The Charleston and Savannah Railway was a 19th-century American railroad serving the coastal states of South Carolina and Georgia and running through part of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Its name varied slightly over time:
Charleston and Savannah Railroad (1854–1866) Savannah and Charleston Railroad (1866–1880) Charleston and Savannah Railway (1880–1901)
History The system was originally chartered in 1854 as the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. The C&S RR established and operated a Confederate Railroads - Charleston & Savannah gauge rail line from Charleston, South Carolina, to Savannah, Georgia, connecting two of the most important port cities in the antebellum southeastern United States. South Carolina state senator Thomas Drayton was the president of the railroad from its earliest planning stages in 1853 until 1856.
During the Civil War, control of the railroad was vital to the protection of Savannah and keeping nearby Confederate troops supplied with food and materiel. In December 1864, during his March to the Sea, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman sent part of his Union forces forward to cut the line, which would force Confederate general William Hardee to retreat and abandon Savannah. The mission failed, but sections of the railroad would be severely damaged during Sherman's subsequent 1865 Carolinas campaign.The December 6-9th Demonstrations for the Charleston and Savannah Railroad
Following the war, the railroad was reorganized in 1866 as the Savannah and Charleston Railroad but did not complete repairs and reopen for traffic as a line until 1869-70. In 1873 it defaulted on a loan and ended up in bankruptcy. It was then sold to Henry B. Plant (June, 1880s), and the railroad's name was changed to the Charleston and Savannah Railway, becoming part of the Plant System of railroads.
In 1877, the Ashley River Railroad (another Plant System Railroad) was built. The Ashley River Railroad connected to the Charleston and Savannah Railway at Johns Island and ran across the Ashley River to connect with the Northeastern Railroad in North Charleston. The Charleston and Savannah Railway previously connected to other railroads via a ferry across the river.
In the 1880s, the Plant System built the Yonges Island Branch which branched off the main line at Ravenel. This now-abandoned branch ran through Hollywood and Meggett.
Later, the Plant System was sold to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The Charleston and Savannah Railway and the Ashley River Railroad would become part of the Atlantic Coast Line's main line (which extended in its entirety from Richmond, Virginia to Tampa, Florida). The Hardeville to Savannah track was also used by the Southern Railway to connect a Columbia-Hardeville section of track to Florida.
The original line east of Johns Island would become known as the Croghans Branch after the Ashley River Railroad began service. The Croghans Branch has since been abandoned and its right of way is now the West Ashley Greenway.
In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with its rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. The merged company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.Greenspun.com In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation. The line is still in service from Johns Island to Savannah and it is part of CSX's A Line (Charleston Subdivision).
Historic stations + Charleston to SavannahStateMilepostAtlantic Coast Line Railroad Southern Division Timetable (1949)Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Florence Division Timetable (1971)City/LocationStationConnections and notesSCAM 408.0CharlestonCroghans near Albemarle PointAM 406.4St. AndrewsAM 404.3WappooAM 403.9DuPontjunction with Seaboard Air Line Railroad Charleston SubdivisionMelvinAM 398.7A 398.7Johns IslandJohns Islandjunction with Ashley River Railroad (ACL)A 402.0RantowlesA 403.2Berry HillA 406.7RavenelRaveneljunction with Yonges Island BranchA 409.1New RoadA 412.9Adam's RunAdam's RunA 415.8Parkers FerryParkers FerryA 418.1Pon PonA 419.2JacksonboroJacksonboroEdashA 424.9AshepooA 428.7Green PondGreen Pondjunction with Green Pond, Walterboro and Branchville RailroadA 432.3White HallBlakesA 440.8SalkehatchieSalkehatchieA 443.0YemasseeYemasseeAmtrak Silver Meteor, Palmettoparts of the station rebuilt in 1955junction with Charleston and Western Carolina Railway (ACL)A 444.2PocotaligoPocotaligoA 446.5KressA 449.6GilmaniaA 451.4CoosawhatchieCoosawhatchieA 454.5BashanA 459.3RidgelandRidgelandOkeeteePerrysFerebeeA 473.9HardeevilleHardeevillePurysburgPurysburgA 478.5Sand IslandGAA 483.9Port WentworthMonteithA 490.4SavannahCentral Junctionjunction with:A 490.9Savannahcontinues as Savannah, Florida and Western Railway (ACL)junction with Georgia and Alabama Railway (SAL)
+ Yonges Island BranchMilepostCity/LocationStationConnections and notesAMB 406.7RavenelRaveneljunction with Main LineAMB 408.2MeggettMeggettjunction with Seaboard Air Line Railroad Charleston SubdivisionAMB 411.2Yonges Island
See also Charleston Subdivision
References
External links Tenth Annual Report to the stockholders Records of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad , in Special Collections at the College of Charleston
Further reading Stone, H. David, Vital Rails: The Charleston & Savannah Railroad and the Civil War in Coastal South Carolina, University of South Carolina Press, 2008. .