Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad
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- Related: Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
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Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston – LC&C
The Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad (LC&C) was the first railroad to attempt to connect the Ohio River with the Atlantic Ocean through the Central Appalachian Mountains. The LC&C was initially envisioned as a line from Charleston SC to Columbia SC, Asheville NC, Knoxville TN, Lexington KY, and ending in Cincinnati OH. States began to charter the railroad as early as 1835.
Knoxville Railroad Convention
A Railroad Convention was held in Knoxville TN in 1836 to show support for the Charleston to Cincinnati line. As usual there were lots of ideas and opinions on the route the railroad should take, and also what its name should be.
Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad
It was finally decided that the name of the railroad should be the LC&C, and Louisville KY was added as an additional terminus. But, because of continued disagreements, it was never able to obtain a charter from every state it traversed, which delayed and wounded the effort. Eventually the financial panic of 1837 made it impossible to obtain the funding needed to build a lengthy railroad, much of it through mountains.
South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company
Instead, the LC&C purchased the existing South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1839 and operated it during the 1840s and beyond. The SCC&RRC was a 136 mile line from Charleston SC to Hamburg SC.
Before and after the Civil War, additional lines were built from:
- Branchville SC to Columbia SC
- Kingsville SC to Camden SC
- Hamburg SC to Augusta GA
This construction created a railroad that connected the major cities of Charleston SC, Columbia SC, Camden SC, and Augusta GA.
However, the railroad did not financially prosper and entered receivership and reorganization in 1881.
It eventually emerged as part of the Southern Railway in 1896.
Links for Additional Information
https://www.carolana.com/SC/Transportation/railroads/sc_rrs_louisville_cincinnati_charleston.html
For More Information – Sources and Resources
The following are wonderful resources for those interested in Appalachian Railroads. They also serve as sources of information for Appalachian-Railroads.org
- Association/Archives: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society
- Association/Archives: Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society
- Association/Archives: Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society
- Association/Archives: Norfolk & Western Historical Society
- Association/Archives: Southern Railway Historical Association
- Archives of Appalachia: ETSU, Johnson City TN
- Book: Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
- Book: Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
- Book: Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield’ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield’
- Book: Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City’
- Book: Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter’
- Book: King: ‘Clinchfield Country’
- Book: Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color’
- Book: Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
- Book: Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century’
- Book: Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine’
- Book: Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains’
- Book: Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
- Magazine: ‘Trains‘
- Magazine: ‘Classic Trains‘
- Website: Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website: HawkinsRails.net
- Website: StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot
- Website: RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City and for Erwin
- Website: SteamLocomotive.com
- Website: WvncRails.org – North Carolina and West Virginia Railroads
- Video: Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1
- Video: Ken Marsh on railroads and region’s history Video #2:
- Article: Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘
- Articles: ‘Johnson City Comet‘
- Article: Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
- Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps and track charts
Contact Us
Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the railroads or model railroading.
3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
Contact Us
Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the railroads or model railroading.