Seaboard System Railroad

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Seaboard System Railroad
Seaboard System Railroad Logo, April 1985.svg
Richmond (95614599).jpg
A Seaboard freight train crosses the James River at Richmond, Virginia, in October 1985.
Overview
Headquarters Seaboard System Railroad Building, 500 Water Street, Jacksonville, Florida
Reporting mark SBD
Locale Southeastern United States
Dates of operationDecember 29, 1982 (1982-12-29)July 1, 1986 (1986-07-01)
Predecessors Seaboard Coast Line
Louisville and Nashville
Clinchfield Railroad
Georgia Railroad
Atlanta and West Point Railroad
Western Railway of Alabama
Successor CSX Transportation

The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc.( reporting mark SBD) was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.

Contents

Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads—notably the Louisville & Nashville and Clinchfield—as the "Family Lines System". In 1980, SCLI merged with the Chessie System to create the holding company CSX Corporation; two years later, CSX merged the Family Lines railroads to create the Seaboard System Railroad.

In 1986, Seaboard renamed itself CSX Transportation, which absorbed the Chessie System's two major railroads the following year.

History

The Seaboard System's roots trace back to SCL Industries, a holding company created in 1968 that combined the Seaboard Coast Line's subsidiary railroads into one entity. In 1969, SCL was renamed Seaboard Coast Line Industries, which was known as the Family Lines System from 1972-1982, to better compete with the Southern Railway System. This entity adopted its own logo and colors, but each railroad maintained its own identity. Over time, this caused confusion among customers. In comparison to the neighboring Chessie System, which had four railroads, the Family Lines had six railroads. [1] In 1971 SCL bought out the remaining shares and made the Louisville & Nashville a subsidiary.

On November 1, 1980, Seaboard Coast Line Industries and Chessie System merged under the holding company CSX Corporation. Over the following seven years, the Chessie and Seaboard's various railroads were gradually merged into one.

The first step came on December 29, 1982, when the Seaboard Coast Line and Louisville & Nashville (under the Family Lines entity) were merged to form the Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. [1] [2]

Considered as a "temporary railroad", the Seaboard System quickly began to merge the smaller railroads that were owned under the Family Lines System entity. This included the Georgia Railroad and the Clinchfield Railroad (1983), South Carolina Pacific Railway (April 30, 1984), Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis Railway (July 1984), Gainesville Midland (1985), Atlanta & West Point Railroad (June 1986) and the Columbia, Newberry & Laurens (June 1986). These mergers simplified equipment and management alongside the Chessie System railroads (Chesapeake & Ohio, Baltimore & Ohio, Western Maryland).

The Seaboard System renamed itself CSX Transportation on July 1, 1986. On April 30, 1987, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was merged into the Chesapeake & Ohio. Finally, on August 31, 1987, the Chesapeake & Ohio (still under the Chessie System entity for corporate reasons) was merged into CSX Transportation. All the major railroads under CSX Corporation were now one company. [3] (The Western Railway of Alabama would remain an operating subsidiary until December 2002, when it was finally merged into CSX. [4] )

The Family Lines logo included the six systems that were grouped under the name. Family Lines logo.png
The Family Lines logo included the six systems that were grouped under the name.

Equipment colors and painting

After creation of the Family Lines name, SCLI begin painting locomotives in a standardized paint scheme. When the Seaboard System came into being, the new scheme retained the grey, red, and yellow colors were of the Family Lines scheme. The new Seaboard System also had a new logo featuring a coupled variation font of ITC Eras Demi. The first locomotive to be decorated with the new Seaboard System paint scheme was Uceta GP16 #4802 in October 1982. Because the merger did not occur until December, locomotives after October 1982 were to receive the Seaboard System paint scheme with the existing railroad's reporting marks applied. [1] [3]

When the merger officially took effect on January 1, 1983, all former reporting marks were to be either removed or patched with SBD initials. Shortly before taking delivery of the L&N specified EMD SD50's, Seaboard adopted a Swis721 [5] type font for reporting marks and numbers, instead of the customized Seaboard Coast Line lettering seen on pre-1983 repaints. To simplify its locomotive roster and meet Chessie System specifications, Seaboard introduced a numbering system that partially became meshed within the Chessie System locomotive fleet, and removed any existing Mars Lights or Gyralights from locomotives. Any new locomotives purchased by Seaboard would be built to meet Chessie specifications; of which only three, EMD SD50, EMD MP15T and GE B36-7, were ordered.

Heritage Units

In June 2023, GE ES44AH unit #1982 entered service, being repaired and repainted at CSX shops in Waycross, GA with a CSX blue and yellow color scheme on the front (nose) and cab of the locomotive and throughout the rest of the locomotive, the classic grey Seaboard System scheme. It was numbered #1982 in homage to the year the Seaboard System was created. [6] [7] A second heritage unit featuring The Family Lines System, a GE Evolution Series GE ES44AH unit #1972 entered service in March 2024. [8]

Operating divisions

This section lists the operating divisions of the Seaboard System as of January 1, 1985: [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CSX Transportation</span> Class I railroad system in the US

CSX Transportation, known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles (34,000 km) of track, it is the leading subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated under the Chessie name from 1973 to 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaboard Coast Line Railroad</span> Transport company

The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lines to create the Seaboard System in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio Railway</span> Defunct American Class I railway

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to the Ohio River by 1873, where the railroad town of Huntington, West Virginia, was named for him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville and Nashville Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railway

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.

Seaboard Coast Line Industries, Inc., incorporated in Delaware on May 9, 1969, was a railroad holding company that owned the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, its subsidiary Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and several smaller carriers. Its railroad subsidiaries were collectively known as the Family Lines System. Its headquarters were in Jacksonville, Florida, in the United States. Through 1979, the Family Lines network totaled 16,326 miles (26,274 km) in 13 states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Railroad and Banking Company</span> Historic American railroad and banking company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta and West Point Railroad</span> Defunct American railway company

The Atlanta and West Point Rail Road was a railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia, forming the east portion of the Atlanta-Selma West Point Route. The company was chartered in 1847 as the Atlanta and LaGrange Rail Road and renamed in 1857; construction of the 5 ft gauge line was begun in 1849–50 and completed in May 1854. A large minority interest owned by the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company eventually passed under the control of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL), which later acquired a majority of the stock.

The Western Railway of Alabama (WRA) also seen as "WofA" was created as the Western Railroad of Alabama by the owners of the Montgomery & West Point Railroad (M&WP) in 1860. It was built to further the M&WP's development West from Montgomery, Alabama to Selma, Alabama. When the line was constructed in 1870, the M&WP was merged into the WRA, creating a line from Selma to West Point, Georgia. It served Auburn, Alabama and connected in Opelika, Alabama to the Central of Georgia line from Columbus, Georgia to Birmingham, Alabama. Although it was partially owned by the Central of Georgia around the turn from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, it did not end up being owned by Norfolk Southern when that company came into existence due to the merger of the CofG's parent, the Southern Railway, and the Norfolk & Western Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD GP16</span> Model of rebuilt diesel-electric locomotive

The EMD GP16 is a series of rebuilt diesel-electric locomotives, a result of a remanufacturing program initiated by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL) in an effort to spare the cost of purchasing new motive power in the late 1970s. This involved the rebuilding of their aging fleet of EMD GP7, GP9 and GP18 road switchers. 155 locomotives were rebuilt by the SCL.

The Haysi Railroad Company was a terminal/switching railroad that owned and operated seven miles of track from Haysi, Virginia, to Vicey, Virginia. The railroad was known most for its unusual motive power.

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 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 South Carolina Western Railway was a Southeastern railroad that operated in the early 20th century.

CSX Transportation's Atlanta Terminal Subdivision comprises the company's railroad lines and infrastructure operating in and around Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Terminal Subdivision consists of five lines and a number of yards. Most of the lines in the Atlanta Terminal Subdivision date back to the 1800s.

The Lineville Subdivision is a railroad line currently operated by CSX Transportation in Georgia and Alabama. It runs from Parkwood southeast though Lineville, Alabama to Manchester, Georgia, a distance of 179.4 miles (288.7 km). It connects with CSX's Manchester Subdivision and Fitzgerald Subdivision in Manchester.

The Manchester Subdivision is a railroad line currently operated by CSX Transportation in Central Georgia. Its northern terminus is in Peachtree City, where it continues south from the Atlanta Terminal Subdivision. From Peachtree City, it runs for 38.8 miles (62.4 km) south to Manchester, Georgia, where it connects with CSX's Lineville Subdivision and Fitzgerald Subdivision. It is a major north-south route for CSX in Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charleston Subdivision</span> Railway line in South Carolina and Georgia

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 Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation (KSHCO) is a nonprofit organization based on the border between Irvine and Ravenna, Kentucky. The organization mainly focuses on the restoration of Chesapeake and Ohio K-4 2-8-4 steam locomotive No. 2716 along with other vintage railroad equipment. The organization has plans of turning the surrounding area into its own tourist attraction called the Kentucky Rail Heritage Center through a partnership with the R.J. Corman Railroad Group and CSX Transportation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Solomon, Brian (2005). CSX. MBI Publishing Company. pp. 63–67. ISBN   0-7603-1796-8.
  2. Griffin, William (2004). Seaboard Coast Line & Family Lines. TLC Publishing. pp. 124–136. ISBN   0-9766201-0-3.
  3. 1 2 Moody's Transportation Manual , 1992, pp. xxii-xxiv, 421-428, 451
  4. Surface Transportation Board, CSX Transportation, Inc.--Corporate Family Merger Exemption--The Western Railway of Alabama, December 26, 2002
  5. "1:36 Drawings - Text and Logos". Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  6. "CSX.com - CSX Honors Seaboard System Railroad Heritage with New Locomotive Paint Design". www.csx.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  7. "CSX's Seaboard System heritage locomotive makes its debut". Trains. 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  8. "CSX.com - CSX Unveils Family Lines System Heritage Locomotive". www.csx.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  9. Seaboard System Railroad: List of Stations and Yards. Office of General Manager: Terminal Station Manager. January 1, 1985.