Articles in regional publications that pertain to a wide range of North Carolina-related topics.
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31 results
for Railroads--History
Record #:
9229
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The first railroad lines were laid in North Carolina in 1833. By the 1880s, a line ran across the state but a business depression hit in 1893 and the railroads were sold in 1899. Despite financial troubles, trains ran the lines until 1949. Parts of the tracks remain, but are covered by the lines of modern diesel trains.
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Record #:
9586
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The Wilmington Railroad Museum, which focuses on the history of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, recently opened. When the line began operation in 1835, it was the world's longest railroad. The line has changed names several times, finally becoming the Atlantic Coast Line in 1900. The museum is located in a warehouse built by the railroad in 1876. Exhibits include a train caboose, a model train set, and the Wilmington and Weldon arrival bell.
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Record #:
10608
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North Carolina's earliest railroads were plagued by mechanical failures that often resulted in wrecks, derailments, and deaths. Even after the introduction of steam engines, many tracks and rails were constructed completely of wood or, later, wooden rails capped with thin strips of metal. The wooden rails would often fail outright, and the metal-capped rails often lost their tops, which would then bend upwards, piercing the floor of the rail car. The grandson of Governor Edward Dudley was seriously injured and his nurse killed by an unfastened rail in 1845.
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Record #:
13899
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Albert Johnson handled the throttle on the first train that operated on the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad more than one hundred years ago.
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Record #:
14332
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Robert R. Bridgers faced a stupendous task, following the conclusion of the American Civil War, in rebuilding what is now the great Atlantic Coast Line System.
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Record #:
14459
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The first train to Asheboro came over fifty years ago, and it was a big day in the history of the town, despite the fact that rails had to be laid as the train approached.
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Record #:
14565
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Taylorsville citizens invested in the local Alexander Railroad line when the company, The Southern, threatened to end service. The town, located in Alexander County, depended on the railroad spur, which hauled freight and mail, for economic stability. Freight statistics for the line both before and after the sale are listed.
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Record #:
14628
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Mr. Goerch describes a round-trip ride in 1946 in the cab of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's diesel engines. The ride on \"The Sun Queen\" left Raleigh bound for Richmond and for the author's return trip \"The Silver Meteor.\" Goerch discusses improvement in rail service because of diesel engines which increase speed with less noise. The author also supplements details of his ride with railroad vernacular, operational procedures, and railroad culture.
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Record #:
15031
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When construction gangs were attempting to complete the pass for the first train tracks on both sides of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the western side had more difficulty due to lack of locomotives to help the work progress. It took eight yoke of oxen to get a locomotive to the western side of the divide. The job was done in two weeks and the railroad complete shortly after.
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Record #:
15148
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Colonel Alexander B. Andrews has served North Carolina not only as a solider during the American Civil War, but helped to build and maintain the railroads that were necessary for the State during the era of Reconstruction. He started his great building career as superintendent of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad and helped to rehabilitate this line as well as the Richmond and Danville and the Asheville-Spartanburg line.
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Record #:
15860
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Seay recounts some of the forgotten events that are revealed by the old files of some of the state's early railroad companies of one hundred years or more ago. The information shows quite a bit of contrast between railroading then and now.
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Record #:
20789
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Seay describes what railroading was like in North Carolina almost a century ago.
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Record #:
21456
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Before the 1870s there was a preference in the United States that the federal and state governments would subsidize private corporations but did not attempt to control them. This was the case when North Carolina held a three-quarters interest in the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR). The NCRR was built to help enable trade and travel to and within the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Chartered in 1849, the NCRR was the center of some controversy as to the style and amount of state control until it was leased out by the state in 1871.
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North Carolina Historical Review
(NoCar F251 .N892), Vol. 61 Issue 2, Apr 1984,
p174-204 , il, por, map, f
Periodical Website
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Record #:
24453
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This article presents the history of the North Carolina Railroad Company, which owns the tracks upon which the Carolinian travels. The tracks were built in the decade before the Civil War in order to promote and facilitate economic development in the Piedmont.
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Record #:
24532
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One section of the historic East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad is being saved and put to recreational use by taking tourists on rides through some of the most dramatic and beautiful sections of the track.
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