The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including interstate bus lines and telephone companies. Congress expanded ICC authority to regulate other modes of commerce beginning in 1906. Throughout the 20th century, several of ICC's authorities were transferred to other federal agencies. The ICC was abolished in 1995, and its remaining functions were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board.
The Kansas City Southern Railway Company was an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern and Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. KCS had the shortest north-south rail route between Kansas City, Missouri, and several key ports along the Gulf of Mexico.
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 merger with the former Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, also known as the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad. Its mainline route proved influential in the development and economic growth of the Southern Tier of New York state, including the cities of Binghamton, Elmira, and Hornell. The Erie Railroad repair shops were located in Hornell and was Hornell's largest employer. Hornell was also where Erie's mainline split into two routes with one proceeding northwest to Buffalo and the other west to Chicago.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846, for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, wares, merchandise, and minerals in Pennsylvania and the railroad was incorporated and established on September 20, 1847, as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company.
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Its primary connections occurred in Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Toledo.
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad company.
The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company, known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 1896 to 1956. When Depression era Illinois Traction was in financial distress and had to reorganize, the Illinois Terminal name was adopted to reflect the line's primary money making role as a freight interchange link to major steam railroads at its terminal ends, Peoria, Danville, and St. Louis. Interurban passenger service slowly was reduced, ending in 1956. Freight operation continued but was hobbled by tight street running in some towns requiring very sharp radius turns. In 1956, ITC was absorbed by a consortium of connecting railroads.
The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, the venture entered receivership in 1908 and the line was cut loose. An extension completed in 1931 connected it to the Western Maryland Railway at Connellsville, Pennsylvania, forming part of the Alphabet Route, a coalition of independent lines between the Northeastern United States and the Midwest. It was leased by the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1964 in conjunction with the N&W acquiring several other sections of the former Alphabet Route, but was leased to the new spinoff Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway in 1990, just months before the N&W was merged into the Norfolk Southern Railway.
The South Carolina Rail Road Company was a railroad company that operated in South Carolina from 1843 to 1894, when it was succeeded by the Southern Railway. It was formed in 1844 by the merger of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company (SCC&RR) into the Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad Company. It was built with a track gauge of 5 ft.
The Kansas City Terminal Railway is a Class III terminal railroad that serves as a joint operation of the trunk railroads that serve the Kansas City metropolitan area, the United States' second largest rail hub after Chicago. It is operated by the Kaw River Railroad.
The North Carolina Railroad is a 317-mile (510 km) state-owned rail corridor extending from Morehead City, North Carolina, to Charlotte. The railroad carries over seventy freight trains operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway and eight passenger trains daily. The railroad works with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the North Carolina Department of Transportation on capital improvement projects.
The Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis Railroad (CP&StL) was a railroad in the U.S. state of Illinois that operated a main line between Pekin and Madison via Springfield. Its property was sold at foreclosure to several new companies in the 1920s; the portion north of Springfield has since become the Illinois and Midland Railroad, while the remainder has been abandoned, except for a portion near St. Louis that is now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.
The West Tennessee Railroad is a shortline railroad in the Southern U.S., connecting Corinth, Mississippi, to Fulton, Kentucky, via western Tennessee. The company began operating in 1984 on a portion of the former Mobile and Ohio Railroad (M&O) main line between Jackson and Kenton, Tennessee. It significantly expanded operations in 2001 through the lease, from the Norfolk Southern Railway, of the ex-M&O south to Corinth and a former main line of the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) north to Fulton, as well as a branch from Jackson to Poplar Corner. All of these lines were part of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (ICG) prior to its 1980s program of spin-offs, during which Gibson County purchased the Jackson-Kenton line and the Southern Railway acquired the Corinth-Fulton line and Poplar Corner branch.
The Wabash Central Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates between Van Buren and Craigville, United States, crossing a Norfolk Southern Railway line in Bluffton. It is owned by RMW Ventures, LLC and began operations in 1997, replacing the Indiana Hi-Rail Corporation on an ex-Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad line.
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 Evergreen Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) that ran in Brooklyn and part of Queens in New York City. The line, at its fullest extent, ran between Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens. The line consisted of two leased portions. The first portion, between Greenpoint and Jefferson Street, was leased from the Glendale and East River Railroad. The second portion, from Jefferson Street to Ridgewood, was leased from the Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach Railroad Company, and was known as the Evergreen Branch, a name later extended to the rest of the line.
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; St. Louis, Missouri; and Toledo, Ohio.
The Stony Creek Branch is a railway line in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It runs 9.9 miles (15.9 km) from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, to Norristown, Pennsylvania, connecting the Bethlehem and Doylestown Branches with the Norristown Branch. Although SEPTA owns the line, it is freight-only. CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and the Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad have trackage rights on the branch.
The North Missouri Railroad was a railway company that operated in the states of Missouri and Iowa in the mid-19th century. Incorporated in 1851, at its peak it owned or leased nearly 500 miles (800 km) of track. It was reorganized as the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railway, a forerunner of the Wabash Railroad, in 1872.
The Columbia Branch is a railway line in Boone County, Missouri. 21.7 miles (34.9 km) long, it runs from Columbia, Missouri, to Centralia, Missouri, where it joins the St. Louis District of the Norfolk Southern Railway. Originally built by the Boone County and Jefferson City Railroad in 1867, today it is owned by the city of Columbia and operated by the Columbia Terminal Railroad.
