Southern Railway
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- Appalachian-Railroads.org: Site Map | Editor
- Related sites: Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
Page Contents
Southern Railway
- 4th railroad to cross the Appalachian Mountains, connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Ohio River in 1880.
East to West Appalachian Route
Using the great valley extending through Virginia and Tennessee, northeast to southwest, the Southern Railway and the Norfolk and Western Railway were the first railroads to enter the Central Appalachians. That rail line; made up of smaller railroads that would eventually become the Southern and the N&W initially connected Washington DC to Chattanooga TN in 1856. This first rail artery allowed the mountain region to have connections to the major cities of the Northeast and the South. This rail line did not cross mountain ranges, but rather used valleys and rivers parallel to the mountains to
North to South Appalachian Route
Later in the 1880s, the Southern also crossed the mountain ranges north to south, from Cincinnati to Chattanooga TN. Click here to read more about the Cincinnati Southern crossing the mountains between Cincinnati OH and Chattanooga TN.
For more about the entire Southern Railway, our sister website Southern-Railroads.org focuses on the Southern Railway and its predecessor rail lines as they existed yesterday, and also its successor, today’s Norfolk Southern.
Southern-Railroads.org Site Map
- Southern Railway – Serves the South
- Books on the Southern Railway
- Dr. Samuel B. Cunningham
- Embreeville Branch of the Southern Railway
- History of the Southern Railway
- Johnson City & Carolina Railway
- Johnson City Southern Railway
- Locomotives of the Southern Railway
- Maps of the Southern Railway
- Museums for the Southern Railway
- Norfolk Southern
- Passenger Trains of the Southern Railway
- 1952 Passenger Trains of the Southern Railway
- Asheville Special on the Southern Railway
- Birmingham Special on the Southern Railway
- Carolina Special on the Southern Railway
- Crescent on the Southern Railway
- Peach Queen on the Southern Railway
- Pelican on the Southern Railway
- Piedmont Limited on the Southern Railway
- Ponce de Leon on the Southern Railway
- Royal Palm on the Southern Railway
- Southerner on the Southern Railway
- Tennessean on the Southern Railway
- Predecessors of the Southern Railway
- Bristol Coal and Iron Narrow Gauge Railroad
- Bristol Elizabethton & North Carolina Railroad
- Cincinnati New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway
- East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad
- East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad
- Holston River Railroad
- Louisville Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad
- Memphis & Charleston Railroad
- Richmond & Danville Railroad
- South Atlantic & Ohio Railway
- South Carolina Canal & Rail Road
- Virginia & Kentucky Railroad
- Virginia & Southwestern Railway
- Virginia & Tennessee Railroad
- Virginia Tennessee & Georgia Air Line
- East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia Railroad
- Site Map
- Sandhi Kozsuch, Editor of the Southern-Railroads.org Website
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
