 2024, CSX unvailed
GE ES44AH No. 1967 (ex-CSXT 3062), being repainted at the CSX paint shops in
Waycross,
GA The unit is designed with the cab staying in YN3C and the long hood being painted in the SCL black and yellow. It was numbered #1967 in homage to the year the Seaboard Coastline was created.
See also
*
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
*
Auto Train
*
GP16
*
Juice Train
References
External links
Atlantic Coast Line & Seaboard Air Line Railroads Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Seaboard System Railroad
Predecessors of CSX Transportation
Defunct Florida railroads
Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads
Defunct North Carolina railroads
Defunct South Carolina railroads
Defunct Virginia railroads
Former Class I railroads in the United States
Companies based in Jacksonville, Florida
Companies based in Richmond, Virginia
Railway companies established in 1967
Railway companies disestablished in 1983
Defunct Alabama railroads
1967 establishments in the United States