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History of the C&O Railroad
From the begining of the railroad to 2015 -
James River & Kanawha Canal Company Begun
One of the two railroad that the C&O traces its origins to -
Lousisa Railroad of Louisa County begun
One of the two railroad that the C&O traces its origins to -
Louisa Railway acquired the Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad
More Rolling stock & tracks were added the Louisa Railway -
Louisa Railroad becomes the Virginia Central Railroad
The Railroad had been extended west to Charlottesville. -
Chommonwealth chartered
The Covington & Ohio Railway Conected to the Virginia Central and the James River & Kanawha Canal at Covington with the Ohio River, -
Chesapeake & Ohio is born
The Virginia Central and Covington & Ohio were Consolidated -
New President
C&O came under the control of C.P. Huntington, builder of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. -
C&O Completed
From Richmond, Virginia to the Ohio River a east of the Confluence of the Ohio and the Big Sandy -
West Virginia Terminus
Cost the C&O over $23 million, throwing it into receivership by 1875 -
Tanscontinental System
Conjunction with the SP -
Vanderbilt take over
Huntington's empire fell apart -
Cincinnati Division
C&O built the Cincinnati Division from Huntington down the South bank of the Ohio River and across the river at Cincinnati, connecting with the "Big Four" and other Midwestern Railroads. -
Richmond & Alleghany Railroad Merger
Richmond & Alleghany Railroad, which had been build along the tow-path of the defunct James River & Kanawha Canal, was Merged into the C&O. -
More Stock
the majority of the stock of the Hocking Valley Railroad (Toledo-Columbus-Athens and Gallipolis, Ohio) was purchased jointly by the C&O, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Erie, Lake Shore & Michigan Southern (LS&MS), and Pennsylvania Railroads (PRR). -
Hocking Valley
C&O had acquired control of the Hocking Valley. To satisfy antitrust legislation, C&O was required to sell its interest in the Kanawha & Michigan to the T&OC in 1914. -
Orris Paxton Van Sweringen
Orris Paxton Van Sweringen and his brother Mantis James Van Sweringen, Cleveland real estate developers, purchased 30 percent of C&O's stock. -
C&O leased the C&HV
and merged it (and also merged the Hocking Valley Railroad) in 1930. -
Van Sweringens also hoped to include
the Van Sweringens also hoped to include Wheeling and Lake Erie (W&LE), Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, and the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, the last to furnish a connection with the Missouri Pacific, in which they held a sizable interest. Later that year the Van Sweringens withdrew their applications as their empire began to collapse. -
Chessie
C&O introduced the figure of a sleeping kitten in its advertising named "Chessie". Chessie birthed two kittens named Nip and Tuck. During World War II, her "husband," Peake (as in "Chessie's Peak" = Chesapeake), was shown with a bandage on his paw as a war veteran returning from military service. -
Robert R. Young
Robert R. Young acquired 43 percent of the stock of Alleghany Corporation (a holding company that controlled the C&O). By 1942 Young was chairman of the board of C&O. Nicknamed "Rail Road Young", R.R. Young inaugurated many forward looking advances in technology. -
The ultimate locomotive on the C&O
The ultimate locomotive on the C&O and one for which it will always be remembered is the 2-6-6-6 simple articulated H-8 class Allegheny type. It is the only steam locomotive to handle a 6-wheel trailing truck (because of its cavernous fire box), and generated the highest instantaneous and sustained drawbar horsepower at speed of any steam locomotive. It was also the heaviest locomotive ever built. -
Merger of C&O, PM, NKP, and W&LE.
Robert R. Young proposed a merger of C&O, PM, NKP, and W&LE, with the thought of adding western connections (likely prospects were Missouri Pacific, Denver & Rio Grande Western, and Western Pacific) to create a coast-to-coast railroad. The Nickel Plate objected to the proposal. As it fell out, C&O merged PM on June 6, 1947, NKP purchased C&O's W&LE shares about the same time, and C&O distributed its NKP shares to C&O stockholders as a dividend later that year. -
C&O acquired a large block of NYC stock and became NYC's largest stockholder
While all that was happening, C&O acquired a large block of NYC stock and became NYC's largest stockholder. Young proposed a merger of C&O, NYC, and Virginian -
First diesels at the C&O
Finally, in 1949 the inevitable happened and C&O bought its first diesels (Pere Marquette when it was an independent subsidary had acquired a diesel switcher in 1939, and E7 passenger diesels in 1946.) The news releases said that these would be used only as a bridge until an efficient coal-consuming turbine could be developed -
Young laves the C&O
Young left the C&O in 1954 to take over management of the NYC. Riddled with depression most of his life, Young committed suicide in 1958. -
C&O turned its attention to neighbor B&O and offered to purchase its stock.
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) approved C&O control of B&O at the end of 1962, and the actual exchange of C&O stock for B&O took place in February 1963. By 1973 C&O owned more than 90 percent of B&O's stock. B&O in turn owned nearly half the stock of Western Maryland (WM) and controlled the Reading Company (RDG); the RDG controlled the Central Railroad of New Jersey. -
The Chessie System
was incorporated in 1973 to own the C&O. C&O in turn controlled B&O, and the two of them held more than 90 percent of WM's stock. C&O, B&O, and WM did not merge immediately but became Chessie System Railroads: They traded their identities and colors for new paint and a new emblem featuring C&O's mascot, Chessie (the name "Chessie System" had been used colloquially for C&O since the feline's inception in 1933). -
CSX Transportation
Chessie System then merged with Seaboard System Railroad (itself a combination of Seaboard Air Line Railroad, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Louisville & Nashville Railroad and Clinchfield Railroad), to form CSX Transportation. WM merged into B&O on May 1, 1983; B&O was merged into C&O on April 30, 1987, and C&O was merged into CSX on August 31, 1987. After acquiring 42 percent of Conrail in 1999, CSX became one of four major railroad systems left in the country. -
C&O #1309
Chesapeake & Ohio 1309 has arrived in Cumberland, MD for restoration and later operation on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.C&O steam locomotive #1309 arrived at the B&O Museum in 1972 and has been preserved and displayed for generations of families to enjoy.
