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 List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
, to
Hamburg, South Carolina. It merged with the
Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad in 1843 to become the
South Carolina Railroad.
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 operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
. 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.)
{{US-rail-company-stub