List of Kentucky railroads

The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of Kentucky.

Common freight carriers

Private freight carriers

Passenger carriers

Defunct railroads

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Name Mark System[nb 1] From To Successor Notes
Altamont and Manchester Railroad L&N 1890 1898 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Artemus–Jellico Railroad AJR 1924 1952 N/A
Ashland Coal and Iron Railway C&O 1880 1933 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad B&O
BO		 B&O ≤1905 1987 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Bardstown and Louisville Railroad L&N 1854 1864 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Barren County Railroad L&N 1856 1868 Glasgow Railroad
Beattyville and Cumberland Gap Railroad L&N 1893 1900 Louisville and Atlantic Railroad
Big Sandy Railway C&O 1902 1906 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway of Kentucky
Big Sandy and Cumberland Railroad BS&C N&W 1900 1932 Norfolk and Western Railway
Big Sandy and Kentucky River Railway BS&K C&O 1912 1933 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Bowling Green and Tennessee Railroad L&N 1850 1852 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Bowlinggreen Portage Railway L&N 1836 1853 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Brooksville Railroad 1895 1919 Brooksville and Ohio River Railroad
Brooksville and Ohio River Railroad 1919 1931 N/A
Buck Creek Railroad N&W 1924? 1936 Norfolk and Western Railway
Burlington Northern Inc. BN 1970 1981 Burlington Northern Railroad
Burlington Northern Railroad BN 1981 1996 BNSF Railway
Burnside and Cincinnati Railway SOU 1903 1905 Cincinnati, Burnside and Cumberland River Railway
Burnside and Cumberland River Railway SOU 1890 1905 Burnside and Cincinnati Railway
Cadiz Railroad CAD 1901 1988 N/A
Caney Valley Railway 1910 1933? N/A
Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway CC&O, CCO ACL
L&N		 c. 1915 1990 CSX Transportation
Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway 1882 1895 N/A Sold at foreclosure; no railroad owned in Kentucky
Carrollton and Worthville Railroad 1905 1929 Carrollton Railroad
Central City Passenger and Transportation Company C&O 1888 1888 Passenger and Belt Railway
Central Mississippi Railroad IC 1877 1878 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Central Transfer Company L&N
SOU		 1884 1890 Central Transfer Railway and Storage Company
Central Transfer Railway and Storage Company L&N
SOU		 1890 Still exists as a joint subsidiary of CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway
Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad C&O 1887 1893 Ohio River and Charleston Railway of Kentucky
Chattaroi Railway C&O 1873 1888 Ohio and Big Sandy Railroad
Chesapeake and Nashville Railway L&N 1884 1892 Gallatin and Scottsville Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway C&O
CO		 C&O c. 1880 1987 CSX Transportation
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway of Kentucky C&O 1904 1907 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Northern Railway C&O 1914 1930 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad IC 1882 1896 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad CB&Q
CBQ		 CB&Q ? 1970 Burlington Northern Inc.
Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway CI&L
CIL		 MON 1897 1956 Monon Railroad
Chicago, Memphis and Gulf Railroad IC 1910 1963 Illinois Central Railroad
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad MILW MILW 1973 1985 The Milwaukee Road, Inc.
Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad IC 1878 1951 Illinois Central Railroad
Cincinnati, Burnside and Cumberland River Railway SOU 1905 1970 Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway
Cincinnati, Flemingsburg and Southeastern Railroad 1905 1920? Flemingsburg and Northern Railroad
Cincinnati, Green River and Nashville Railroad L&N 1882 1884 Chesapeake and Nashville Railway
Cincinnati, Lexington and East Tennessee Railroad SOU 1867 1873 Cincinnati Southern Railway
Cincinnati and Southeastern Railway 1880 1892? Covington, Flemingsburg and Ashland Railway
Cincinnati Southern Railway SOU 1869 Still exists as a lessor of Norfolk Southern Railway operating subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway
City Passenger Railway C&O 1886 1888 Central City Passenger and Transportation Company
Clinchfield Railroad CRR ACL
L&N		 1924 1983 Seaboard System Railroad
Clinchfield Northern Railway of Kentucky ACL
L&N		 1911 1940 Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway
Consolidated Rail Corporation CR 1976 1994 Louisville and Indiana Railroad
Covington and Cincinnati Elevated Railroad and Transfer and Bridge Company C&O 1886 1985 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Covington and Cincinnati Pier Bridge Company C&O 1884 1886 Covington and Cincinnati Elevated Railroad and Transfer and Bridge Company
Covington, Flemingsburg and Ashland Railway 1892 1905 Cincinnati, Flemingsburg and Southeastern Railroad
Covington, Flemingsburg and Pound Gap Railway 1876 1879 Licking Valley Railway
Covington, Flemingsburg and Southeastern Railway 1880 1880 Cincinnati and Southeastern Railway
Covington and Lexington Railroad L&N 1849 1859 Kentucky Central Railroad
Covington Short Route Transfer Railway C&O 1888 1904 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway of Kentucky
Cumberland Railroad CMB 1902 1924 Artemus–Jellico Railroad
Cumberland Railway SOU 1905? 1944? Southern Railway
Cumberland Railway 1882 1882 Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway
Cumberland and Manchester Railroad C&M L&N 1915 1936 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Cumberland and Ohio Railroad L&N 1869 1878 Northern Division of the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad
Southern Division of the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad
Cumberland River and Tennessee Railroad L&N 1893 1901 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
East Kentucky Southern Railway EKS 1928 1933 N/A
East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway SOU 1890? 1894 Southern Railway
Eastern Kentucky Railway EK 1870 1929 East Kentucky Southern Railway
Elizabethtown, Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad C&O 1869 1902 Lexington and Big Sandy Railway
Elizabethtown and Paducah Railroad IC 1867 1874 Louisville, Paducah and Southwestern Railroad
Elkhorn and Beaver Valley Railway C&O 1904 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Elkhorn Southern Railway ACL
L&N		 1906 1911 Clinchfield Northern Railway of Kentucky
Elkton Railroad L&N 1871 1884 Elkton and Guthrie Railroad
Elkton and Guthrie Railroad L&N 1884 1957 N/A
Evansville, Henderson and Nashville Railroad L&N 1867 1872 St. Louis and South Eastern Railway
Evansville, Owensboro and Nashville Railroad L&N 1873 1877 Owensboro and Nashville Railroad
Falls City Belt Line Railway PRR 1902 1903 Pennsylvania Terminal Railway
Flemingsburg and Northern Railroad 1920 1955 N/A
Frankfort and Cincinnati Railroad FCIN 1927 1985 N/A
Frankfort and Cincinnati Railway 1897 1927 Frankfort and Cincinnati Railroad
Frankfort, Paris and Big Sandy Railroad 1871 1881 Paris, Georgetown and Frankfort Railroad
Gallatin and Scottsville Railway L&N 1906 1907 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Glasgow Railroad L&N 1868 1899 Glasgow Railway
Glasgow Railway L&N 1899 Still exists as a lessor of CSX Transportation
Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad GM&N GM&O 1926 1938 N/A
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad GM&O
GMO		 GM&O 1940 1972 Illinois Central Gulf Railroad
Hardin Southern Railroad HSRR 1993 2005 KWT Railway
Henderson Belt Railroad L&N 1888 1957 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Henderson Bridge Company L&N 1872 1906 Henderson Bridge and Railroad Company
Henderson Bridge and Railroad Company L&N 1906 1906 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Henderson and Nashville Railroad L&N 1837 1867 Evansville, Henderson and Nashville Railroad
Hickman and Obion Railroad L&N 1854 1855 Nashville and North Western Railroad
Hodgenville and Elizabethtown Railway IC 1884 1902 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad IC IC 1882? 1972 Illinois Central Gulf Railroad
Illinois Central Gulf Railroad ICG 1972 1988 Illinois Central Railroad
Indiana, Alabama and Texas Railroad L&N 1885 1887 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Indiana Hi-Rail Corporation IHRC 1986 1996 CSX Transportation
Jellico, Bird-Eye and Northern Railway L&N 1893 1902 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
J&J Railroad JJRD 1983 1993 Hardin Southern Railroad
Kentucky Central Railroad L&N 1861 1887 Kentucky Central Railway
Kentucky Central Railway L&N 1887 1891 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Kentucky Highlands Railroad L&N 1907 1915 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Kentucky and Indiana Bridge Company SOU 1880 1900 Kentucky and Indiana Bridge and Railroad Company
Kentucky and Indiana Bridge and Railroad Company SOU 1900 1910 Kentucky and Indiana Terminal Railroad
Kentucky and Indiana Terminal Railroad KIT SOU 1910 1981 Southern Railway
Kentucky Midland Railroad IC 1904 1922 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Kentucky Midland Railway 1888 1897 Frankfort and Cincinnati Railway
Kentucky Northern Railroad 1896 1900 N/A
Kentucky, Rockcastle and Cumberland Railroad 1913 N/A
Kentucky and South Atlantic Railroad C&O 1888 1902 Lexington and Big Sandy Railway
Kentucky and South Atlantic Railway C&O 1882 1887 Kentucky and South Atlantic Railroad
Kentucky Southern Railroad L&N 1872 1882 Louisville, St. Louis and Texas Railway
Kentucky and Tennessee Railroad GM&O 1870 1872 Mobile and Ohio Railroad
Kentucky and Tennessee Railroad 1902 1904 Kentucky and Tennessee Railway
Kentucky Union Railway L&N 1854 1894 Lexington and Eastern Railway
Kentucky Valley Railroad IC 1905 1913 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Kentucky and Virginia Railroad L&N 1915 1915 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Kentucky Western Railway IC 1899 1902 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Kinniconnick and Freestone Railway C&O 1890 1908 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway of Kentucky
Knox Creek Railway N&W 1912 1936 Norfolk and Western Railway
Knoxville, Cumberland Gap and Louisville Railroad L&N 1888 1895 Knoxville, Cumberland Gap and Louisville Railway
Knoxville, Cumberland Gap and Louisville Railway L&N 1895 1896 Middlesborough Railroad
Lenox Railroad 1918 1926? N/A
Levisa River Railroad C&O 1911 1946? Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad C&O 1852 1864 Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad, Eastern Division
Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad, Western Division
Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad, Eastern Division C&O 1865 1880 Ashland Coal and Iron Railway
Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad, Western Division C&O 1865 1871 Elizabethtown, Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad
Lexington and Big Sandy Railway C&O 1902 1904 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway of Kentucky
Lexington and Danville Railroad SOU 1850 1858 Lexington and Southern Kentucky Railroad
Lexington and Eastern Railway L&N 1894 1915 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Lexington and Frankfort Railroad L&N 1848 1869 Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railroad
Lexington and Ohio Railroad LXOH 1996 2003 R.J. Corman Railroad/Central Kentucky Lines
Lexington and Ohio Railroad L&N 1830 1842 Lexington and Frankfort Railroad
Louisville and Frankfort Railroad
Lexington and Southern Kentucky Railroad SOU 1860 1867 Cincinnati, Lexington and East Tennessee Railroad
Lexington Union Station Company C&O
L&N		 1905
Licking and Lexington Railroad L&N 1847 1849 Covington and Lexington Railroad
Licking River Railroad 1899 1913 N/A
Licking Valley Railway 1896 1899 Licking River Railroad
Licking Valley Railway 1880 1880 Covington, Flemingsburg and Southeastern Railway
Long Fork Railway C&O 1912 1933 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Louisville and Atlantic Railroad L&N 1899 1909 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville Bridge Company PRR 1856 1918 Louisville Bridge and Railroad Company
Louisville Bridge and Railroad Company PRR 1918 1918 Louisville Bridge and Terminal Railway
Louisville Bridge and Terminal Railway PRR 1918 1954 Penndel Company
Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railroad L&N 1869 1877 Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railway
Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railway L&N 1877 1881 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville, Cloverport and Western Railway L&N 1880 1882 Louisville, St. Louis and Texas Railway
Louisville and Frankfort Railroad L&N 1847 1869 Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railroad
Louisville, Hardinsburg and Western Railway L&N 1888 1892 Louisville, St. Louis and Texas Railway
Louisville, Harrodsburg and Virginia Railroad 1868 1884 Louisville Southern Railroad Chartered, but never laid track until reörganization
Louisville, Harrods Creek and Westport Railroad L&N 1879 1904 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville, Harrods Creek and Westport Railway L&N 1870 1879 Louisville, Harrods Creek and Westport Railroad
Louisville, Henderson and St. Louis Railway LH&S
LHS		 L&N 1896 1984 Seaboard System Railroad
Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company NYC 1888 1917 Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge and Railroad Company
Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge and Railroad Company NYC 1917 1968 N/A
Louisville and Nashville Railroad L&N
LN		 L&N 1850 1983 Seaboard System Railroad
Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railway MON 1882 1897 Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway
Louisville, Paducah and Southwestern Railroad IC 1874 1876 Paducah and Elizabethtown Railroad
Louisville Railway Transfer Company L&N 1871 1893 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville, St. Louis and Texas Railway L&N 1882 1896 Louisville, Henderson and St. Louis Railway
Louisville Southern Railroad LS SOU 1884 1894 Southern Railway in Kentucky
Louisville and Southwestern Railway SOU 1882 1889 Louisville Southern Railroad
Madisonville, Hartford and Eastern Railroad L&N 1905 1912 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Madisonville and Shawneetown Straight Line Railroad L&N 1870 1872 St. Louis and Southeastern Railway
Mammoth Cave Railroad 1874 1931 N/A
Maysville and Big Sandy Railroad C&O 1850 1904 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway of Kentucky
Maysville and Lexington Railroad L&N 1850 1856 Maysville and Lexington Railroad, Northern Division
Maysville and Lexington Railroad, Southern Division
Maysville and Lexington Railroad, North Division L&N 1876 1921 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Maysville and Lexington Railroad, Northern Division L&N 1868 1875 Maysville and Lexington Railroad, North Division
Maysville and Lexington Railroad, Southern Division L&N 1868 1921 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Memphis, Paducah and Northern Railroad IC 1878 1881 Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad
Middle Division of the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad L&N 1880 1888 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Middlesborough Railroad L&N 1895 1896 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Middlesborough Belt Railroad L&N 1890 1895 Middlesborough Railroad
Middlesboro Mineral Railway SOU 1900 1905 Cumberland Railway
Millers Creek Railroad C&O 1909 1933 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Milwaukee Road, Inc. MILW MILW 1985 1986 Soo Line Railroad
Mississippi Central Railroad IC 1859 1874 New Orleans, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad
Mississippi River Railway IC 1860 1872 Paducah and Memphis Railroad
Mobile and Ohio Railroad GM&O 1848 1940 Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
Monon Railroad MON MON 1956 1971 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Morehead and North Fork Railroad 1905 1973? N/A
Morehead and West Liberty Railroad 1906 Morehead and North Fork Railroad
Morganfield and Atlanta Railroad L&N 1905 1921 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Mount Sterling Coal Road C&O 1874 1882 Kentucky and South Atlantic Railway
Mountain Central Railway 1914 1928 N/A
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad L&N 1873 Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
Nashville and Clarksville Railroad IC 1901 1902 Tennessee Central Railroad
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway N&C
NC		 L&N 1873 1957 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Nashville and North Western Railroad L&N 1855 1871 Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
New Orleans and Ohio Railroad IC 1852 1869 Paducah and Gulf Railroad
New Orleans, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad IC 1874 1877 Central Mississippi Railroad
Newport and Cincinnati Bridge Company L&N 1868 1904 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Newport News and Mississippi Valley Company C&O Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway N&W
NW		 N&W 1998 Norfolk Southern Railway
Northern Division of the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad L&N 1878 1900 Shelbyville, Bloomfield and Ohio Railroad
Ohio and Big Sandy Railroad C&O 1889 1902 Lexington and Big Sandy Railway
Ohio and Kentucky Railway 1894 1933 N/A
Ohio and Kentucky Bridge Company C&O 1886 1886 Covington and Cincinnati Elevated Railroad and Transfer and Bridge Company
Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia Railway C&O 1886 1887 Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad
Ohio River and Charleston Railway of Kentucky C&O 1894 1902 Lexington and Big Sandy Railway
Ohio Valley Railroad IC 1880 1886 Ohio Valley Railway
Ohio Valley Railway IC 1886 1897 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Ohio Valley Coal and Mining Company IC 1886 1888 Ohio Valley Railway
Ohio Valley Railroad and Mining Company IC 1882 1886 Ohio Valley Coal and Mining Company
Olympia and Owingsville Railway 1916 1918 N/A
Owensboro, Falls of Rough and Green River Railroad IC 1882 1897 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Owensboro and Nashville Railroad L&N 1877 1881 Owensboro and Nashville Railway
Owensboro and Nashville Railway L&N 1881 1921 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Owensboro and Russellville Railroad L&N 1867 1873 Evansville, Owensboro and Nashville Railroad
Owingsville and Olympia Railroad 1915? 1916 Olympia and Owingsville Railway
Paducah and Elizabethtown Railroad IC 1877 1882 Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad
Paducah and Gulf Railroad IC 1869 1872 Paducah and Memphis Railroad
Paducah and Illinois Railroad PI CB&Q
IC
L&N		 1910 Still exists as a joint subsidiary of the BNSF Railway, Canadian National Railway, and CSX Transportation
Paducah and Memphis Railroad IC 1872 1877 Memphis, Paducah and Northern Railroad
Paducah, Tennessee and Alabama Railroad L&N 1892 1895 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Paducah Union Depot Company IC 1888 1913 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Paris, Georgetown and Frankfort Railroad 1871 1888 Kentucky Midland Railway
Passenger and Belt Railway C&O 1888 1895 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Penn Central Transportation Company PC 1968 1976 Consolidated Rail Corporation
Penndel Company PRR 1954 1976 Consolidated Rail Corporation
Pennsylvania Railroad PRR PRR 1921? 1968 Penn Central Transportation Company
Pennsylvania Terminal Railway PRR 1903 1918 Louisville Bridge and Terminal Railway
Pine Mountain Railroad L&N 1905 1913 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Portsmouth and Tygart Valley Railroad 1892? ≤1911 N/A
Princeton and Ohio River Railroad L&N 1882 1885 Indiana, Alabama and Texas Railroad
Red River Valley Railroad 1914? N/A
Richmond, Nicholasville, Irvine and Beattyville Railroad L&N 1888 1899 Louisville and Atlantic Railroad
Rockcastle Railroad 1913 1913 Rockcastle River Railway
Rockcastle River Railway 1913 1932 N/A
St. Louis and South Eastern Railway L&N 1872 1879 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
St. Louis and Southeastern Railway L&N 1872 1872 St. Louis and South Eastern Railway
Sandy Valley and Elkhorn Railway C&O 1902 1933 Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Seaboard System Railroad SBD 1983 1986 CSX Transportation
Shelby Railroad L&N 1851 1902 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Shelbyville, Bloomfield and Ohio Railroad L&N 1900 1901 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Short Route Railway Transfer Company IC 1873 1897 Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad
Soo Line Railroad SOO 1986 2006 Indiana Rail Road
South Kentucky Railroad IC 1871 1880 Ohio Valley Railroad
South and Western Railroad ACL
L&N		 1905 1908 Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway
South and Western Railway ACL
L&N		 1902 1906 South and Western Railroad
Southern Railway SOU SOU 1894 1990 Norfolk Southern Railway
Southern Railway in Kentucky SOU 1894 1944? Southern Railway
Southern Division of the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad L&N 1878 1903 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Southwestern Railroad SOU 1876 1889 Louisville Southern Railroad
Tennessee Central Railroad IC 1902 1922 Tennessee Central Railway
Tennessee Central Railway TC IC 1922 1968 Illinois Central Railroad
Tennessee and Kentucky Railroad L&N 1881 1881 Owensboro and Nashville Railway
Tradewater Railway TRWY 1982 1995 Western Kentucky Railway
Tug River and Kentucky Railroad N&W 1913 1936 Norfolk and Western Railway
Versailles and Midway Railway SOU 1884 1889 Louisville Southern Railroad
Wasioto and Black Mountain Railroad L&N 1908 1915 Kentucky and Virginia Railroad
Williamson and Pond Creek Railroad N&W 1912 1936 Norfolk and Western Railway
Winchester and Beattyville Railroad L&N 1878 1893 Beattyville and Cumberland Gap Railroad
Woodford Railroad SOU 1871 1889 Louisville Southern Railroad

Electric

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This is one or more of the Class I railroads that the railroad became part of, if any.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.candoltd.com/rail-operation.html

Further reading