NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway traces its origins to December 1845 when the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad was chartered. The Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad was Tennessee’s first railroad.
Following the Civil War, the railroad began to acquire other lines, and in 1873, the company’s name changed to the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. However, the railroad never reached St. Louis.
The line’s major competition was from the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. In 1880, the Louisville & Nashville gained a controlling interest in the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, but the two lines remained independent until they merged in 1957.
In 1890, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway leased the Western & Atlantic Railroad, which gave the line access into Atlanta.
Today, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway is part of CSX Corp., and trains operate over many of the former Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway and Nashville & Louisville Railroad right-of-way.
