The Carolina Central Railroad, was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1855 as the Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad and was renamed the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad shortly after. It was reorganized as the Carolina Central Railway in 1873. It built of track, in two unconnected sections, in the southern part of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The company was again reorganized as the Carolina Central Railroad in 1880. In 1900, the Carolina Central Railroad was merged into 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 ...

. Its lines are now 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 ...

History

Formation and early years

The Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad was incorporated on February 13, 1855, but the name was changed soon after to the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad. The company intended to build a railway line from

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, on the Atlantic Ocean, to

Rutherford County, North Carolina Rutherford County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 64,444. Its county seat is Rutherfordton, North Carolina, R ...

, via

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. The company completed a line from Navassa, outside Wilmington, to Rockingham, in 1861. This line included a -long segment of straight track between Laurel Hill and East Arcadia, the longest such line in the United States. Separately, the company built a from Charlotte to Lincolnton, in the direction of Rutherford County. The outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

prevented any further construction from taking place. In 1870 an additional opened between Rockingham and

Pee Dee The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, an Indigenous tribe historically inhabiting the region. History The ...

, on the

Pee Dee River The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River, is known a ...

, leaving the a gap between the two sections of the railroad. When the east end of the line in Navassa was completed in 1861, it ran just north of Royster Road to its terminus at the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

just south of the Interstate 140 bridge (both road locations ). In 1866, the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad created the Wilmington Railway Bridge Company as a joint venture with the

Wilmington and Manchester Railroad The Wilmington and Manchester Railroad was a railroad that served South Carolina and North Carolina before, during and after the American Civil War. It received its charter in 1846 and began operation in 1853 from Wilmington, North Carolina, exten ...

to build a bridge over the Cape Fear River. The bridge, which was jointly owned by both railroads, was completed in 1867 allowing both railroad to extend into central Wilmington. The company entered receivership in 1872 and was sold in 1873 to the Carolina Central Railway, which in 1874 completed the connection between Wilmington and Charlotte. The railroad finally reached Rutherford via a new extension of the line in 1877. Another change in corporate identity occurred in 1880, when the Carolina Central Railway became the Carolina Central Railroad, controlled by a predecessor of the

. In 1896, a branch was built from Ellenboro south to Caroleen and the Henrietta Mill. The Carolina Central Railroad was ultimately merged into the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1900.

Seaboard Air Line years

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad operated the line as their Wilmington Subdivision east of

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and as their Monroe Subdivision west of Hamlet to Rutherfordton. The branch to Caroleen was known as the Caroleen Subdivision.Seaboard Air Line Railroad Virginia Division Timetable (1955)
/ref>Seaboard Air Line Railroad Georgia Division Timetable (1955)
/ref> The line would be the Seaboard Air Line's only route to the port city of Wilmington, which by then was the headquarters and a major hub of their main competitor, 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 ...

. The Seaboard built their historic Hamlet station at the junction with the mainline in Hamlet which would become a major hub for the company. In the 1950s, the company was running a local passenger train from Wilmington to Charlotte daily. At the same time, Seaboard's New York City—Birmingham '' Silver Comet'' and ''The Cotton Blossom'' provided through passenger service between Hamlet and Monroe. They would diverge from the mainline at Hamlet before turning southward onto the

Abbeville Subdivision The Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway was a Southeastern railroad that began after Reconstruction and operated up until the start of the 20th century. It ran from Monroe, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia and later became part of the Seaboa ...

toward

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

at Monroe. A first class Raleigh—Birmingham named freight train called ''The Capitol'' also followed this routing. On the Wilmington Subdivision, a through-freight train ran daily along with separate local freight trains which ran three days a week. On the Monroe Subdivision, the ''Tar Heel'', a named freight train ran from Hamlet to Bostic daily along with separate local freight trains. Seaboard discontinued its local passenger train from Wilmington to Charlotte in 1958, ending its passenger service to Wilmington.

Later years

In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line merged with its rival, the

(ACL). The merged company was named 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 ...

(SCL). Seaboard Coast Line continued operating the line as the Wilmington Subdivision and Monroe Subdivision. The ''Silver Comet'' was discontinued the following year. 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

. CSX extended the Monroe Subdivision name from Monroe to Abbeville as it is today and truncated the Abbeville Subdivision to Abbeville. The former Monroe Subdivision west of Monroe towards

is now the Charlotte Subdivision.

Current operations

Today, the former Carolina Central Railroad is still in service from Wilmington to Bostic and is still operated by

Wilmington Subdivision

The segment from Wilmington to East Junction in Hamlet is still operated as CSX's Wilmington Subdivision.CSX Florence Division Timetable
/ref> It is now the only remaining rail line serving

since all former

lines to Wilmington have since been severed.

East Junction to Monroe

The line from East Junction in Hamlet west to

is now the east-west segment of CSX's Hamlet Terminal Subdivision. From Pee Dee west to Monroe is still known as the

Monroe Subdivision The Monroe Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. The line runs from Pee Dee, North Carolina to Abbeville, South Carolina, for a total of 177 miles. The full line is di ...

, which now continues beyond Monroe down to Abbeville on the former

Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway The Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway was a Southeastern railroad that began after Reconstruction and operated up until the start of the 20th century. It ran from Monroe, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia and later became part of the Seaboa ...

Charlotte Subdivision

The line from Monroe though Charlotte to Bostic is now CSX's Charlotte Subdivision. The Charlotte Subdivision now terminates at CSX's Blue Ridge Subdivision (a former

Clinchfield Railroad The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segmen ...

line) in Bostic. It connects to the Terrell Subdivision and the Charlotte Western Railroad in Mount Holly.

Terrell Subdivision

The line from

Mount Holly, North Carolina Mount Holly is a small suburban city in northeastern Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. The city is situated just west of the Catawba River, north of Interstate 85, south of North Carolina State Highway 16. The population was 17,703 ...

to Terrell, North Carolina is called the Terrell Subdivision. The line runs for a total of 23.2 miles (37.3 km). At its southern end the line continues north from the Charlotte Subdivision and at its northern end the line comes to an end at Marshall Steam Station, owned by

Duke Power Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A hold ...

West of Bostic

In the 1980s, CSX and

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 ...

consolidated their parallel lines between Forest City and Rutherfordton. In the 1990, this remaining track and track from Forest City to Bostic was sold to the Thermal Belt Railway. Track from Forest City to Rutherfordton was abandoned in the early 2000s and is now part of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail. Track from Bostic to Forest City is still in place but has not been used since 2013.