Chessie | History

Home » Appalachian Railroads » Chessie System (Railroad) » Chessie | History

Chessie System (Railroad) Historical Timeline

Chessie System (Railroad)

The Chessie System was a holding company formed in 1973 that brought together three major East Coast railroads: the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), and the Western Maryland Railway (WM). The story of the Chessie System is a story of consolidation, as the financially stronger C&O absorbed the other two before being merged into CSX. 

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) predecessors

  • 1836: The Louisa Railroad is chartered in Virginia.
  • 1850: The Louisa Railroad becomes the Virginia Central Railroad.
  • 1868: The Virginia Central and the Covington & Ohio merge to create the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O).
  • 1888: The C&O completes its direct line to Cincinnati.
  • 1889: The C&O acquires the Richmond & Alleghany Railroad.
  • 1947: The C&O acquires the Pere Marquette Railway, which extends its reach into Michigan and Buffalo.
  • 1962: C&O acquires a controlling interest in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
  • 1967: C&O and B&O jointly gain control of the Western Maryland Railway.
  • 1973: The Chesapeake and Ohio becomes the lead entity in the newly formed Chessie System. 

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) predecessors

  • 1827: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is chartered.
  • 1830: The B&O begins the first scheduled passenger and freight service in the US, originally using horse-drawn cars.
  • 1852: The B&O completes its line to Wheeling, West Virginia, crossing the Appalachian Mountains.
  • 1860s–1870s: The B&O expands westward to Chicago and St. Louis.
  • 1896: The railroad declares bankruptcy.
  • 1901: After reorganization, the B&O reaches Cleveland.
  • 1932: The B&O acquires the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway.
  • 1962: The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway acquires control of the B&O.
  • 1973: The B&O becomes part of the new Chessie System. 

Western Maryland Railway (WM) predecessors

  • 1852: The Baltimore, Carroll & Frederick Rail Road Company is chartered.
  • 1853: The company is renamed the Western Maryland Rail Road Company.
  • 1862: The first segment of the WM opens.
  • 1902: The WM is acquired by the Fuller Syndicate, led by George Gould.
  • 1912: The WM completes an extension to Connellsville, Pennsylvania.
  • 1910: After bankruptcy, the company emerges as the Western Maryland Railway.
  • 1967: The WM comes under the control of the C&O and B&O.
  • 1973: The Western Maryland Railway becomes part of the new Chessie System. 

The Chessie System and beyond (1973–present)

  • February 26, 1973: Chessie System is incorporated as a holding company.
  • June 15, 1973: Chessie System formally acquires the Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio, and Western Maryland railroads.
  • November 1, 1980: Chessie System merges with Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form CSX Corporation.
  • May 1, 1983: The Western Maryland Railway is merged into the Baltimore and Ohio.
  • April 30, 1987: The Baltimore and Ohio is merged into the Chesapeake and Ohio, ending the B&O’s corporate existence.
  • August 31, 1987: The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway is formally merged into CSX Transportation, retiring the Chessie System name. 

Back to the Chessie System Home Page

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.

  • Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps, timetables, and track charts
  • Associations, Historical Societies and their Archives
  • Archives of Appalachia: ETSU, Johnson City TN
  • Newspaper Articles: Newspapers.com
  • Magazines/Online: ‘Trains‘, ‘Classic Trains‘
  • Books
    • Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
    • Appalachian Region
      • Grant: ‘The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road’
      • Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City
      • Huddleston: ‘Appalachian Crossings – The Pocahontas Roads‘ and ‘Appalachian Conquest‘
      • Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina‘
      • Timko and Young: ‘Appalchian Coal Mines and Railroads, Vol. 1, 2, & 3‘
      • Roberts: ‘Sand Patch, Clash of the Titans‘
      • Yanosey: ‘Tidewater Triangle’
    • Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
      • Calloway: ‘Atlantic Coast Line, The Diesel Years‘
      • Griffin: ‘Atlantic Coast Line, The Standard Railroad of the South‘
      • Goolsby: ‘Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Service, The Postwar Years‘
    • Baltimore & Ohio Railway
      • Jacobs: ‘The History of the Baltimore & Ohio’
      • McGuirk: ‘Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the Potomac Valley‘
      • Ori, Salamon and Oroszi: Baltimore & Ohio/Reflections of the Capitol Dome‘ and ‘Baltimore & Ohio/Sunburst Trail to Chicago’
    • C&O Railway/Chessie System
      • Dixon: ‘Chesapeake & Ohio, Superpower to Diesels‘, Chesapeake & Ohio in the Coalfields, ‘C&O Allegheny Subdivision‘, and ‘Chesapeake & Ohio Railway – A Concise History and Fact Book‘, and ‘The Chessie Era’
      • Dorin: ‘The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway’
      • Huddleston: ‘Riding the New River Train‘
      • Ori – ‘Chessie System‘
      • Paton: ‘Allegheny with an A’
      • Turner: ‘Chessie’s Road‘
    • Clinchfield Railroad
      • Beach: ‘The Black Mountain Railway’
      • Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield‘ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield‘
      • Helm: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad in the Coal Fields‘
      • Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter‘
      • King: ‘Clinchfield Country‘
      • Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color‘
      • Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century‘
      • 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‘
    • CSX Railroad
      • Springirth: ‘CSX Transportation Heritage‘
    • ET&WNC: Listed on the website’s ET&WNC pages
    • Interstate Railroad
      • Wolfe & Wolfe: ‘Appalachian Coal Hauler’
      • Wolfe: ‘The Interstate Railroad‘
    • L&N Railroad
      • Castner, Flanary & Dorin: Louisville & Nashville Railroad The Old Reliable‘
      • Flanary: The Louisville & Nashville Cumberland Valley Division
      • Flanary, Oroszi & McKee: ‘The Louisville & Nashville in the Appalachians‘
      • Oroszi & Flanary: ‘Dixie Lines, The Louisville & Nashville Railroad‘
    • NC&StL Railway
      • Prince: ‘Nashville Chattanooga & St Louis Railway‘
    • Norfolk Southern
      • Esposito: ‘Norfolk Southern Railroad’
      • Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review‘
    • Norfolk & Western Railway
      • Newton: ‘Rails Remembered, Volumes 1-6
      • Warden: ‘Norfolk & Western: Diesel’s Last Conquest‘ and ‘Norfolk & Western’s Passenger Service’
      • Wolfe, Wilson & Mandelkern: ‘Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line‘
    • Pennsylvania Railroad
      • Jacobs: ‘The History of the Pennsylvania Railroad‘
    • Seaboard Air Line, Seaboard Coast Line, Seaboard System
      • Calloway and Withers: ‘Seaboard Motive Power‘
      • Carleton: ‘Locomotives of the Seaboard System‘
      • Griffin: ‘Seaboard Coast Line and Family Lines Railroad‘ and ‘All Lines North of Raleigh‘
      • Johnson: ‘Through the Heart of the South‘
    • Southern Railway
      • Davis: The Southern Railway, Road of the Innovators‘
      • Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi. The Southern Railway‘
      • Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History‘
      • Wolfe: ‘Southern Railway Appalachia Division‘
    • Virginian Railway
      • Reisweber: ‘Virginian Rails’
      • Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Virginian Railway Handbook‘
  • 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:

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org