Fairfax Harrison, the railroad had assembled the 8,000-mile, 13-state system that lasted for almost half a century.
Additionally, Southern have operated 6,791 miles of road at the end of 1925, but its flock of subsidiaries added 1000+ more.
In 1912, the Southern Railway leased most of its
Bluemont, Virginia
Bluemont is an unincorporated village in Loudoun County, Virginia located at the eastern base of Snickers Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The village's center is located along Snickersville Turnpike ( Virginia Route 734), west of the incorpor ...
, branch to the newly formed
Washington and Old Dominion Railway. In 1945, the Southern sold most of the remnant of the branch to the
Washington and Old Dominion Railroad
The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The railroad was a successor to the bankrupt Washington and Old Dominion Railway a ...
, the successor to the Washington and Old Dominion Railway.
The
Central of Georgia became part of the system in 1963, and the former
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, ...
was acquired in 1974.
Despite these small acquisitions, the Southern disdained the merger trend when it swept the railroad industry in the 1960s, choosing to remain a regional carrier. In 1978 President
L. Stanley Crane[''L. Stanley Crane'' (born in Cincinnati, 1915) raised in Washington, lived in McLean before moving to ]Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
in 1981. He began his career with ''Southern Railway'' after graduating from The George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
with a chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
degree in 1938. He worked for the railroad, except for a stint from 1959 to 1961 with the Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
, until reaching the company's mandatory retirement age in 1980. ''Crane'' went to Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busi ...
in 1981 after a distinguished career that had seen him rise to the position of CEO at the Southern Railway. He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
on July 15, 2003, at a hospice in Boynton Beach, Florida
Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about 57 miles north of Miami. The population was 68,217 at the 2010 census. In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 78,679 according to the University o ...
said the refusal to add routes through merger was a mistake, especially the decision not to add a connecting route to Chicago.
The Southern tried to gain access to Chicago by targeting the
Monon Railroad
The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Ra ...
and the
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two Worl ...
but both those railroads went to Southern's competitor, the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.
Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...
. A decade later Crane tried to rectify the situation by merging with the
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
. When that failed, he petitioned the
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...
to give Southern the old Monon routes and the old Atlantic Coast Line route from Jacksonville to Tampa by way of Orlando among other properties as a condition of the I.C.C.'s approval of the Seaboard Coast Line – Chessie System merger in 1979. While the request was supported by the I.C.C.'s Enforcement Bureau, it was ultimately unsuccessful.
Becoming part of the Norfolk Southern Corporation
In response to the creation of 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 merger. ...
in November 1980, the Southern Railway joined forces with the
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
and formed the
Norfolk Southern Corporation
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 1980 which began operations in 1982, further consolidating railroads in the eastern half of the United States.
The Southern Railway was renamed
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, ...
as the Norfolk and Western Railway became a subsidiary to its system on June 1, 1982.
The railroad then acquired more than half of
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busi ...
on June 1, 1999.
Notable features
Southern and its predecessors were responsible for many firsts in the industry. Starting in 1833, its predecessor, the
South Carolina Canal and Rail Road, was the first to carry passengers, U.S. troops and mail on steam-powered trains
and experimented with railroad lighting. They had a pine log fire on a
flatcar
A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...
, covered in sand, to provide light at night before inexpensive
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regis ...
was invented for lamps.
In 1941, the Southern Railway went under
dieselization
Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, as o ...
and became the first major railroad in the United States to be fully converted from steam to diesel-powered locomotives in 1953.
[.] On January 20, 1953, the last steam-powered passenger train arrived in Knoxville, Tennessee. On June 17, 1953, the railroad's last steam-powered freight train arrived in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Although a handful of 63 steam locomotives were still in the Southern's employ in 1954 according to ''Southern Railway System, Steam Locomotives and Boats'' by Richard E. Prince.
The Southern Railway was active in mechanization, used
bank engine
A bank engine (United Kingdom/Australia) (colloquially a banker), banking engine, helper engine or pusher engine (North America) is a railway locomotive that temporarily assists a train that requires additional power or traction to climb a gr ...
s, is widely credited with inventing
unit train
A unit train, also called a block train or a trainload service, is a train in which all cars (wagons) carry the same commodity and are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route.
They are disti ...
s for coal and new freight cars,
and understood the power of marketing using the promotional phrase "Southern Gives a Green Light to Innovation".
In 1966, a popular
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
excursion
An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes.
Public transportatio ...
program was instituted under the presidency of
W. Graham Claytor Jr., and included Southern veteran locomotives
No. 630,
No. 722,
[.] No. 4501, and Savannah & Atlanta No. 750 along with non-Southern locomotives such as
Texas & Pacific No. 610,
[.] Canadian Pacific No. 2839,
[.] and
Chesapeake & Ohio No. 2716.
[.] The steam program continued after the 1982 merger with the Norfolk and Western to form the Norfolk Southern, through increased operating costs and concerns ended the program in 1994.
Norfolk Southern reinstated the steam program on a limited basis from 2011 to 2015, as the
21st Century Steam program.
In the early 2000s, a loop of former Southern Railway right-of-way encircling central
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
neighborhoods was acquired and is now the
BeltLine
The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of multi-use trail and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect nei ...
trail.
Passenger trains
Along with its famed ''
(Southern) Crescent'' and ''
Southerner'', the Southern's other
named passenger trains included:
[.]
* ''
Aiken-Augusta Special
The ''Aiken-Augusta Special'' was a named night train of the '' Southern Railway'' between New York City and Augusta, Georgia. Different from other long distance Southern Railway lines which tended to briefly go through the northwestern edge of S ...
''
* ''
Airline Belle''
* ''
Asheville Special''
* ''
Birmingham Special
The ''Birmingham Special'' was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after A ...
''
* ''
Carolina Special
The ''Carolina Special'' was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway between Cincinnati, Ohio and the Carolinas. It operated from 1911 to 1968. It was the last passenger train to use the route of the Charleston and Hamburg Railroad, w ...
''
* ''
Fast Mail "Old 97"''
* ''Florida Sunbeam''
* ''Goldenrod''
* ''
Kansas City–Florida Special''
* ''Land of the Sky Special''
* ''Memphis Special''
* ''New Yorker''
* ''Peach Queen''
* ''
Pelican
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents befor ...
''
* ''
Piedmont Limited
The ''Piedmont Limited'' was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the southern United States. For most of its life it was a New York— New Orleans train, operating over the same route as the more famous '' Crescent ...
''
* ''
Ponce de Leon''
* ''
Queen and Crescent Limited
The ''Queen and Crescent Limited'' was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the United States of America. It was operated over a historic route that had been established in the late 1800s called the Queen and Crescent Rou ...
''
* ''
Royal Palm
''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted ...
''
* ''
Skyland Special''
* ''Sunnyland''
* ''
Tennessean''
The Southern Railway also handled ticket sales and operations for subsidiary railroads, such as:
* ''
The Nancy Hanks'' (operated by Central of Georgia Railway)
[.]
* ''The Man O' War'' (operated by Central of Georgia Railway)
The Southern Railway also participated in the operation of the ''
City of Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
'', which was operated by the Southern Railway over the Central of Georgia trackage from
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fro ...
, to
Albany, Georgia
Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia ...
, where it traded off with the
Seaboard Coast Line
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 ...
until its discontinuation in 1971.
When
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
took over most intercity rail service in 1971, Southern initially opted out of turning over its passenger routes to the new organization. However, it shared operation of its flagship train, the New Orleans–New York ''Southern Crescent'', with Amtrak. Under a longstanding haulage agreement inherited from
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
and the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
, Amtrak carried the train north of Washington. By the late 1970s, growing revenue losses and equipment-replacement expenses convinced Southern it could not continue in the passenger business. It handed full control of its passenger routes to Amtrak in 1979.
Roads owned by the Southern Railway
*
Alabama Great Southern Railway (AGS)
*
Albany and Northern Railway (A&N)
*
Atlantic & Eastern Carolina Railway (A&EC)
*
Birmingham Terminal Company
*
Camp Lejeune Railroad Company
*
Carolina and Northwestern Railway (C&NW)
*
Central of Georgia Railway
The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...
(CofG)(CG)
*
Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP)
*
Chattanooga Station Company
*
Chattanooga Traction Company (CTC)
*
Georgia and Florida Railroad (G&F)
*
Georgia Ashburn Sylvester and Camilla Railway (GAS&C)
*
Georgia Northern Railway (GANO) – acquired in 1967
*
Georgia Southern and Florida Railway
The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway , also known as the ''Suwanee River Route'' from its crossing of the Suwanee River, was founded in 1885 as the Georgia Southern and Florida ''Railroad'' and began operations between Macon, GA and Valdos ...
(GS&F)
*
Interstate Railroad
The Interstate Railroad was a railroad in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Virginia. It extended from the Clinchfield Railroad at Miller Yard in northeastern Scott County, VA, Scott County north and west to Appalachia, VA, Appalachia and no ...
(INT)
*
Kentucky and Indiana Terminal Railroad (K&IT)
*
Sievern and Knoxville Railroad
*
Live Oak Perry and Gulf Railway (LOP&G)
*
Louisiana Southern Railway (LS)
*
New Orleans and North Eastern Railway (NO&NE)
*
New Orleans Terminal Company (NOTCO)
*
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, ...
(NS)
*
Savannah & Atlanta Railway (SA)
*
Saint John's River Terminal Company (SJRT)
*
State University Railroad Company (54%)
*
South Georgia Railway (SG)
*
Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway
The Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railroad was created through a reorganization of the Chattanooga Southern Railway in 1911. A few years later, in 1922, the line's name was changed to the Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway and was also k ...
(TA&G)
*
Tennessee Railway
The Tennessee Railroad was a short line standard gauge (4 ft 8in) common carrier railroad running from Oneida, Tennessee to Fork Mountain, Tennessee. Reorganized in 1973 by the Southern Railway as the Tennessee Railway, it remains a subsi ...
(TENN)
Major railroad yards
* Chattanooga, Tennessee – DeButts Yard (formerly Citico Yard)
* Atlanta, Georgia – Inman Yard
* Spencer, North Carolina – Spencer Yard
*
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fro ...
– Norris Yard
* Knoxville, Tennessee – Sevier Yard
*
Macon, Georgia
Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Ge ...
–
Brosnan Yard[.]
*
Sheffield, Alabama
Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Shoals metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 9,039. Sheffield is the birthplace of "country-soul pioneer" and songwriter Arth ...
– Sheffield Yard
*
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C.
In 2020, the population was 159,467. Th ...
–
Potomac Yard
Potomac Yard is a neighborhood in Northern Virginia that straddles southeastern Arlington County and northeastern Alexandria, Virginia, located principally in the area between U.S. Route 1 and the Washington Metro Blue Line / Yellow Line track ...
Company officers
Presidents of the Southern Railway:
* Samuel Spencer (1894–1906)
* William Finley (1906–1913)
*
Fairfax Harrison (1913–1937)
* Ernest E. Norris (1937–1951)
*
Harry A. DeButts (1951–1962)
*
D. William Brosnan (1962–1967)
*
W. Graham Claytor Jr. (1967–1977)
*
L. Stanley Crane (1977–1980)
* Harold H. Hall (1980–1982)
Heritage unit
To mark its 30th anniversary, Norfolk Southern painted 20 new locomotives with the paint schemes of predecessor railroads.
GE ES44AC
The Evolution Series is a line of diesel locomotives built by GE Transportation Systems (now owned by Wabtec), initially designed to meet the U.S. EPA's Tier 2 locomotive emissions standards that took effect in 2005. The first pre-production ...
#8099 was painted in Southern Railway's green and white livery.
Norfolk Southern Heritage Locomotives
Norfolk Southern
See also
* FM OP800
The OP800 was a lightweight, streamlined railcar built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1939. Fairbanks-Morse supplied the , five-cylinder opposed piston engine prime mover. The units were configured in a highly unusual 2-A1A wheel arrangement '' ...
* Southern Railway's Spencer Shops
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
Harrison, Fairfax. ''A History of the Legal Development of the Railroad System of Southern Railway Company''.
Washington, D.C.: 1901.
*
*
External links
Southern Railway Historical Association
covers Southern Railway history
* , which was replaced by
map version on AbandonedRails.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Railway U.S.
Predecessors of the Norfolk Southern Railway
Former Class I railroads in the United States
Standard gauge railways in the United States
Defunct Alabama railroads
Defunct Florida railroads
Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads
Defunct Mississippi railroads
Defunct Tennessee railroads
Railway companies established in 1894
Railway companies disestablished in 1990
Defunct Missouri railroads
Defunct Illinois railroads
Defunct Kentucky railroads
Defunct Indiana railroads
Defunct Virginia railroads
Defunct South Carolina railroads
Defunct North Carolina railroads
Defunct Washington, D.C., railroads