St. Louis, Missouri

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St. Louis, Missouri: Gateway City for the Appalachian Railroads

St. Louis, Missouri, emerged as a pivotal western gateway for Appalachian railroads during the 19th and early 20th centuries, serving as a critical hub for transporting coal, timber, and manufactured goods from the resource-rich Appalachian region to Midwestern and western markets.

Early History

Positioned on the Mississippi River, St. Louis facilitated intermodal transfers between rail, river barges, and westward wagon trails, earning its moniker as the “Gateway to the West.” This role was amplified by the Eads Bridge (opened 1874), the first steel-truss bridge spanning the Mississippi, enabling seamless rail connections from eastern lines. Appalachian railroads, often originating in coal-heavy areas like Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky, extended or interchanged westward to St. Louis, boosting industrial growth and economic integration.

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (1857)

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O), chartered in 1827 as America’s first common-carrier railroad, played a foundational role. Traversing Appalachian terrain from Baltimore through Cumberland, Maryland, and Wheeling, West Virginia, the B&O reached St. Louis in 1857 via its controlled Ohio & Mississippi Railway, establishing a direct east-west corridor for Appalachian coal exports. This 1,000-mile line made St. Louis the B&O’s western terminus, handling massive freight volumes until the early 20th century.

Pennsylvania Railroad (1870)

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), incorporated in 1846, crossed northern Appalachia from Philadelphia. Its Pan Handle Route, via the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (consolidated 1890), provided a direct mainline to St. Louis by 1870, rivaling the B&O for Appalachian freight.

Louisville & Nashville Railroad (1879)

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N), chartered in 1850, linked Kentucky’s Appalachian coal fields to St. Louis directly after acquiring the St. Louis & Southeastern in 1879, creating a vital north-south corridor from Louisville through Nashville to the Gateway City.

The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway (NC&StL), founded in 1845 as the Nashville & Chattanooga, adopted its name in 1873 with ambitions to reach St. Louis but never did, stopped by L&N stock purchases. Its lines across Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau connected Appalachian resources southward, merging into the L&N in 1957 for indirect St. Louis access.

Southern Railway (1894)

The Southern Railway (SOU), consolidated in 1894, dominated southeastern Appalachia with lines from Washington, D.C., through Asheville, North Carolina, to Memphis, Tennessee. It reached East St. Louis via subsidiaries like the Alton & Southern switching railroad, enabling coal and lumber transfers across the Mississippi for western distribution.

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (1963)

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O), formed in 1869 from Virginia predecessors, focused on hauling Pocahontas coal from West Virginia’s Appalachians. While its main line ended at Huntington, West Virginia, or Cincinnati, Ohio, it connected indirectly to St. Louis via interchanges with the B&O and other lines, facilitating westward coal shipments. Post-1963 merger with the B&O, these routes integrated further.

Norfolk & Western Railway (1964)

The Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W), established in 1881 in Virginia’s coal country, expanded westward through mergers. By 1964, acquiring the Wabash and Nickel Plate Road gave it direct access to St. Louis from Appalachian origins like Roanoke, Virginia, via Toledo and Buffalo routes, emphasizing coal haulage.

St. Louis Railroads Today

Today, these railroads’ legacies endure through mergers. The B&O, C&O, L&N, and NC&StL (via L&N) form part of CSX Transportation, operating extensive Appalachian coal routes. The SOU and N&W merged in 1982 to create Norfolk Southern (NS), maintaining key corridors. The PRR, after Penn Central (1968) and Conrail (1976), was split in 1999 between CSX and NS. Both CSX and NS continue freight operations through St. Louis, though passenger service has waned, preserving the city’s historical gateway status in modern rail networks

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 collective railroad history data points on this website are verified across multiple sources.

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