Northeastern Railroad (South Carolina)

The Northeastern Railroad was a 103-mile (166 km) 5 ft (1,524 mm)[1] gauge railroad that served South Carolina in the second half of the 19th century.

Northeastern Railroad
Map
Overview
SuccessorAtlantic Coast Line Railroad
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gauge4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm)

History

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Chartered in 1851, it was completed in 1856 and ran from Charleston, South Carolina, to Florence, South Carolina,[2] connecting with the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad.

The lines original Charleston station was located on Chapel Street near what is now the Charleston Historic District.[3]

The Northeastern Railroad jointly leased the Central Railroad of South Carolina with Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad.[4]

By the late 1880s, it was one of the larger carriers based in South Carolina, with 24 locomotives and nearly 350 cars.[5]

In 1877, the Ashley River Railroad was built from the line in North Charleston which connected the Northeastern Railroad to the Plant System of railroads (which extended further into the southeast and to Florida).

The Northeastern Railroad became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1898. It became a segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's main line. Under the Atlantic Coast Line's ownership, the original Charleston station was replaced in 1905 by Charleston Union Station (which was located at East Bay and Columbus Streets). Charleston Union Station burned down in 1947 and the Atlantic Coast Line built a new station in 1956, which was then replaced by the current North Charleston station in 2018.[6]

In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with its rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (who also operated line through Charleston). The merged company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.[7] In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation.

The line remains in service today as part of CSX's A Line (Charleston Subdivision).

Historic stations

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Milepost[8] City/Location Station[9] Connections and notes
A 292.7 Florence Florence Amtrak Silver Meteor, Palmetto
station rebuilt in 1910
junction with:
Howe
A 300.0 Java
A 303.3 Effingham
New Hope
A 309.4 Coward Coward
A 313.7 Scranton Scranton
A 316.1 Lake City Lake City
A 322.2 Cades Cades
A 326.1 Brockington
A 331.1 Kingstree Kingstree Amtrak Silver Meteor, Palmetto
station rebuilt in 1909
A 336.5 Salters
A 341.1 Lane Lane junction with:
A 343.7 Gourdin
A 349.6 St. Stephen St. Stephen
A 356.7 Bonneau Bonneau
MacBeth
A 365.0 Moncks Corner Moncks Corner
A 370.4 Oakley
A 372.6 Strawberry
A 376.1 Mount Holly
A 380.1 Otranto
A 383.3 Hanahan Hanahan
The Farms
Eight-Mile Turnout
A 388.4 North Charleston Ashley Junction junction with Ashley River Railroad (SF&W/ACL)
Charleston Charleston original station located at Chapel Street
replaced by Charleston Union Station
junction with South Carolina Railroad (SOU)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Confederate Railroads - Northeastern
  2. ^ Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, Henry Poor, 1889, page 595
  3. ^ "Northeastern Railroad Depot at Charleston, South Carolina". Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  4. ^ Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, Henry Poor, 1889, page 595
  5. ^ Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, Henry Poor, 1889, page 595
  6. ^ "Charleston SC, Classic Passenger Stations". Chicago Railfan. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  7. ^ Greenspun.com
  8. ^ Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Southern Division Timetable (1949)
  9. ^ "South Carolina Railroads: Passenger Stations & Stops" (PDF). Jim Fergusson's Railway and Tramway Station Lists (South Carolina). Retrieved 5 June 2020.