Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company

The Atlantic Coast Line was based in Wilmington, N.C., and possessed rail that ran through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida. The Atlantic Coast Line later formed part of the CSX Transportation System.

From the description of Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company records, 1900s-1950s [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 31908801

The Central of Georgia Railway, formed from its predecessor, The Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia in 1895 was a dominant force in the economic life of Georgia and parts of Alabama through the mid-twentieth century. Through its many branch and subsidiary lines, land holding companies, and agricultural experimentation, it controlled much of the region's transportation and was a strong influence in the rural development of the area.

(Cont.) The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company was chartered in 1836 in Virginia as the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. In 1898, the Railroad merged with the Petersburg Railroad and changed its name to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad of Virginia.

(Cont.) Two years later the Railroad merged with the Norfolk and Carolina Railroad, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad of South Carolina. At that time, the name was changed to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.

(Cont.) During the next four decades, the Railroad acquired several other lines and built a network throughout much of the Southeast.

From the description of Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company : records, 1926. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 45070744

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) was established in 1889. Throughout the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries the ACL continued to acquire smaller railroad companies - nearly 100 in all. These smaller lines ran primarily along the Atlantic coast, from Virginia down into south Florida and westward into Georgia and Alabama. With trains connecting with the Pennsylvania RR at Richmond, ACL operated a large portion of the New York to Florida passenger traffic.

In mid 1967 the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line combined their resources to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The Seaboard Coast Line possessed assets of $1.2 billion and 9,629 route miles in the Deep South. The final phase of consolidation occurred nineteen years later in July 1986 when Seaboard merged with Chessie System Railroads to form CSX Transportation.

From the description of Records, 1916-1917. (University of Florida). WorldCat record id: 50489890

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was formally established in 1889. The Atlantic Coast Line consolidated the operations of more than 100 separate small railroad companies that stretched along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, from Virginia to south Florida and westward into Georgia and Alabama. By 1950, the Atlantic Coast Line possessed more than 5500 miles of rail.

The oldest constituent railroad to become part of the Atlantic Coast Line was the Petersburg Railroad. The Petersburg Railroad was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly on 10 February 1830 and it opened for operation in 1833. The Petersburg Railroad connected Petersburg, Va., to Weldon, N.C., which had the effect of increasing trade between Petersburg and North Carolina's Roanoke River country.

The second constituent railroad that was later integrated into the Atlantic Coast Line was the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, chartered on 14 March 1836, built a rail network that connected Richmond, Va., to Petersburg, Va., effectively connecting the James and Appotomax Rivers. The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad is considered the corporate progenitor of the Atlantic Coast Line because the Atlantic Coast Line operated under the Richmond and Petersburg's charter until 13 May 1946. After May 1946, the Atlantic Coast Line conformed with general corporate laws of Virginia.

The third ancestor on the Atlantic Coast Line's genealogical chart was the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. On 7 March 1840 the Wilmington and Weldon opened a 161-mile-long track from Wilmington, N.C., to Weldon, N.C.. This stretch of track represented the longest continuous railroad line in the world at that time. The Wilmington and Weldon is considered the parent company of the Atlantic Coast Line because it was used as the new company's administrative headquarters when the Atlantic Coast Line was formally established. Although the Atlantic Coast Line operated under the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad's charter, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad became the holding company that operated the rail network.

During the 1840s and 1850s, railroad companies experienced unprecedented growth and they enjoyed tremendous economic success. By the time of the Civil War, rail had displaced water as the primary means of transportation in America. However, during the final two years of the Civil War, Federal forces sabotaged railroads throughout the South; they destroyed bridges, water stations, and railroad cars. Southern rails deteriorated and fell into a state of disrepair during the late-1860s.

In 1869, a group of Baltimore capitalists purchased several small railroad companies scattered throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia such as the Petersburg Railroad, the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, and the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. The new owners allowed the various railroad companies to retain their previous names; yet these railroad companies remained independent in name only. The new owners unified these railroad companies under one management and established the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad as the administrative center for this new railroad network.

Throughout the 1870s and 1880s the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad closely managed the various companies in the network, beginning the difficult process of integration and consolidation. In 1886, for example, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad ordered all affiliated companies to change their track gauge to a standard 4' 8.5" width. In addition, all trains and cars were rewheeled. The Wilmington and Weldon completed the process of assimilation in 1889, when they formally established themselves as the holding company for all affiliated lines and they officially changed their name to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.

The Atlantic Coast Line continued to acquire smaller railroad companies throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1898 and 1902, for example, the Atlantic Coast Line took over all local railroads in South Carolina and Virginia. Further, in November 1902, the Atlantic Coast Line bought the majority of stock in the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, the Western-Railway of Alabama, and the Atlanta and West Point Railroad Company. In 1924, the Atlantic Coast Line signed a 999-year lease to operate all rails owned by the Clinchfield and Ohio Railway and, in 1927, they acquired the majority of common stock of the Atlanta, Birmingham, and Coast Railroad Company. All these companies were immediately integrated into the Atlantic Coast Line network.

On 1 July 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line combined their resources to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The Seaboard Coast Line possessed assets of $1.2 billion and 9,629 route miles in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama; among contemporary railroad companies, the Seaboard Coast Line ranked eighth in mileage and ninth in both assets and revenues.

The final phase of consolidation occurred on 1 July 1986 when Seaboard merged with Chessie System Railroads to form CSX Transportation.

(Adapted from information in various CSX publications)

From the guide to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company Records, 1900s-1950s, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)