Railroads

by . 1853 map of North Carolina Map titled "A new map of Nth. Carolina: with its canals, roads & distances from place to place, along the stage & steam boat routes." Shows North Carolina as it [...] (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries.)

by Lewis, Edward A. The Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad Company (A&R), chartered on 22 June 1892, became one of North Carolina's most colorful and successful "short-line" railroads. It was founded by Aberdeen [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Neal, Larry K., Jr. In 1889 the Aberdeen & West End Railroad was chartered to build a line from Aberdeen to Star, while the Asheboro & Montgomery built a line from Asheboro to Star from the other direction in [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kennedy, George A. Alexander Railroad Company was organized by Alexander County business interests on 30 Nov. 1945 to operate an 18-mile Southern Railway branch line from Statesville to Taylorsville that was being [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Steelman, Bennett L. Alexander Boyd Andrews, railroad executive and construction engineer, was born near Franklinton, the son of William J. Andrews, a small planter, and his wife, Virginia Hawkins, daughter of Colonel [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Clifton, James M. William Shepperd Ashe, lawyer, rice planter, state senator, congressman, and railroad president, was born in the Lower Cape Fear plantation community of Rocky Point, the third son of Samuel and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kennedy, George A. The Atlantic & Western Railway Company was chartered on 7 Mar. 1899 under sponsorship of the Edwards family of Sanford. It took over the operation of a line extending 12 miles west from Hope [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kennedy, George A. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL), one of three major railroads that served North Carolina during the twentieth century, traced its roots to a holding company called the American Improvement and [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Branch, Paul, Jr. Laurence Simmons Baker, Confederate soldier, farmer, insurance agent, and railroad agent, was born at Coles Hill, Gates County. (Through a clerical error in the War Department records, his name [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Steelman, Lala Carr. Eugene Crocker Beddingfield, farmer, legislator, and railroad commissioner, was born in Wake County to Alexander Hanson and Palmyra La Fayette Chappell Beddingfield. His mother's original ancestor in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moose, Bill. Bostian Bridge Train Wreck by Bill Moose, 2006 See also: Ghost Train of Bostian's Bridge (from Tar Heel Junior Historian) The Bostian Bridge train wreck occurred on 27 Aug. 1891, just [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Lemmon, Sarah McCulloh. William Boylan, journalist, planter, and advocate of internal improvements, was born in Somerset County, N.J., the fourth son of fifteen children of John and Elizabeth Hodge Boylan. He moved to [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr. Henry Clark Bridgers, athlete, attorney, railroad man, and entrepreneur, was born just west of Tarboro, at Hilma, the home of his parents, Laura Clark and John L. Bridgers, Jr. He attended school [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr. Robert Rufus Bridgers, Confederate congressman and railroad official, elder son of Elizabeth Kettlewells Routh and John Bridgers, was born on a farm in southwestern Edgecombe County. Failing to apply [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Carraway, Gertrude S. Bryan, James Augustus by Gertrude S. Carraway, 1979 13 Sept. 1839–30 Jan. 1923 James Augustus Bryan, soldier, planter, and banker, was born in New Bern to James West Bryan and Ann Mary [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Carraway, Gertrude S. Washington Bryan, attorney and financier, was born in New Bern, the younger surviving son of James West Bryan and Ann Mary Washington. His paternal grandparents were James Bryan and Rachel Heritage; [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kennedy, George A., Lassiter, Wingate. Carolina Central Railway began in 1855 as the Wilmington & Charlotte Railroad Company, soon changing its name to the Wilmington, Charlotte, and Rutherford Railroad (WC&R) to reflect its [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kern, Donald W. The Clinchfield Railroad is a transmountain line connecting the Chesapeake & Ohio at Elkhorn City, Ky., and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Spartanburg, S.C., to serve the bituminous [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stephens, George M. Thaddeus Charles Coleman, a Confederate Army engineer colonel and resident engineer for the completion of the Western North Carolina Railroad, was born on his father's farm seven miles north of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Troxler, George W. Company Shops by George W. Troxler, 2006 See also: Spencer; Southern Railway System; Transportation: Air and Rail (from NC Atlas Revisited) Company Shops was the name given to the [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Railroads were often constructed using the labor of incarcerated people. This photograph was taken circa 1890 by Asheville photographer Thomas H. Lindsey. Lindsey was one of the first photographers [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Hunt, James L. The North Carolina Corporation Commission was the principal state agency for the regulation of railroads, banks, and electric utilities from 1899 to 1933. Created by the General Assembly of 1899, it [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kennedy, George A. CSX Corporation by George A. Kennedy, 2006 See Also: Atlantic Coast Line Railroad; Seaboard Air Line Railway. The CSX corporation was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chessie [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Sheppard, Juanita Ann. Champion McDowell Davis, railroad official, was the son of Robert Burns, a captain in the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, and Cornelia Nixon Davis, daughter of Nicholas N. Nixon, who [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Grant, Dorothy F. Platt Ketcham Dickinson, the founder of a profitable lumber business in Wilmington and a lifetime director of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, was born in New England and migrated to Wilmington [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Horne, Mary Virginia. John Francis Divine, railroad builder, was the son of Michael and Eleanor Patterson Divine from Glasgow, Scotland, who settled in Baltimore, Md., when their son was four. On 15 Sept. 1851 he moved [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Joyner, Whitmel M. The Durham & South Carolina Railroad (D&SC) was one of six rail lines that reached into Durham's prospering tobacco business in the early twentieth century. Beginning in 1905, the D&SC [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Williams, Wiley J. "Experimental Railroad" usually refers to the mile-and-a-quarter road built by the Experimental Railroad Company of Raleigh in 1832-33 (at a cost of $2,700) to allow horse-drawn cars to transport [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Grant, Dorothy F. Charles Frederick Fisher, president of the North Carolina Railroad, politician, and soldier, was born in Salisbury, the only son of Charles and Christine Beard Fisher. His grandfather, Frederick [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hood, Davyd Foard. Foard, John Frederick by Davyd Foard Hood, 1986 12 Apr. 1827–11 May 1909 See also: Foard, Osborne Giles (from the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography) John Frederick Foard, physician, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Foard, John Hanby, Jr. Osborne Giles Foard, planter-enslaver, state legislator, contractor, local official, and religious lay leader, was born in the fork of the Yadkin and South Yadkin rivers in what is now southern Davie [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Tiemann, Thomas K. Freight rates in North Carolina, as in most American states, were regulated from the late nineteenth century until the 1970s. In 1890 the Farmers' Alliance elected many members of the N.C. General [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Terrill, Thomas E. Francis Henry Fries, manufacturer, banker, and railroader, was born in Salem, the son of Francis Levin and Lisetta Maria Vogler Fries. His mother was the granddaughter of the silversmith, John [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Reevy, Tony. The Ghost Train of Bostian's Bridge by Tony Reevy Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Fall 2008. Updated by the Government & Heritage Library, 12/2010. Tar [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Wrinn, James. Graham County Railroad Company by James Wrinn, 2006 See also: Transportation: Air and Rail (from NC Atlas Revisited) The Graham County Railroad Company was one of dozens of logging railways [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Grant, Newell M. James Grant, III, judge, lawyer, and railroad builder, was born in Enfield, Halifax County, the second of eight children of James and Elizabeth Whitaker Grant. He entered The University of North [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bell, John L., Jr. Julius Alexander Gray, banker and railroad president, was the son of Alexander (1768–1864) and Sarah Harper Gray. His paternal grandfather, Robert Gray, lived first in New Castle, N.J., later in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Yearns, W. Buck. William Joseph Hawkins, physician and railroad official, was born on his father's plantation in Franklin (now Vance) County. His grandfather was Revolutionary War Colonel Philemon Hawkins II and his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Photograph of the Licklog (or Lick Log) and McElroy tunnels, located just after milepost marker 121 in McDowell County. Lick log tunnel is 562 feet long and was originally part of the [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Anderson, Jean B. By Elizabeth A. Fenn, Peter H. Wood, Harry L. Watson, Thomas H. Clayton, Sydney Nathans, Thomas C. Parramore, and Jean B. Anderson; Maps by Mark Anderson Moore. Edited by Joe A. Mobley. [...] (from The Way We Lived in North Carolina, NC Office of Archives and History and UNC Press.)

by Williams, Max R. William Johnston, attorney, was best known as a railroad builder and businessman of great frugality and sagacity; but, like many other public-spirited men of his day, he also was active [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Titchener, William D. Andrew Jackson Jones, legislator, financier, and railroad president, was probably the son of William Jones of Bladen County. In the 1850 census he was recorded as a twenty-four-year-old farmer in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kern, Donald W. The Laurinburg & Southern Railroad was incorporated on 4 Mar. 1909 in response to protests from three industries in Laurinburg that were dissatisfied with the service of the railroad on which [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Branch, Paul, Jr. William MacRae, railroad manager, civil engineer, and Confederate general, was born in Wilmington. His family was descended from the clan MacRae from Rosshire on the seacoast of the western Highlands [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Map depicts North Carolina roads and railroads, including the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, the North Carolina Railroad, the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad, the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad, [...] (from NCpedia.)

by . Map of North Carolina showing the Gold Region (1847)This 1847 map of North Carolina includes an inset showing the "Gold [...] (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries.)

by . From North Carolina Maps: "Shows Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina and Collins Canal near Lake Phelps, N.C. Shows cities and towns, ferries and landings, proposed and existing [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Beckwith, James P., Jr. Thomas Williams Mason, planter, judge, railroad commissioner, and orator, was born at Brunswick plantation in Brunswick County, Va. He was the youngest child of Dr. Nathaniel, Jr., and Temperance [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Alexander, Roberta Sue. Rufus Yancey McAden, legislator and financier, was born in Caswell County, a member of a distinguished North Carolina family of Scottish ancestry. His great-grandfather, the Reverend Hugh McAden, was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bailey, Louise Howe. Christopher Gustavus Memminger, lawyer, statesman, and secretary of the Confederate Treasury, was born in Nayinghen in the Dukedom of Württemberg, Germany, the only child of Christopher Godfrey and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Murray, Elizabeth D. R. Mordecai, George Washington by Elizabeth Davis Reid Murray, 1991; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, August 2023 27 Apr. 1801–19 Feb. 1871 George Washington Mordecai, attorney, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kearney, H. Thomas, Jr. Morehead, John Motley by H. Thomas Kearney, Jr., 1991; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, March 2023 4 July 1796–27 Aug. 1866 See also: Blandwood, John Motley Morehead, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Simpson, Marcus B., Jr. The Mount Mitchell Railroad, although fully operational for only four years, was among the most popular and successful tourist attractions in North Carolina in the early twentieth century. Originally [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Lovelace, Jeffrey. Mount Mitchell Railroad and Toll Road by Jeffrey Lovelace From Mount Mitchell: its railroad and toll road, 1994. Copyrighted material. Reprinted with permission. Short line mountain railroads [...] (from Mount Mitchell: Its Railroad and Toll Road, Overmountain Press.)

by Lassiter, Wingate, Bingham, Warren L. The Norfolk Southern Railroad was founded on New Year's Day 1883, with its original road running from Norfolk, Va., to Elizabeth City, N.C. Its predecessor, the Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Trelease, Allen W. The North Carolina Railroad (NCRR), under lease since 1999 to the Norfolk Southern Corporation, was chartered in 1849 and completed in 1856 from Goldsboro through Raleigh, Greensboro, and Salisbury [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. The North Carolina Transportation Museum at Spencer is a North Carolina State Historic Site occupying the buildings of the Southern Railway's central repair facility, begun in 1896. Approximately [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mammen, Edwin H. The "Numbers of Carlton" were 22 essays "addressed to the People of North Carolina on a Central Rail-road through the State" written by Joseph Caldwell, the first president of the University of North [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parramore, Thomas C. James Owen, legislator, state official, U.S. senator, and promoter, was the oldest son of Thomas and Eleanor Porterfield Owen of Bladen County. He was the brother of Governor John Owen. Following his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bowman, Charles H., Jr. John Tyrant Patrick, journalist and resort developer, was born in Wadesboro, the youngest of six children of William H. and Margaret A. Campbell Patrick. The Civil War interrupted his formal [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Miller, Patricia J. Hiram Voss Paul, poet, author, editor, and journalist, was born in New Bern of Scot-Irish ancestry. His forefathers, the McCotters and the Pauls, were among the first settlers of Albemarle County in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Poland, Jean Cameron. Robert Caldwell Pearson, merchant, postmaster, bank and railroad president, Democratic leader, jurist, and gold mine and flour mill owner, was born at the family plantation, Silvercreek, on Silver [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Uzzell, Odell. Perry, Samuel L. by Odell Uzzell, 1994; Revised October 2022. Related Entries: African American; Civil Rights; Transportation; Exodusters b. 1849 Samuel L. Perry, teacher and civil rights [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mceachern, Leora Hiatt. Post, James Francis by Leora Hiatt McEachern, 1994 24 Feb. 1851–5 Jan. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Brawley, James S. Charles Price, legislator and corporation lawyer, was born in Warrenton, the fourth child of John and Martha Reynolds Price, whose grandfather was a native of Scotland. His father, John Price, was a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Freeman, Margery. Railroad bridge in a Mexican valleyRailroad bridge in a Mexican valleyA railroad bridge connects two steep rocky hillsides. The lower levels of the hillsides are carpeted in trees. The railroad [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Freeman, Margery. Railroad bridge in Chihuahua, MexicoRailroad bridge in Chihuahua, MexicoA single-track railroad circles around a steep, tree-covered hill. A bridge crosses a river bed that has a thin stream of [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Hunt, James L. The Railroad Commission, or Board of Railroad Commissioners, was North Carolina's first attempt to regulate businesses through a bureaucratic state agency. The commission was established by the [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Freeman, Margery. Railroad station in Chihuahua, MexicoRailroad station in Chihuahua, MexicoMen with briefcases wearing business attire stand engaged in conversation on a train platform. A family with small children [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Detreville, John R., Wait, Douglas A. Railroads by Douglas A. Wait and John R. deTreville, 2006 See also: Atlantic Coast Line Railroad; Carolina Central Railway; CSX Corporation; Norfolk Southern Railroad; North Carolina [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Detreville, John R., Wait, Douglas A. Part i: Introduction, Part ii: First Rail Lines and the Birth of the North Carolina Railroad, Part iii: The Civil War, Postwar Struggles, and the Transportation of Agricultural Products, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Detreville, John R., Wait, Douglas A. Part i: Introduction, Part ii: First Rail Lines and the Birth of the North Carolina Railroad, Part iii: The Civil War, Postwar Struggles, and the Transportation of Agricultural [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Detreville, John R., Wait, Douglas A. Part i: Introduction, Part ii: First Rail Lines and the Birth of the North Carolina Railroad, Part iii: The Civil War, Postwar Struggles, and the Transportation of Agricultural Products, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Detreville, John R., Wait, Douglas A. Part i: Introduction, Part ii: First Rail Lines and the Birth of the North Carolina Railroad, Part iii: The Civil War, Postwar Struggles, and the Transportation of Agricultural [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Railroads and textile mills in North Carolina, 1896 Map shows locations of North Carolina cotton and woolen mills, 1896. Counties are drawn with present-day boundaries for [...] (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries.)

by . Railroads and tobacco mills in North Carolina, 1896 Map shows locations of tobacco factories and railroads in North Carolina, 1896. Present-day county boundaries are provided for [...] (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries.)

by Neal, Larry K., Jr. During World War II, the U.S. Army had a series of railroad passenger cars built to carry wounded soldiers from hospital ships to military hospitals across the United States. Instead of regular seats [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Lunk, Daniel. Railroads in North Carolina, 1860 A map of the railroads of North Carolina as they were in 1860. Counties are drawn with present-day boundaries for reference.  See a map of the railroads [...] (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries.)

by Lunk, Daniel. Railroads in North Carolina, 1896 A map of the railroads of North Carolina as they were in 1896. Counties are drawn with present-day boundaries for reference.  See a map of the railroads [...] (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries.)

by . Railway station in Charlotte, 1898Railway station in Charlotte, 1898The new railway station in Charlotte, North Carolina, [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by . Railway station, Charlotte, 1888Railway station, Charlotte, 1888A small railway station in Charlotte, North Carolina, [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Stokes, Matt. Raleigh and Gaston Railroad By Matt Stokes, Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History, 2007; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, January [...] (from Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Cecelski, David S. A native of Rocky Mount, 60 miles east of Raleigh, Henry Ramsey Jr. has had a distinguished career as a lawyer, law school professor and judge in California. He was also dean of Howard University Law [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Bromberg, Alan B. James Lowrie Robinson, legislator, lieutenant governor, and railroad champion, was born in Franklin, Macon County, the son of James, a merchant and native of Tennessee, and Matilda Lowrie Robinson, a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hill, Michael. Saluda Grade by Michael Hill, 2006 Saluda grade, the steepest standard-gauge main line railway grade in the United States, crests in the center of the Polk County town of Saluda. Since it [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kennedy, George A. The Seaboard Air Line Railway traced its corporate ancestry to the Seaboard Inland Air Line, which was created through an informal agreement in the decade after the Civil War between the Seaboard [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Judith Shaw was born and raised in New York City, but every summer of her childhood she visited her father's hometown of La Grange, 75 miles east of Raleigh. She loved the little town that calls [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by . Sherman's men destroy a railroadUnion General William Tecumseh Sherman's men destroy a railroad in Atlanta during the Civil [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Deaton, Carol Dalton. Smith, William Alexander by Carol Dalton Deaton, 1994 9 Jan. 1828–16 May 1888 William Alexander Smith, farmer, railroad president, legislator, and congressman, was born in Warren County, the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Joyner, Johnny. In February 1904 nine men sat down in the grand chamber of the Supreme Court of the United States. Facing them were lawyers from the states of North Carolina and South Dakota. The lawyers waited [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Bingham, Warren L. The Southern Railway System, formed from the remnants of several failing Virginia lines, was incorporated in Virginia in 1894 and began operating the same year (its earliest predecessor line was [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bishop, RoAnn. State Transportation Signs "Who Did That Sign Say?" by RoAnn Bishop Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Spring 2005. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Weidman, Rich. Swannanoa Gap Tunnel by Rich Weidman, 2006; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, October 2023 See also: Gaps The Swannanoa Gap Tunnel, a 1,832-foot-long railway tunnel [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Pruitt, Elaine Doerschuk. Tate, Samuel McDowell by Elaine Doerschuk Pruitt, 1996 6 Sept. 1830–25 June 1897 Samuel McDowell Tate, merchant, soldier, railroad official, and legislator, was born in Morganton. Of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Lilly, Walt, Agan, Kelly. The Tornado: A Symbol of Rebirth for Raleigh By Walt Lilly, North Carolina State University, 2013, with contributions by Kelly Agan, NCpedia Staff Despite its position as a state capital, [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Powell, William S. Time zones were determined locally until the coming of railroads. Schedules then became essential, particularly for trains traveling in an east-west direction. In the decade before 1880, the need for [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Freeman, Margery. Train switchback at Suffragio, MexicoTrain switchback at Suffragio, MexicoA single train track skirts a steep, tree-covered hill. A cargo train snakes along the track between the hillside and marshy [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Turner, Walter R. When World War I ended in 1918 and the troops came home, folks felt optimistic about the future and eager to get on with their lives. This optimism led to an extraordinary decade that brought major [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Neal, Larry K., Jr. Today, people rarely think twice about traveling to, from, or within North Carolina— whether by car, train, or airplane. Within hours a person can travel anywhere in the United States or in the [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Brenneman, Kurt, Elmes, Sherry M., Hauser, Edwin W., Rash, J. Dennis, Swartz, Nicholas J. Transportation part vi: Air and rail travel  by Edwin W. Hauser, J. Dennis Rash, Sherry M. Elmes, and Nicholas J. Swartz, 2005. Reprinted with permission from The North Carolina Atlas [...] (from North Carolina Atlas Revisited.)

by Minsley, Brad. Tweetsie Railroad, the central attraction of a "Wild West" theme park of the same name in Watauga County, dates back to 1866, when the Tennessee legislature granted the East Tennessee & Western [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Freeman, Margery. Two train tracks merge in Chihuahua, MexicoTwo train tracks merge in Chihuahua, MexicoA single set of train tracks divides into two as a train travels toward the camera. The tracks travel through low [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Freeman, Margery. Unused railroad tracks skirting Otavalo, EcuadorUnused railroad tracks skirting Otavalo, Ecuador Railroad tracks overgrown with weeds extend into the distance. A few houses border the tracks. [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Faulkner, Ronnie W. William Worrell Vass, Sr., railroad executive, was born near Oxford in Granville County, the son of Thomas, Jr., a planter, and Lucy Hester Vass. The family of Thomas Vass, Sr., a Baptist minister [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Rhoades, William Weaver, Rhoades, Verne, Jr. William Trotter Weaver, pioneer in furnishing electric power to western North Carolina, was born in the Reems Creek valley near Weaverville, the youngest son of James Thomas and Hester Trotter [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Webb, Mena F., Mickle, Donna R. Thomas Webb, lawyer and railroad executive, was born in Hillsborough, the youngest son of Dr. James and Annie Alves Huske Webb. His father, Dr. James Webb, practiced medicine in Hillsborough for [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kern, Donald W., Castano, Vincent. Before the North Carolina Railroad was completed in 1856, a crop failure in the west prompted citizens to push for a railroad to connect the eastern and central counties with Asheville. In response, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Carraway, Gertrude S. John Dalton Whitford, legislator, railroad president, soldier, and historian, was born in New Bern, the son of Hardy (1793–1841) and Mary James Clark Whitford (1800–1884), who were married on 23 Dec. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Anthony, Robert G., Jr. Whiting, Seymour Webster by Robert G. Anthony, Jr., 1996 15 Aug. 1816–2 Jan. 1855 Seymour Webster Whiting, banker, railroad official, and poet, was a native of Stratford, Conn. When about [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Watkins, Ralph M. Gaston Hillary Wilder, lawyer, legislator, and railroad president, was the son of Hillary (1784–1849), a planter and legislator, and Esther Avera Wilder, both natives of Johnston County. While Gaston [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kennedy, George A. Wilmington & Weldon Railroad by George A. Kennedy, 2006 See also: Transportation: Air and Rail (from NC Atlas Revisited) The Wilmington & Weldon Railroad (W&W) was the new name [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Wilmington and Weldon Railroad timetable: Night express train north An 1859 timetable for the Wilmington and Weldon [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by . Wilmington and Weldon Railroad timetable: Night express train southWilmington and Weldon Railroad timetable: Night express train south An 1859 timetable for the Wilmington and Weldon [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Kennedy, George A. The Wilmington Sea Coast Railroad, also known as the Wilmington & Sea Coast Railroad, was chartered in 1887 to provide transportation between Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach. On 12 June 1888 a [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kennedy, George A. Wilmington, Brunswick, and Southern Railroad by George A. Kennedy, 2006 See also: Transportation: Air and Rail (from NC Atlas Revisited), Railroads The Wilmington, Brunswick, and [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bromberg, Alan B. James William Wilson, engineer, was born in Granville County, the son of the Reverend Alexander, a noted Presbyterian clergyman and educator, and Mary Willis Wilson. He grew up in Alamance County, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Sullivan, John. Originally chartered in 1894, the Winston-Salem Southbound Railway from Winston-Salem to Wadesboro was not completed until 1910. The railroad was the idea of Francis Henry Fries, and was backed [...] (from NCpedia.)