| South Carolina Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Locale | South Carolina |
| Dates of operation | 1843–1894 |
| Successor | Southern Railway |
| Track gauge | 5 ft |
| Headquarters | Charleston, South Carolina |
The South Carolina Railroad was the direct successor of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, which had operated its 136-mile line from Charleston, South Carolina, to Hamburg, South Carolina, since 1833. In 1843, the SCC&RR and the abortive Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad reconsolidated to become the South Carolina Railroad.
In 1881, it was reorganized as the South Carolina Railway. After entering receivership in 1889, it was reorganized once again five years later as the South Carolina and Georgia Railroad, ending the SCRR's identity as a home-grown intrastate line.
Southern Railway (now Norfolk Southern Railway) gained control of the line in 1899 and consolidated it into the Southern Railway – Carolina Division in 1902.
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After 10 years of full operation, and the breakaway and reconsolidation of the LC&CRR, the South Carolina Railroad was still obliged by its original charter to connect with Camden. Despite hard economic times, and heavy debt inherited from the failed LC&CRR project, this branch was completed in 1848, fixing the route map for the next 50 years.
During the great prosperity and statewide railroad expansion of the 1850s, the SCRR enjoyed a doubling of its receipts but was obliged to focus on paying off debt, upgrading its physical plant and resolving inefficiencies in its route. After the Civil War, financial losses due to operations of Federal military forces were estimated at $1,438,142. Losses due to the downfall of the Confederacy were $3,803,917, including defaulted CSA bonds, uncollected transport charges and 111 emancipated slaves.
Competition crept in thanks to previous failure to expand. In 1867 the SCRR fought an unsuccessful "railroad war" during construction of the competing Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad by interfering in the courts, claiming an exclusive charter for any railroad connecting Charleston, Columbia, Camden or Augusta. A grade crossing in Columbia was protested in court, then blocked by a parked train, then torn up physically and finally threatened by a steamed-up locomotive ready to move forward to block at any moment. All of these obstructions were quickly dismissed or prohibited.
With debt over $6 million in 1873, the line was unable to expand beyond investments in some collateral lines, including the Greenville and Columbia Railroad. In a pinch, "fare tickets" were found to be helpful. Widely accepted as currency, each unit was good for a 25-mile passage along the line.
Despite these and all other efforts, the road went bankrupt in 1878 and was knocked down to New York interests for $1,275,000. Reorganized as the South Carolina Railway, the line limped along until sold again in 1889 to a five-year receivership under the aggressive management of Daniel H. Chamberlain, former Reconstruction governor of the state. The original South Carolina Railroad was finally merged into the South Carolina and Georgia Railroad in 1894.
The inclined plane at Aiken, South Carolina, was finally replaced by a modest rerouting and long cut in 1852. The terminus at Hamburg had never lived up to its promise, and the lack of an extension across the Savannah River to Augusta, Georgia, was an increasing embarrassment. After an attempt to gain control of the road bridge at Augusta, the SCRR finally overcame the resistance of local interests, built its own bridge in 1853 and made a direct connection with the Georgia Railroad in 1859. Local interests had also stopped the line at the city limits of the city of Charleston, greatly hampering connection to seaport terminals, and were not overcome until 1885.
Piers of the 1853 Savannah River bridge at Augusta are still visible.
In fulfillment of the original 1827 charter, a 38-mile branch to Camden was completed in 1848.
| Preceded by Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad |
South Carolina Railroad 1843 – 1881 |
Succeeded by South Carolina Railway |