Augusta and Knoxville Railroad

Last updated
Augusta and Knoxville Railroad
Locale Georgia and South Carolina, USA
Dates of operation1877 (1877) (chartered)
1882 (1882)1886 (1886)
Successor Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway
Length68 mi (109 km)

The Augusta and Knoxville Railroad (A&K) was a railroad company that operated on 66 miles (106 km) of track between Augusta, Georgia, and Greenwood, South Carolina, from 1882 to 1886. It was merged with three other companies to form the Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway, which was reorganized in 1896 as the Charleston and Western Carolina Railway.

Augusta, Georgia Consolidated city-county in Georgia, United States

Augusta, officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgia's second-largest city after Atlanta, Augusta is located in the Piedmont section of the state.

Greenwood, South Carolina City in South Carolina, United States

Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 23,222 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Lander University.

The Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway (PR&WC) was a railroad company in the southern United States that operated on 229 miles (369 km) of 4 ft 9 in gauge track. It was formed in 1886 by the merger of the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad, Greenwood, Laurens and Spartanburg Railroad, Savannah Valley Railroad and the Greenville and Laurens Railroad, which then joined with Port Royal and Augusta Railway.

Contents

History

The company was chartered in 1877 to connect its namesake cities, [1] [2] [3] and was incorporated on February 3, 1880. [4] Patrick H. Bradley served as president until the incorporation, at which time he stepped down citing poor health to become vice president. [5] Eugene F. Verdery was appointed president at the incorporation meeting, and the interests of the elected board of directors were split with ten directors from Georgia and six directors from South Carolina. [4] [6] [note 1] Bonds were issued for the railroad's construction, [8] including a separate $50,000 bond to build a bridge over the Savannah River. [9]

Savannah River river in the southeastern United States

The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border. The Savannah River drainage basin extends into the southeastern side of the Appalachian Mountains just inside North Carolina, bounded by the Eastern Continental Divide. The river is around 301 miles (484 km) long. It is formed by the confluence of the Tugaloo River and the Seneca River. Today this confluence is submerged beneath Lake Hartwell. The Tallulah Gorge is located on the Tallulah River, a tributary of the Tugaloo River that forms the northwest branch of the Savannah River.

The line that they would eventually complete was started by the Greenwood and Augusta Railroad (G&A), which was chartered in 1873 and began construction in August 1877; the G&A was incorporated into and became a branch of the Augusta, Knoxville and Greenwood Railroad (AK&G) in May 1877, [10] then the AK&G was consolidated into the A&K in 1880. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] The AK&G acquisition increased the graded right-of-way total to 51 miles (82 km). [17] In 1881, the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad tried to gain a controlling interest in the A&K in an effort to prevent competition from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). [18] [19] Many of the shares of the A&K were held by the city of Augusta, which was reluctant to sell to them and to several other bidders including the Virginia Midland Railroad, Richmond and Danville Railroad and the Plant System. [17] [18] [20] [21] [22] The B&O themselves also made an offer to take control of the A&K which would help them complete construction of the entire line connecting to Spartanburg, [23] but the A&K board of directors declined. [24] [25] The first train ran from Augusta 45 miles (72 km) to Dorrs Mines on January 8, 1882. [11] The full A&K line was officially opened with a ceremonial first train on April 28, 1882, [12] [26] [note 2] the track stretching 68 miles (109 km) between Augusta, Georgia, and Greenwood, South Carolina. [27] Regularly scheduled passenger trains began serving the line on May 15, 1882. [28]

Branch line Minor railway line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. David Blyth Hanna, the first president of the Canadian National Railway, said that although most branch lines cannot pay for themselves, they are essential to make main lines pay.

The Augusta, Knoxville and Greenwood Railroad (AK&G) was a South Carolina railroad company chartered shortly after the end of the Reconstruction period.

The Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad was formed in 1869 with the merger of the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad and the Columbia and Augusta Railroad.

The A&K was leased to the Port Royal and Augusta Railway in September 1883. [11] [29] [30] [31] In 1886, bondholders brought suit to set aside the lease, [32] and on October 27, 1886, the A&K was merged with the Greenwood, Laurens and Spartanburg Railroad, Greenville and Laurens Railroad and the Savannah Valley Railroad to form the Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway (PR&WC). [11] [29] [33] Verdery continued his employment with the line, serving on the PR&WC board of directors. [11] The PR&WC was reorganized in 1896 as the Charleston and Western Carolina Railway.

The Port Royal and Augusta Railway was a South Carolina railroad that existed in the latter half of the 19th century.

The Greenwood, Laurens and Spartanburg Railroad was a South Carolina railroad company begun after Reconstruction.

The Greenville and Laurens Railroad was a railroad that served the South Carolina Upstate region in the late 19th century.

Notes

  1. Verdery was also courted to be president of the Greenwood and Spartanburg Railroad in 1881. [7]
  2. Some reports written in the 20th century state that the opening occurred in 1884. [5] [12]

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References

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  2. "The Augusta Railroad Meeting". The Intelligencer. Anderson, SC. May 17, 1877. p. 2 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "Augusta and Knoxville Railroad". The Abbeville Press and Banner. Abbeville, SC. May 16, 1877. p. 2 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. 1 2 "Augusta & Knoxville Railroad". Edgefield Advertiser. Edgefield, SC. May 13, 1880. p. 3 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. 1 2 Watson, Margaret (October 27, 1966). "Marker To Be Unveiled Sunday To Honor Founder Of Bradley". The Index-Journal. p. 13 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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  8. "(untitled)". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, AL. December 15, 1880. p. 2 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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  13. Associated Press (May 6, 1880). "Two Important Corporations Consolidated". The Morning News. Wilmington, DE. p. 1 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  14. Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, Passed at the Regular Session of 1881-82. Columbia, SC: James Woodrow, State Printer. 1882. pp. 1134–1135 via Google Books.
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  23. "(untitled)". The Greenville News. Greenville, SC. June 15, 1881. p. 1 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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  27. Poor 1887, pp. 625-626.
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  29. 1 2 Thomas, Henry W. (1895). Digest of the Railroad Laws of Georgia. Atlanta, GA: Franklin Printing and Publishing Co. p. 283 via Google Books.
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  31. "The Ratification of the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad Lease". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, GA. September 27, 1883. p. 4 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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  33. "Augusta. Trying to Settle the Big Strike - Important Railroad Negotiations". The Shelby Chronicle. Columbiana, AL. November 4, 1886. p. 1 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg