Page 20 - Hancock County Tourism ~ 2021 History

Do you know about...
the L&N Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was chartered in 1850 for a route between Louisville, Ken.,
and Tennessee. By 1855,
the first train was up and running. Going 15 mph, it carried 300 people on an eight-mile trip. In 1859, the 187-mile connection between Louisville and Nashville, Tenn., was complete. During the Civil War, the railroad served both the Union
and Confederate armies. Despite damage during the war, the railroad recovered quickly and was expanded
as shorter railroad systems were acquired. L&N tracks went through St. Louis, Cincinnati, Birmingham, Mobile, Pensacola, New Orleans, and Memphis, and the L&N soon became one
of the major railroad systems in the United States. Further expansion extended the L&N’s sphere of operations
Top Right: L&N Railroad lines Right: L&N Railroad dining car
throughout much of the Southeast. The onset of World War II dramatically increased the amount of freight, passenger, and military traffic, but even with thousands of its employees joining the armed forces, the company effectively handled the increased load.
The L&N purchased its
first diesel engine in 1939;
its last steam locomotive was retired in 1957. Technological changes helped streamline the company, and the railroad continued operating until 1982 when it merged with
the Seaboard Coast System, forming the Seaboard System Railroad. In 1986, CSX was formed with the merger of the Seaboard System and the Chessie System.
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