Alexander

Company History: This line began operations in 1946 as a spinoff of Southern Railway. They operate from Statesville to Taylorsville, North Carolina, a distance of 19 miles. The spinoff deal included a Southern steam switcher (probably an 0-6-0) but the steam era on the Alexander lasted just 2 weeks before a GE industrial switcher arrived and made the Alexander the first fully dieselized railroad in North Carolina. The Alexander name comes from one of two counties in which they run. They are by all accounts a friendly group and even founded and host the Alexander Chapter of the NRHS. The company is controlled by the Zachary family and has been since the beginning.

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.