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Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Steam Locomotives Ships Prince Hard Cover 1966
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad - Steam Locomotives Ships and History by Richard E. Prince
Copyright 1966 Name on title page upper right corner
Hard Cover.
232 pages
INTRODUCTION
Prior to the year 1902 the Atlantic Coast Line RR consisted of a 1676-mile system extending from Richmond and Pinners Point, Va., southward to Charleston, S. C., and Augusta, Ga. Its subsidiaries included the Georgia RR, West Point Route, and the Charleston & Western Carolina Ry. During that eventful year 1902, the ACL RR, with the combined forces of J. Pierpont Morgan and Henry Walters, took over the operation of the Plant System with its 2220 miles of track. While this merger was being completed, the L&N RR with its subsidiary, the NC&StL Ry, came under ACL control. The Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Ry was leased in 1924 and two years later in 1926, the old Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic Ry was added to the system. Thus the Coast Line became THE STANDARD RAILROAD OF THE SOUTH. During the Florida boom prior to 1929, the ACL RR completed several extensions in that state, and by the year 1960 the mileage of the entire system exceeded 12,000. However, only 5572 miles of this total were actually operated as the Atlantic Coast Line RR and it is the purpose of this volume to tell the story of this 5600-mile company and its steam locomotives.
Although the ATLANTIC COAST LINE RR as an organization of that name dates back only to the year 1900, the ATLANTIC COAST LINE as a system of railroads is much older, with sections of its track originally known as the WELDON ROUTE. As a matter of fact, the WELDON ROUTE or ATLANTIC ROUTE existed prior to the War of 1861-65 and included a group of independent standard gauge railroads between Richmond and Wilmington with connecting boat service to Charleston. However, by 1857 a network of 5-ft gauge lines completed the rail link to Charleston as well as other points in South Carolina.
Beginning in 1869, William T. Walters and his associates of Baltimore gradually obtained control of these companies which soon became known as the ATLANTIC COAST LINE FAST MAIL PASSENGER ROUTE in the late 1870's. During the early 1870's this Walters group was also associated with the Pennsylvania RR in the Southern Railway Security Company, an ill-fated syndicate, which held control of a number of railroads in the South prior to 1880.
In 1889 the Walters interests formed a holding company known as the American Improvement & Construction Company which, in 1893, became the Atlantic Coast Line Company. This syndicate held control of the ACL operating companies and soon began to simplify the complex corporate structure of the system.
The first major step for consolidation was taken in 1898 when the two companies north of Weldon, N. C., were merged to form the ACL RR of VIRGINIA, and the five lines between Wilmington, Columbia, and Charleston consolidated as the ACL RR of SOUTH CAROLINA. In 1900 these two ACL railroads were merged with the WILMINGTON & WELDON RR, NORFOLK & CAROLINA RR and the tiny SOUTHEASTERN RR to form the ATLANTIC COAST LINE RR. Combined with the PLANT SYSTEM, which in 1902 consisted of six separate railroads, a belt line, and a 27-mile logging tram railroad, the ACL RR soon extended through the states of Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
The steamship operations of the old PLANT SYSTEM were divided several ways. The PENINSULAR & OCCIDENTAL STEAMSHIP COMPANY came under joint ownership of the Coast Line and the Flagler System. This company had been formed in 1900 to take over the east coast operations of the FLORIDA EAST COAST SS COMPANY, and the PLANT STEAMSHIP LINE between Port Tampa, Key West, and Havana. The ACL RR carried on the local service of the PLANT STEAMSHIP LINE until the routes could be disposed of. However, the PLANT LINE out of Boston to Halifax and Charlottetown continued on as an independent enterprise until the first World War.
On January 1, 1946 the lines of the ATLANTA, BIRMINGHAM & COAST RR (formerly AB&A Ry) were absorbed to become the Western Division of the ACL RR. Finally, the CHARLESTON & WESTERN CAROLINA RY, which had been under Coast Line control since 1897, was absorbed by the ACL RR on December 31, 1959.
CONTENTS
I ATLANTIC COAST LINE - HISTORICAL SKETCH
Introduction
Weldon Route - Early History
Standard Gauge Lines in Virginia and North Carolina
Five-Foot Gauge Lines in the Carolinas
Atlantic Coast Line Prior to 1900
II THE PLANT SYSTEM
Henry Bradley Plant
Atlantic & Gulf RR
Savannah, Florida & Western Ry and Related Companies
Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West System
The Plant System and Its Locomotives
Plant Hotels and Land Grants
III STEAMBOATS AND SHIPS
The Plant System
Indian River Steamboat Company
Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company
Weldon Route and the Atlantic Coast Line
Brunswick Steamship Company
IV SUBSIDIARY RAILROADS OF THE COAST LINE
Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast RR (AB&A RR and AB&A Ry)
Charleston & Western Carolina Ry
Subsidiary Short Lines of the ACL RR
V ATLANTIC COAST LINE RR - The Standard Railroad of the South History since 1900
VI STEAM LOCOMOTIVES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST LINE RR
General Description
American 4.4-0 Type
Mogul 2-6-0 Type
Atlantic 4-4.2 and Columbia 2-4-2 Types
Copper Head Tenwheeler and Other 4-6-0 Types
Pacific 442 Freight and Passenger Types
Heavy Duty Passenger and Fast Freight Locomotives
4-8-2 Mountain and 4-8-4 Types
Heavy Duty and Slow Speed Freight Locomotives
Consolidation 2.8-0, Mikado 2-8-2, Santa Fe 2-10-2,
Russian Decapod 2-10-0, and Mastodon 4-8-0 Types
Switch Engines
VII STEAM FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRAINS
Passenger Service
Freight Service
VIII STEAM LOCOMOTIVE ROSTERS AND DIAGRAMS
Locomotive Rosters
Locomotive Diagrams
INDEX
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