The Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway (CL&N) was a local passenger and freight-carrying railroad in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, connecting Cincinnati to Dayton via Lebanon. It was built in the late 19th century to give the town of Lebanon and Warren County better transportation facilities. The railroad was locally known as the "Highland Route", since it followed the ridge between the Little and Great Miami rivers, and was the only line not affected by floods such as the Great Dayton Flood of 1913.
The Virginia Southern Railroad is a shortline railroad division of the North Carolina and Virginia Railroad, a subsidiary of the Genesee & Wyoming, with rights to operate 78 miles (126 km) of track between Norfolk Southern Railway connections at Oxford, North Carolina and Burkeville, Virginia. The southernmost segment between Clarksville, Virginia and Oxford is out of service.
The Wichita, Tillman and Jackson Railway is a shortline railroad subsidiary of the Rio Grande Pacific Corporation that operates in Oklahoma and Texas. The line for which it is named extends from Wichita Falls, Texas to just north of Altus, Oklahoma, through Wichita County, Texas, Tillman County, Oklahoma, and Jackson County, Oklahoma. It interchanges with the Union Pacific (UP) and BNSF at Wichita Falls, with Farmrail (FMRC), Stillwater Central Railroad (SLWC), and the BNSF at Altus, and with Grainbelt (GNBC) at Frederick, Oklahoma. It carries predominantly grain, chemicals and agricultural products.
The Aliquippa and Ohio River Railroad is a six-mile short line railroad in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, United States, controlled by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. through its ownership of the Ohio Central Railroad System. It lies between CSX Transportation's ex-Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad line and the Ohio River, extending south from CSX's yard in northern Aliquippa to near the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge. Formerly known as the Aliquippa and Southern Railroad, its owner and primary customer was LTV Steel, which mostly closed its Aliquippa plant in 1985 and sold the line to the Ohio Central in 2002. The AOR now connects the Aliquippa Industrial Park, which occupies the LTV site, with CSX.
The Wellsboro and Corning Railroad is a 35-mile (56 km) shortline railroad that operates between Wellsboro, Pennsylvania and Corning, New York, passing through Tioga, and Lawrenceville. It parallels PA Route 287 and U.S. Route 15, following the valleys of Marsh Creek, Crooked Creek, and the Tioga River. The railroad connects with Norfolk Southern's Southern Tier Line at Corning.
The Gateway Eastern Railway is a railroad subsidiary of the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS), owning a 17-mile (27 km) main line between East Alton and East St. Louis, Illinois, United States. Originally created in 1994 as a subsidiary of the Gateway Western Railway, which acquired the East St. Louis-Kansas City line of the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway in 1990, it was acquired by KCS along with its parent in 1997.
The Vermilion Valley Railroad is a 5.9-mile (9.5 km) short-line railroad that operates across the Indiana-Illinois state line, connecting the Flex-N-Gate Corporation facility west of Covington, Indiana with CSX Transportation in Danville, Illinois.
The Camp Chase Railway is a short-line switching and terminal railroad in and near Columbus, Ohio, United States, running past the former Camp Chase. The company was formed as the Camp Chase Industrial Railroad in 1994 as a spin-off of Conrail. Through trackage rights, the railroad interchanges with Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX at Buckeye Yard. The Camp Chase bike trail follows alongside the railroad for 12 miles and is one the few trails in the United States that runs within an active railroad right-of-way.
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 Hocking Valley Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Ohio, with a main line from Toledo to Athens and Pomeroy via Columbus. It also had several branches to the coal mines of the Hocking Valley near Athens. The company became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway system in 1910, and the line between Toledo and Columbus continues to see trains as CSX Transportation's Columbus Subdivision. Portions of the main line south of Columbus are now operated by the Indiana and Ohio Railway and Hocking Valley Scenic Railway.
The Cincinnati Northern Railroad was a railroad that stretched from Franklin, Ohio, north to Jackson, Michigan, a distance of about 186 miles (299 km). It was acquired by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway in 1901 and the New York Central Railroad several years later. Most of the line has since been abandoned.
R.J. Corman Railroad/Pennsylvania Lines is a railroad in the R.J. Corman Railroad Group, operating a number of lines in central Pennsylvania. It primarily carries coal between mines and Norfolk Southern Railway connections at Cresson and Keating. The trackage was acquired from Conrail in 1996, when the latter company sold its "Clearfield Cluster"; Norfolk Southern acquired nearby Conrail lines in 1999. This is the longest R.J. Corman owned line, at over 300 miles in length.
The Everett Railroad is a shortline and heritage railroad that operates on ex-Pennsylvania Railroad trackage in the Hollidaysburg area of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It runs freight trains over two separate lines, one from Brooks Mill and Sproul, and the other, owned by the Morrison's Cove Railroad, from Roaring Spring to Curryville and Martinsburg.
The Indiana Eastern Railroad is a short-line railroad in the states of Indiana and Ohio, operating a former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway line between Richmond, Indiana and Fernald, Ohio. It began operations in 2005 as a subsidiary of the Respondek Railroad, and interchanges freight with CSX at Cottage Grove. Its business headquarters is in Edwardsville, Illinois with its operations headquarters in Liberty, Indiana It is owned by Regional Rail.
The Yellowstone Valley Railroad is a 171-mile (275 km) shortline railroad in northeastern Montana, also crossing into North Dakota. It operates two branch lines leased from the BNSF Railway in 2005 - Snowden to Glendive and Bainville to Scobey - connected by trackage rights over BNSF's Northern Transcon between Snowden and Bainville.
The Washington and Idaho Railway was a shortline railroad that operated in the area south of Spokane, Washington, connecting the BNSF Railway at Marshall to Palouse, Washington, Harvard, Idaho, and Moscow, Idaho. It began operations in 2006 on ex-Northern Pacific Railway and Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway trackage formerly operated by the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad, which had acquired it from the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1996. The railroad ceased operations in 2019 as a new operator gained control of the 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 Columbia River and Oregon Central Railroad built a branch of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) from that company's main line at Arlington south to Condon, Oregon, United States. The company was incorporated on August 22, 1903, and finished construction in 1905. A predecessor, Oregon Southern Railway, made surveys and acquired right-of-way, but did not begin construction. Always operated by the OR&N, the property of the Columbia River and Oregon Central Railroad, along with that of the OR&N, was sold to new Union Pacific Railroad (UP) subsidiary Oregon–Washington Railroad and Navigation Company on December 23, 1910. The Condon, Kinzua and Southern Railroad would complete a line from Condon to Kinzua in 1929.
The Calumet River Railway built a 4-mile (6.4 km) rail line in Chicago, serving industries on the east side of the Calumet River. The company was incorporated on March 5, 1883, and completed the line on September 16, 1895. From opening, it was operated by the Pennsylvania Company, which also operated the lines to which it connected - the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway near 100th Street in South Chicago and the South Chicago and Southern Railroad near 132nd Street in Hegewisch. On February 5, 1901, the Calumet River Railway was merged into the South Chicago and Southern Railroad. The lease was transferred from the Pennsylvania Company to parent Pennsylvania Railroad on January 1, 1918, and to the Penn Central Transportation Company in 1968. In 1954 the South Chicago and Southern Railroad was merged into the Penndel Company, and in 1976 ownership and operation of the line was acquired by the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail).
The Chicago and Southern Railroad built a rail line in northeastern Illinois, extending south from Chicago to Thornton. It now mainly forms part of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, while the north end has been operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the Illinois Northern Railway, and most recently the Central Illinois Railroad.
