The Plant System, named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system was the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway, running across southern Georgia. The Plant Investment Company was formed in 1882 to lease and buy other railroads and expand the system. Other major lines incorporated into the system include the Savannah and Charleston Railroad and the Brunswick and Western Railroad.
The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. When it opened in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with 161.5 miles (259.9 km) of track. It was constructed in 4 ft 8 in gauge. At its terminus in Weldon, North Carolina, it connected with the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad and the Petersburg Railroad. The railroad also gave rise to the city of Goldsboro, North Carolina, the midpoint of the W&W RR and the railroad intersection with the North Carolina Railroad.
The Charleston and Savannah Railway was a 19th-century American railroad serving the coastal states of South Carolina and Georgia and running through part of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Its name varied slightly over time:
The Abbeville Southern Railway was incorporated in Alabama in September 1892 for the purpose of building a railroad line from Grimes, Alabama northeast to Abbeville, Alabama. The route was completed in December 1893, totaling 26.9 miles (43.3 km), and was operated by the Alabama Midland Railway.
The Northeastern Railroad was a 103-mile (166 km) 5 ft gauge railroad that served South Carolina in the second half of the 19th century.
The Chesterfield and Kershaw Railroad was a railroad that operated in South Carolina in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The Conway Seashore Railroad was a South Carolina railroad that operated in the early 20th century. It ran from Conway, South Carolina southeast to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The Palmetto Railroad was a Southeastern railroad that served South Carolina and North Carolina in the late 19th century.
The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad was a North Carolina railroad that operated in the second half of the 19th century.
The Palmetto Subdivision is a CSX Transportation rail line in the Tampa Bay region of Florida. It runs from East Tampa and roughly parallels U.S. Route 41 south through Ruskin to Palmetto and Bradenton. The Palmetto Subdivision ends just south of Tropicana Yard in Oneco, where it connects with the Seminole Gulf Railway, a shortline that continues south into Sarasota.
The Jesup Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in Georgia. The line runs from Jesup, Georgia to Folkston, Georgia for a length of 72.7 miles. It notable passes through Waycross, Georgia, a major CSX freight terminal and CSX operates numerous freight trains over the line. The Jesup Subdivision was once a major route for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, one of CSX's predecessors.
The Tampa Terminal Subdivision is a group of railroad lines owned by CSX Transportation in and around Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Terminal Subdivision covers track around Yeoman and Uceta Yards and is located at the end of two of CSX's U.S. East Coast main lines to Richmond, Virginia, the A Line and the S Line.
The Aberdeen Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in North Carolina. The line runs along CSX's S Line from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Marston, North Carolina, for a total of 86.9 miles. At its north end it continues south from the Norlina Subdivision and at its south end it continues south as the Hamlet Terminal Subdivision.
The Charleston Subdivision is a railroad territory owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of South Carolina and Georgia. The line from Florence, South Carolina, to Savannah, Georgia, for a total of 195.8 miles. At its north end it continues south from the South End Subdivision and at its south end it continues south as the Savannah Subdivision of the Jacksonville Division.
The Winston and Bone Valley Railroad was a railroad line running the Bone Valley region of Central Florida. It connected to the South Florida Railroad main line near Lakeland. A vast majority of the line remains in service by CSX Transportation, who operates it today as their Bone Valley Subdivision.
The Waycross Short Line was the unofficial name of a railroad line built by Henry B. Plant that ran from Waycross, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida on the St. Johns River. The line through Georgia was chartered by Plant as the Waycross and Florida Railroad and the Florida segment was chartered as the East Florida Railway. The line crossed the Georgia/Florida border just south of Folkston, Georgia at the St. Marys River.
The Folkston Cutoff is a railroad line in southern Georgia. It runs from Jesup southwest to Folkston, a distance of 54 miles. It was built in 1901 by the Plant System to allow trains from the northeast to Florida to bypass their busy terminal in Waycross.
The Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad was a railroad built in the early 1900s. As its name suggests, it ran from Richmond, Virginia south through Petersburg into northern North Carolina. It was a key part of the network of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad’s Main Line was the backbone of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's network in the southeastern United States. The main line ran from Richmond, Virginia to Port Tampa just southwest of Tampa, Florida, a distance of nearly 900 miles. Along its route it passed through Petersburg, Rocky Mount, Florence, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Orlando. With the exception of a short 61-mile segment in Greater Orlando, the entire line is still owned by the Atlantic Coast Line's successor, CSX Transportation, and is still in service as their A Line.
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad’s Main Line was the backbone of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's network in the southeastern United States. The main line ran from Richmond, Virginia to Tampa, Florida, a distance of over 800 miles. Along its route it passed through Petersburg, Raleigh, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Ocala, Florida. While some segments of the line have been abandoned as of 2022, most of the line is still in service and is owned by the Seaboard Air Line's successor, CSX Transportation as their S Line.
