Nashville Chattanooga & St Louis (NC&StL) Railway Historical Timeline
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Page Contents
Historical Timeline for the Nashville Chattanooga & St Louis (NC&StL) Railway
Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad (N&C) (1845–1873)
- December 11, 1845: The Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad Company is chartered in Tennessee.
- 1848: A group of prominent Nashville businessmen formally organizes the N&C Railway.
- December 1850: The first locomotive arrives in Nashville via steamboat.
- 1851: The first train makes an 11-mile trip from Nashville to Antioch, Tennessee.
- February 11, 1854: The entire 152-mile line between Nashville and Chattanooga is completed.
- 1857: Construction of the challenging Cowan Tunnel near Cowan, Tennessee, is completed.
- 1861–1865: During the Civil War, the rail line becomes a crucial strategic asset and is heavily damaged.
- 1866: The N&C leases the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad, connecting the main line with Memphis.
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) (1873–1957)
- 1873: The company is reorganized and renamed the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. Despite the name, it never reached St. Louis.
- 1877: The NC&StL completes its line from the Ohio River to Chattanooga.
- 1880: The Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) begins acquiring a controlling interest in the NC&StL through a hostile stock takeover. The merger is delayed due to strong public opposition in Nashville.
- 1888: The Tennessee and Pacific Railroad becomes a branch of the NC&StL.
- 1890: The NC&StL secures a 29-year lease of the state-owned Western & Atlantic (W&A) Railroad, which connects Chattanooga to Atlanta.
- 1919: The NC&StL renews its lease on the W&A for another 50 years.
- 1928: A larger tunnel opens in Tunnel Hill, Georgia, on the W&A line.
- 1953: The NC&StL officially ceases its steam locomotive operations.
- August 30, 1957: The NC&StL is officially merged into the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, ending its 84-year corporate existence.
NC&StL’s absorption into CSX Transportation (1957–present)
- 1957: The L&N, now owner of the NC&StL, renews the lease on the Western & Atlantic from the State of Georgia.
- 1982: The L&N is absorbed into the Seaboard System Railroad.
- 1986: The Seaboard System is renamed CSX Transportation.
- Present: CSX continues to operate the original NC&StL routes, including the crucial line between Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta.
For More Information – Sources and Resources
The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the history and operation of the Appalachian Railroads. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Appalachian-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.
- Associations and their Archives
- ACL & SCL Railroads Historical Society
- Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society
- Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society
- Carolina Clinchfield Chapter National Railway Historical Society
- ET&WNC Railroad Historical Society and their Facebook Page
- George L. Carter Railroad Historical Society (Johnson City Railroad Experience)
- Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society
- Norfolk & Western Historical Society
- Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society
- Southern Railway Historical Association
- Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society
- Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps, timetables, and track charts
- Archives of Appalachia: ETSU, Johnson City TN
- Newspaper Articles: Newspapers.com
- Magazines/Online: ‘Trains‘, ‘Classic Trains‘
- Books
- Castner, Flanary & Dorin: Louisville & Nashville Railroad The Old Reliable‘
- Davis: The Southern Railway, Road of the Innovators‘
- Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
- Dixon: ‘Chesapeake & Ohio, Superpower to Diesels‘, Chesapeake & Ohio in the Coalfields, and ‘C&O Allegheny Subdivision‘
- Flanary: The Louisville & Nashville Cumberland Valley Division
- Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi. The Southern Railway‘
- Flanary, Oroszi & McKee: ‘The Louisville & Nashville in the Appalachians‘
- Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield‘ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield‘
- Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City‘
- Huddleston: ‘Appalachian Crossings – The Pocahontas Roads‘
- Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter‘
- Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review‘
- King: ‘Clinchfield Country‘
- Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review‘
- Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color‘
- Oroszi & Flanary: ‘Dixie Lines, The Louisville & Nashville Railroad‘
- Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina‘
- Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century‘
- Prince: ‘Nashville Chattanooga & St Louis Railway‘
- Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine‘
- Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains‘
- Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History‘
- Wolfe: ‘Southern Railway Appalachia Division‘
- Wolfe, Wilson & Mandelkern: ‘Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line‘
- Young: ‘Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads In Color,’ Volume 1: Kentucky and Volume 2: Virginia
- Online Article: Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘; Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
- Online Videos: Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1 | Video #2:
- Websites:
- Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Diesel Shop
- HawkinsRails.net
- Multimodalways
- StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot
- RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City and for Erwin
- SteamLocomotive.com
- VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
- WvncRails.org – North Carolina and West Virginia Railroads
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
