The Savannah Subdivision is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line owned by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

in the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Through the middle of Savannah, the Savannah Subdivision splits into an east route and a west route. The East Route runs from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, to Ogeechee, Georgia, for a total of . At its north end it continues south from the

Charleston Subdivision The Charleston Subdivision is a railroad territory owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of South Carolina and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The line from Florence, South Carolina, to Savannah, Georgia, for a total of 195.8 miles. At ...

and the Columbia Subdivision both of the

Florence Division The Florence Division is a railroad division operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia & West Virginia. The Florence Division has 60 Subdivisions. The Subdivision ...

and at its south end it continues south as the Nahunta Subdivision. The West Route is located in

, and is in length. At its north end it branches off of the Savannah Subdivision East Route and at its south end it comes back into the Savannah Subdivision East Route.

History

The East Route runs along CSX's A Line (which was the main route of 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 ...

, one of CSX's predecessor companies). The West Route runs along what remains of CSX's

S Line S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...

(which was the main route of the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

, another CSX predecessor company) The A Line north of Savannah was originally chartered in 1854 by the Charleston and Savannah Railroad (later known as the Charleston and Savannah Railway). South of Savannah, it was originally the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, which was chartered in 1856. Both lines came under the ownership of

Henry B. Plant Henry Bradley Plant (October 27, 1819 – June 23, 1899), was a businessman, entrepreneur, and investor involved with many transportation interests and projects, mostly railroads, in the southeastern United States. He was founder of the Plant Sy ...

in the 1880s. The

Plant System The Plant System, named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system was the Savannah, Florida and Western ...

would then be bought by the

in 1902. The S Line north of Savannah was originally built as the South Bound Railroad in 1891. South of Savannah, the line was a northern extension of the

Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad The Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad was the final name of a system of railroads throughout Florida, becoming part of the Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1900. The system, including some of the first railroads in Florida, stretched from Jackso ...

built in 1894. The FC&P leased the South Bound Railroad and eventually acquired it. The FC&P became part of the

in 1903. The Seaboard Air Line main line within Savannah was designated on employee timetables as its Orange Subdivision.Seaboard Air Line Railroad Carolina Division Timetable (1957)
/ref> The Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line merged in 1967, which created 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 ...

. After the merger, the main lines in Savannah were named the Burroughs Subdivision.Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Savannah and Waycross Division Timetable (1982)
/ref> The merger led to consolidation of the two lines and the abandonment of some of the S Line in Savannah. This includes the segment from Savannah south to Ogeechee which originally ran right beside the Atlantic Coast Line route (the current route). Remnants of the Seaboard's bridge over the Ogeechee River remain next to the current bridge. 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 u ...

, 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 merge ...

. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into

. By the time CSX was created, the line was renamed the Savannah Subdivision (a name the

Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

Railroad had once used on their line from Savannah east to Americus).

References

{{Attached KML CSX Transportation lines Rail infrastructure in Georgia (U.S. state)

History

See also

References