Charleston & Western Carolina Railway – C&WC

Photo: C&WC locomotives in Spartanburg SC in 1951. From the South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C., South Carolina Railroad Photograph Collection.

Formation and acquisition by ACL

The C&WC was formally organized in 1896, but its origins trace back to the Port Royal & Augusta Railway and the Port Royal & Western Carolina Railway. In 1894, the South Carolina legislature forced the railroads’ previous parent company, the Central of Georgia Railroad, to sell its properties within the state. This legal mandate led to the consolidation of these assets into the new C&WC. Just one year later, the much larger Atlantic Coast Line Railroad acquired control of the fledgling C&WC.

Despite ACL’s takeover, the Charleston & Western Carolina operated as an independent subsidiary for over 60 years, maintaining its own reporting marks and corporate identity. It wasn’t until 1959 that the Atlantic Coast Line fully absorbed its subsidiary, formally integrating the C&WC’s 341-mile system into the larger ACL network.

A critical connection at Spartanburg

The C&WC played a vital role in ACL’s broader strategy, most notably by providing a key connection point with the Clinchfield Railroad at Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Clinchfield was a renowned railroad, known for its incredible engineering as it navigated the mountainous terrain from the coalfields of Kentucky and Virginia down to Spartanburg. From 1924 onward, the Clinchfield was leased and jointly operated by the Atlantic Coast Line and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, making it another essential ACL-affiliated company.

At Spartanburg, the Clinchfield would deliver both fast moving manifest freight trains, and slow moving coal trains to the C&WC for a continued trek southward. Click here to read more about the CRR/C&WC manifest partnership.

For decades, the physical interchange between the C&WC and Clinchfield at Spartanburg was inefficient due to a bottleneck caused by the Southern Railway’s main line. This required a cumbersome transfer process that Southern controlled. After a long-fought legal battle, the Clinchfield, backed by its ACL parent, gained permission to build the Spartanburg Tunnel beneath the Southern tracks in 1962. Completed in 1963, this tunnel allowed the ACL—which by then had absorbed the C&WC—to make a direct and seamless connection with the Clinchfield. This was crucial for moving manifest freight and coal efficiently between the Midwest and the Southeast. Click here to read more about the Spartanburg tunnel.

Absorption into the CSX system

The legacy of the Charleston & Western Carolina continued long after its independent existence ended. After the ACL absorbed the C&WC in 1959, the merged entity became part of subsequent major railroad consolidations.

• In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with its rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, to form the Seaboard Coast Line (SCL).
• In 1982, the SCL and its affiliates, including the Clinchfield, were merged into a single operating company, the Seaboard System.
• Finally, in 1986, the Seaboard System combined with the Chessie System to create the massive railroad conglomerate CSX Transportation.

Today, much of the original Charleston & Western Carolina trackage remains in operation as part of the extensive CSX network, including the Augusta and Spartanburg Subdivisions.

Charleston & Western Carolina Railway Stats

• Reporting Mark: C&WC
• Chartered: 1897
• Years Operated: 1897-1959. Survives today as part of CSX.
• Mainline: Port Royal SC to Greenville and Spartanburg SC
• Length: 341 Miles
• Corporate Offices: C&WC was a division of ACL, but operated independently until 1959.
• Primary Cities: Port Royal, Yemassee SC, Augusta GA, Laurens, Greenville, Anderson, and Spartanburg SC
• Gauge: 4′ 8.5″
• Primary Freight: Manifest and Coal from the Clinchfield, Manifest from ACL.
• Passenger Service: Yes, ending in the late 1950s
• Predecessors: Port Royal & Augusta Railway (PR&A), Port Royal & Western Carolina Railway (PR&WC), Augusta & Knoxville Railroad (A&K), and the Port Royal & Western Carolina Railway (PR&WC).
• Successor: Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Coast Line
• C&WC Today: Part of CSX Transportation
• Connection with the Clinchfield: Spartanburg SC

Clinchfield.org Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Clinchfield Railroad. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Clinchfield.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.

• Associations:
  • Carolina Clinchfield Chapter National Railway Historical Society
  • Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society
  • George L. Carter Railroad Historical Society
  • Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society
• Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
• Archives of Appalachia – ETSU, Johnson City TN
• Books:
  • Beach: ‘The Black Mountain Railway,
  • Drury: ‘The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
  • Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield’ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield
  • Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City
  • Helm: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad in the Coal Fields
  • Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter
  • King: ‘Clinchfield Country’
  • Marsh: “Clinchfield in Color’
  • Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina
  • Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century’
  • Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine’
  • Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains’,
  • Wolfe: ‘Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line‘ and ‘Southern Railway Appalachia Division,’
  • Young: ‘Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads in Color.’ Volume 1: Kentucky, Volume 2: Virginia
• Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
• Newspaper Articles – Newspapers.com
• Online Articles:
  • Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
  • Classic Trains: ‘Remembering the Clinchfield Railroad‘
  • Railway Age: ‘This Coal Road Is Also A Speedy Bridge Line,’ Sept 1, 1952 edition
  • ‘Railway Signaling and Communications‘
  • Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘
  • Flanary: ‘Men Against Mountains, Running Trains on the Clinchfield‘ October 2001
• Online Videos – Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1, Ken Marsh on railroads and region’s history Video #2:
• Websites:
  • Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads,
  • Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net,
  • RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City and for Erwin, The Radio Reference Wiki
  • SteamLocomotive.com
  • VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
  • Multimodalways.org

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3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org