Encyclopedia > Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad
This company began as Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company, chartered in Nashville in 1845 and one of the first railways to operate in the state.
It took nine years to complete the 150 miles of line between the two cities, a task which was made much more difficult by the steep elevations of the Highland Rim and Cumberland Plateau lying in between. A 2,228-foot-long tunnel near Cowan, Tennessee was considered an engineering marvel of its time. Due to the difficulties of the terrain, this line between Tennessee cities actually crossed over into two neighboring states, Alabama and Georgia, for short distances. New towns sprang up along the line during construction, such as Tullahoma and Estill Springs.
During the Civil War, this line became highly strategic to both the Union and Confederate armies. The Tennessee campaigns of 1862 and 1863 saw Union troops force the Confederates back from Nashville to Chattanooga almost exactly along the line of the railroad. It was repeatedly attacked, sabotaged, damaged, and repaired, and was used at various times to supply both armies.
After the war, the company made acquisitions of other, smaller lines to the north, and the name was changed to Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad in 1873. Within a few years, most of the firm's stock had been bought by the competing Louisville & Nashville Railroad, although the two continued to operate separately for nearly a century before finally merging in 1957. L&N itself was eventually merged into the CSX freight rail conglomerate, which continues to use the old Nashville & Chattanooga line.
In 1952, the firm donated its last remaining steam engine to the city of Nashville, a J3-57 class manufactured by American Locomotive Company. It has been on display in Centennial Park ever since.
See also
Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works
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