The Charleston and Western Carolina Railway (C&WC) was formed in 1896 to operate the lines of the former

Port Royal and Augusta Railway The Port Royal and Augusta Railway was a South Carolina railroad that existed in the latter half of the 19th century. The Port Royal Railroad Company was chartered in 1856 and the line was completed in 1870. In 1873, the Georgia Railroad provided ...

(PR&A) and the

Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway The Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway (PR&WC) was a railroad company in the southern United States that operated on of gauge track. It was formed in 1886 by the merger of the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad, Greenwood, Laurens and Spartanbu ...

(PR&WC). The PR&A and PR&WC had originally been part of the Central of Georgia Railroad but the

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Legislature had forced the railroad to give up the subsidiary lines. 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 L ...

(ACL) took over the C&WC in 1897 but operated it as a subsidiary until 1959 when the ACL fully absorbed it. Much of the original system is still in use by ACL successor CSX Transportation.

Origins

When the Charleston & Western Carolina Railway was created in 1896, it combined two existing railroads, the

and the

into a single entity. The oldest portion of the line, the PR&A, ran from Port Royal to Augusta, a distance of following its completion in 1873. It was financed by the

Georgia Railroad Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

of Augusta, which sought to extend its own network and gain access to a port on the east coast. Fearing its port at Savannah would be compromised by any expansion of the facilities at Port Royal, the Central of Georgia Railway took control of the Port Royal & Augusta in 1881. The Central of Georgia sought to expand into the western portion of South Carolina in order to funnel traffic through their lines out of Augusta. In order to accomplish this goal, the Central leased the

Augusta and Knoxville Railroad The Augusta and Knoxville Railroad (A&K) was a railroad company that operated on of track between Augusta, Georgia, and Greenwood, South Carolina, from 1882 to 1886. It was merged with three other companies to form the Port Royal and Western Carol ...

in 1883, which owned a line from Augusta to Greenwood. Shortly thereafter, the Central financed construction of three new lines; the first was an extension from Greenwood to Spartanburg, completed in 1885, the second a branch from McCormick to

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

, , and a final branch from Laurens to Greenville, . In 1886, all of these branches including the Augusta & Knoxville were merged to create the

. Financial trouble in 1894 caused the Central of Georgia to lose control of both companies. Finally, in 1896, the Charleston & Western Carolina Railway was organized to consolidate both railroads into a single entity. The result was a railroad network covering most of western South Carolina. In 1897, the Atlantic Coast Line took control of the C&WC and operated the railroad as an independent company. The C&WC operated passenger train service between Augusta and Port Royal, with a major transfer stop at

Yemassee, South Carolina Yemassee () is a small Lowcountry town in Beaufort and Hampton counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 1,027 at the 2010 census. Yemassee is near the borders of Colleton and Jasper counties. The town is divided by the co ...

. At the Yemassee passengers could transfer to ACL trains to Savannah and to Charleston. Passenger service ended between 1954 and 1957. The ACL formally absorbed the C&WC in 1959. From there, the trackage of the former C&WC moved through the merger tree, first to 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 ...

in 1967, followed by the

Seaboard System The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986. Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads—notably the Louisville & Nashville ...

in 1983, and finally CSX Transportation in 1986. Most of the original C&WC system survives under CSX Transportation, while the remains of the former Laurens to Greenville branch survives as the

Carolina Piedmont Railroad The Carolina Piedmont Railroad is a class III railroad and subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. operating in the Upstate region of South Carolina. From an interchange with CSX Transportation at Laurens the railroad runs to the northwest, termin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charleston Western Carolina Railway Defunct South Carolina railroads Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state) Passenger rail transportation in South Carolina Railway companies established in 1896 Railway companies disestablished in 1959 Former Class I railroads in the United States Predecessors of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads American companies disestablished in 1959 American companies established in 1896