The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad was a North Carolina railroad that operated in the second half of the 19th century.

History

Early years

The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad traces its history back to the early 1850s, when the line was chartered by the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

as the Chatham Railroad in February 1851. It changed its name to the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad in 1871, and was chartered by the

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and ...

in February 1878. In 1871, the Chatham Railroad was reorganized as the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad.North Carolina Railroads, Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad
The carrier's goal was to build a line from Raleigh to

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, through

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. However, it never progressed past the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, where it met the Palmetto Railroad. The

Raleigh and Gaston Railroad The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad was a Raleigh, North Carolina, based railroad opened in April 1840 between Raleigh and the town of Gaston, North Carolina, on the Roanoke River. It was North Carolina's second railroad (the Wilmington and Weldon Ra ...

controlled the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad, owning most of its stock. By 1884, the Raleigh and Augusta stretched from

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

south to

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 ...

, then on to the South Carolina border at Gibson. Later, the Raleigh and Gaston, and Raleigh and Augusta both fell on hard times during the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

, and John M. Robinson, president of the

Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad The Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad was organized in 1833 (as the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad) to extend from the area of the rapids of the Roanoke River at its fall line near Weldon, North Carolina to Portsmouth, Virginia, across the Elizabeth ...

, acquired financial control of both carriers, becoming president of all three railroads in 1875.Railroading History, Train Travel, Classic Trains Magazine, Steam Locomotives - Fallen Flags: P-S
/ref>

Mergers

By 1881, the Seaboard and Roanoke, the Raleigh and Gaston, and others were operating as a coordinated system under the Seaboard Air-Line System name for marketing purposes, combining the nicknames of the two principal roads. By 1883, the Raleigh and Augusta was operating nearly of track between Raleigh and Hamlet.Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, Henry Poor, 1884, page 419
/ref> In November 1899, stockholders of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad considered the consolidation of the Raleigh and Gaston with the following other roads: #Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad #Durham and Northern Railway #Roanoke and Tar River Railroad #

#Louisburg Railroad #Carolina Central Railroad #Palmetto Railroad # Chesterfield and Kershaw Railroad #

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 ...

#Seaboard Air Line Belt Railroad #

Georgia and Alabama Railroad The original Georgia and Alabama Railroad was based in Rome, GA, incorporated in 1853, and started initial rail construction in 1857. In August 1866, the G&A officially consolidated with the Dalton and Jacksonville Railroad and the Alabama an ...

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 ...

#Georgia and Alabama Terminal Company # Logansville and Lawrenceville Railroad #Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad #Pittsboro Railroad #Southbound Railroad The resulting company became known as 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 ...

. The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line was merged into the Seaboard in November 1901. In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line merged with its rival, 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 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 ...

.Greenspun.com
/ref> 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 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 ...

. The line is still in service and it is part of CSX's S Line ( Aberdeen Subdivision and Hamlet Terminal Subdivision).

Historic stations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad Defunct South Carolina railroads Defunct North Carolina railroads Railway companies established in 1871 Railway companies disestablished in 1901 Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad American companies established in 1871