Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
Steamengine576.jpg
NC&StL steam locomotive 576, now displayed in Centennial Park in Nashville
Reporting mark NC
Locale Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia
Dates of operation 1851–1957
Predecessor Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
Successor Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length 1900: 1,189 miles (1,914 km)
Headquarters Nashville, Tennessee

The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (reporting mark NC) was a railway company operating in the southern United States in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville in December 11, 1845, and was the first railway to operate in the state of Tennessee.[1] From this link between two Tennessee cities, it has gradually grew until it formed one of the important railway systems of the South by the turn of the twentieth century.[2](iii, Dedication)

Contents

History

The Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad was founded by Mr. Vernon King Stevenson. He was president of the railroad for 25 years, as well as being president of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and controlling the L & N Railroad. The first locomotive in Nashville arrived in December 1850 on the steamboat Beauty along with thirteen freight cars and one passenger car. The train made its first trip the following spring, 11 miles (18 km) to Antioch, Tennessee. It took nine years to complete the 150 miles (240 km) of line between Nashville and Chattanooga,[1] made difficult by the steep elevations of the Highland Rim and Cumberland Plateau between them. A 2,228 feet (679 m) tunnel near Cowan, Tennessee was considered an engineering marvel of the time.[1] Due to terrain difficulties, the rail line crossed into Alabama and Georgia for short distances. Towns sprang up during construction, including Tullahoma and Estill Springs.

During the Civil War, the rail line was strategic to both the Union and Confederate armies. The Tennessee campaigns of 1862 and 1863 saw Union troops force the Confederates from Nashville to Chattanooga along the line of the railroad. The tracks and bridges were repeatedly damaged and repaired, and at different times carried supplies for both armies.

After the war, the company purchased the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad and the Hickman and Obion Railroad to Hickman, Kentucky to reach the Mississippi River. In 1873, it was reincorporated as the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) (though the company's tracks never actually reached St. Louis, Missouri). In early 1877, the NC&StL bought the bankrupt Tennessee and Pacific Railroad from the state government and operated it as a connection to Lebanon, Tennessee.

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, an aggressive competitor of the NC&StL, gained a controlling interest in 1880 through a hostile stock takeover that caused massive rancor between the cities of Nashville and Louisville.[3] However, the railroads operated separately before finally merging in 1957. Despite the 1880 takeover, the NC&StL continued to grow through the acquisition of branch lines in Kentucky and Alabama, and expanded from Nashville to Memphis. In 1890 the tracks reached Atlanta, Georgia, by leasing the state-owned Western and Atlantic Railroad.[2](List of Branches in Order of Their Acquisition)

The L&N, itself controlled by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in a takeover similar to that of the NC&StL, was merged in to the Seaboard System Railroad, and finally into the CSX freight rail conglomerate. It continues to use the original NC&StL tracks between Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta.

Surviving equipment

Two 4-4-0 locomotives, The General, and The Texas from the NC&StL's predecessor road, the Western and Atlantic, are on display in museums in the Atlanta suburbs of Kennesaw and Grant Park.

In 1953, the NC&StL donated its last remaining steam engine, No. 576, to the city of Nashville. This locomotive, a J3-57 class 4-8-4, originally known as a Yellow Jacket, was manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (“ALCO”) in 1942. It has been on display in Centennial Park since then. In keeping with its Southern heritage, the NC&StL referred to 4-8-4 locomotives as Dixies, while most other railroads called them Northerns.

In 2004, a former NC&StL diesel locomotive 710, an EMD GP7 was restored to its original paint scheme by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

In 2007 former NC&StL GE 44 ton Diesel (1950) Huntsville terminal switcher number 100 was moved from Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee to Cowan, Tennessee at the Cowan Railroad Museum. Though subsequently an L&N engine (number 3100), she was cosmetically restored to original scheme and number. In the process, the locomotive was found to be runable. Important as the first transitorized remote control locomotive in the US (converted in 1962)

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "The First Railroad Across Tennessee". Tennessee History for Kids. http://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/stories/railroad. Retrieved October 4, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b DeBow, James Dunwoody Brownson (1900). Legal history of the Entire System of Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Ry. and Possessions. Nashville, Tennessee: Press of Marshall & Bruce Co. http://www.archive.org/details/legalhistoryofen00deboiala. Retrieved October 4, 2011. 
  3. ^ "A Vast Railroad Scheme", The New York Times, January 19, 1880, http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20715F63A551B7A93CBA8178AD85F448884F9 

Bibliography

  • Anon. (June 1996) [January 1953]. Official Railway Equipment Register. The Railway Equipment and Publication Company, reprinted by National Model Railroad Association. ISBN 0-9647050-1-X. 
  • Drury, George H. (1985). The Historical Guide to North American Railroads. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company. pp. 200–201. ISBN 0-89024-072-8. 
  • Prince, Richard E., Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway: History and Steam Locomotives. Indiana University Press, 2001. ISBN 0253339278.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway — Le Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC StL) (sigle AAR: NC) était un chemin de fer américain de classe I du sud des États Unis en exploitation dans le Kentucky, le Tennessee, l Alabama et la Géorgie. Initialement créé à Nashville,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway — NC StL Steam Engine 576 im Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee. Die Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway war eine Eisenbahngesellschaft im Süden der Vereinigten Staaten. Sie wurde im Dezember 1845 als Nashville and Chattanooga… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway Office and Freight House — Paducah Freight House Das Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway Office and Freight House oder einfacher Paducah Freight House ist ein historisches Eisenbahngebäude in Paducah, Kentucky. 1852 wurde die erste Grundlage für den Bau einer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alabama and Tennessee River Railway — Infobox SG rail railroad name=Alabama and Tennessee River Railway logo filename=Atnrrlogo.png logo size= old gauge= marks=ATN locale=Birmingham, Alabama to Guntersville, Alabama start year=December 30, 2004 end year=present hq city=Denver,… …   Wikipedia

  • Western and Atlantic Railroad — The Western and Atlantic Railroad (W A) is a historic railroad that operated in the southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia [http://oldrailhistory.com/index.php?option=com content task=view id=333 Itemid=369 (map)] to Chattanooga,… …   Wikipedia

  • Tennessee Central Railway — Reporting mark TC Locale Tennessee Dates of operation 1893–1968 …   Wikipedia

  • Tennessee Central Railway — Le Tennessee Central Railway (sigle de l AAR: TC) était un chemin de fer américain de classe I spécialisé dans le transport de matières premières au Tennessee. Durant toute son existence il fut confronté à des problèmes financiers car il apparut… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of Louisville and Nashville Railroad precursors — These railroads were bought, leased, or in other ways had their track come under ownership or lease by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.In 1902, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad gained a majority of stock in the L N, but it continued to… …   Wikipedia

  • Louisville and Nashville Railroad — La compagnie de chemin de fer Louisville and Nashville Railroad ou L N était une compagnie ferroviaire qui opéra en tant que transporteur de marchandises et de passagers dans le sud est des États Unis entre 1850 et 1982 lorsqu elle fut absorbée… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad — Le Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (sigle AAR: CEI) était un chemin de fer américain de classe I qui reliait Chicago au sud de l Illinois, St. Louis, et Evansville. Fondé en 1877, il se développa de façon agressive et resta relativement… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”