Chester & Lenoir

Company History: The C&L was established in 1873 and began building a 3’ gauge railroad north from Chester, South Carolina. Ironically, part of the line was built on the right of way of the broad gauge Kings Mountain Railroad that had been destroyed in the Civil War. Before they could reach their goal of reaching Lenoir, North Carolina, 110 miles north of Chester, the company ran short of cash. The owners agreed to lease the C&L to the Charlotte Columbia & Augusta in return for that company finishing the C&L to Lenoir. The last spike was driven in 1884. The C&L ran with seven locomotives, a dozen coaches and over a hundred freight cars. In 1886, the Richmond & Danville leased the CC&A and took responsibility for operating the Chester & Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad. In 1893, the R&D fell into bankruptcy which ended their lease of the C&L which in turn became an independent railroad once again. This period lasted just four years until the Chester & Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad was reorganized as the Carolina & Northwestern Railway.

Successor/Parent History: This line first appeared in 1896 from the reorganization of the Chester & Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad. The CR&N was controlled by the Southern Railway early on but was largely autonomous in its operations. This line was standard gauged in 1902. By the end of WWII, the CR&N ran from a connection with the Southern at Newton, North Carolina (just east of Hickory) south to Chester, South Carolina, about 81 miles. In 1974, Southern Railway acquired the original Norfolk Southern and the Carolina & Northwestern was merged into the original NS. However, when they wanted to use the Norfolk Southern name for the Southern – Norfolk & Western merger, the original Norfolk Southern (still a Southern subsidiary) was renamed Carolina & Northwestern.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.