The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.
The Southern Railway was a class 1 railroad based in the Southern United States between 1894 and 1982, when it merged with the Norfolk & Western to form Norfolk Southern. The railroad was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.
The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville on December 11, 1845, built to 5 ft gauge and was the first railway to operate in the state of Tennessee. By the turn of the twentieth century, the NC&StL grew into one of the most important railway systems in the southern United States.
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.
The Georgia Railroad and Banking Company also seen as "GARR", was a historic railroad and banking company that operated in the U.S. state of Georgia. In 1967 it reported 833 million revenue-ton-miles of freight and 3 million passenger-miles; at the end of the year it operated 331 miles (533 km) of road and 510 miles (820 km) of track.
The Chicago Rail Link is a shortline switching railroad in Illinois. It owns and operates more than 72 miles of track on the South Side of Chicago. It is owned by OmniTRAX.
The Conecuh Valley Railway, L.L.C. connects with the CSX at Troy, Alabama, and travels 15.04 miles (24.20 km) to Goshen, Alabama. This short line railroad was created after 2001 from the former Southern Alabama Railroad and is currently owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming.
Eastern Alabama Railway, LLC is one of many short line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. On November 26, 1990, the line was sold by CSX to the Eastern Alabama Railway, a subsidiary of Kyle Railways. Kyle Railways later sold the EARY to RailAmerica in 2002 and RailAmerica was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in 2012.
The Huntsville and Madison County Railroad Authority was created in 1984 to operate on 13.25 miles (21.32 km) of track that was abandoned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
The Atlanta and Birmingham Air Line Railway (A&BAL) was formed when the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) purchased the capital stock of the bankrupt East and West Railroad of Alabama (E&W) on April 23, 1902. The E&W Railroad had already established a line from Cartersville, Georgia, to Pell City, Alabama, through the cities of Rockmart, Georgia, Cedartown, Georgia, and Piedmont, Alabama.
The Three Notch Railroad runs from a connection with CSX Transportation at Georgiana to Andalusia, Alabama, 36 miles (58 km). This short line railroad was created in 2001 and is currently a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming.
OmniTRAX, Inc. is a transportation and transportation infrastructure holding company based in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. It primarily owns or operates railroads, with a network of 25 regional and shortline railroads in 12 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. It is one of the largest privately owned railroad companies in the United States. The firm also invests in, develops, and operates ports, multimodal transportation terminals, and industrial parks.
The Southern Alabama Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between a connection with CSX Transportation at Troy to Goshen, Alabama, about 15 miles (24 km). The railroad currently exists as the Conecuh Valley Railroad subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways.
The Alabama Great Southern Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It is an operating subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS), running southwest from Chattanooga to New Orleans through Birmingham and Meridian. The AGS also owns about a 30% interest in the Kansas City Southern-controlled Meridian-Shreveport Meridian Speedway.
The Hillsboro Trail is a rail trail in Shelby County, Alabama. The 12-foot-wide trail extends 1.9 miles (3.1 km) along the former roadbed of the Helena & Blocton branch line of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad, a subsidiary of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.
The Walking Horse and Eastern Railroad is a 7.76-mile (12.49 km) short-line railroad that connects Shelbyville to CSX Transportation at Wartrace, Tennessee, United States. It operates over a branch line completed in 1853 by the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, a Louisville and Nashville Railroad predecessor. After the Seaboard System Railroad abandoned the line in May 1985, the Bedford Railroad Authority bought the line and designated the WHOE to operate it.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The Andalusia and Conecuh Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between Gantt and Andalusia, Alabama, United States 8.7 miles (14.0 km). It was largely abandoned in 1987, with the remainder leased to the Alabama and Florida Railway. A portion of the railroad survives today as part of the Three Notch Railroad.
The Alabama and Florida Railroad was a short-line railroad which operated in Alabama and Florida. The company operated a former Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) line between Georgiana, Alabama and Geneva, Alabama. Pioneer Railcorp acquired the line in 1992 and created a new company, the Alabama and Florida Railway, to operate it.
