List of North Carolina railroads

The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of North Carolina.

Common 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
Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad NS 1897 1912 Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway
Aberdeen and Briar Patch Railway ABPR 1983 1987 Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway
Aberdeen and West End Railroad NS 1889 1897 Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad
Air Line Railroad in South Carolina SOU 1868 1870 Atlanta and Richmond Air–Line Railway
Albemarle and Pantego Railroad NS 1887 1891 Norfolk and Southern Railroad
Albemarle and Raleigh Railroad ACL 1883 1894 Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
Alma Railway 1911 Maxton, Alma and Southbound Railroad
Appalachian Railway 1908 1935 N/A
Asheboro and Montgomery Railroad NS 1896 1897 Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad
Asheville and Craggy Mountain Railway SOU 1889 1941 Southern Railway
Asheville Southern Railway SOU 1905 1941 Southern Railway
Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad SOU 1881 1902 Southern Railway – Carolina Division
Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway SOU 1877 1996 Norfolk Southern Railway
Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway L&N 1896 1905 Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Atlanta and Richmond Air–Line Railway SOU 1870 1876 North Carolina Air–Line Railway
Atlantic and Carolina Railroad 1914 1948 N/A
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ACL ACL 1898 1967 Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Atlantic and Danville Railway AD N&W 1889 1962 Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway
Atlantic and East Carolina Railway AEC SOU 1939 2003 Norfolk Southern Railway
Atlantic and French Broad Valley Railroad SOU 1881 1882 Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway
Atlantic and North Carolina Company NS 1905 1906 Norfolk and Southern Railway
Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad ANC NS 1852 1989 North Carolina Railroad
Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio Railroad SOU 1855 1894 Southern Railway
Atlantic and Western Railroad 1889 1927 Atlantic and Western Railway
Atlantic and Yadkin Railway SOU 1899 1950 Southern Railway
Beaufort and Morehead Railroad BMH 1937 1998 North Carolina Railroad
Beaufort and Morehead Railway BMH 1991 2002 Carolina Rail Services
Black Mountain Railway ACL/ L&N 1910 1955 Yancey Railroad
Blue Ridge and Atlantic Railway SOU 1901 1909 Tallulah Falls Railway
Bonlee and Western Railway 1908 1932 N/A
Caldwell and Northern Railroad SOU 1893 1910 Carolina and Northwestern Railway
Cape Fear and Northern Railway SCL 1898 1903 Durham and Southern Railway
Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway ACL, SOU 1879 1898 Atlantic and Yadkin Railway, Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
Carolina Railroad NS 1912 1931 N/A
Carolina, Atlantic and Western Railway SAL 1914 1915 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Carolina Central Railroad SAL 1880 1901 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Carolina Central Railway SAL 1873 1880 Carolina Central Railroad
Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway CC&O ACL/ L&N 1908 1990 CSX Transportation
Carolina Coast Railroad NS 1903 1906 Norfolk and Southern Railway
Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway SOU 1882 1895 N/A Sold at foreclosure; no property in North Carolina
Carolina and Georgia Railway 1919 1927 Tennessee and North Carolina Railway
Carolina, Glenanna and Pee Dee Railway and Development Company ACL/ N&W 1905 1907 Carolina Valley Railway
Carolina Narrow-gauge Railroad SOU 1872 1873 Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad
Carolina and Northeastern Railroad 1917 1931 Carolina and Northeastern Railway
Carolina and Northeastern Railway 1931 1934 N/A
Carolina Northern Railroad SAL 1899 1905 Raleigh and Charleston Railroad
Carolina and Northwestern Railway CRN NS 1994 Caldwell County Railroad Line from Hickory to Lenoir purchased by Caldwell County Economic Development Commission; Leased to CWCY.
Carolina and Northwestern Railway CRN SOU 1982 1988 Southern Railway
Carolina and Northwestern Railway CRN SOU 1897 1974 Norfolk Southern Railway
Carolina Rail Services CRIJ 1986 2005 Morehead and South Fork Railroad
Carolina Southern Railway 1926 1961 N/A
Carolina and Tennessee Southern Railway SOU 1902 1944 N/A
Carolina Valley Railway ACL/ N&W 1907 1909 Piedmont Railway
Carolina and Yadkin River Railway ACL/ N&W 1912 1923 High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad
Carthage Railroad 1886 1920 Randolph and Cumberland Railway
Carthage and Pinehurst Railroad NS 1907 1922 N/A
Carthage and Western Railroad 1893
Cashie and Chowan Railroad and Lumber Company 1883
Cashie and Roanoke Railroad 1887 1893 Wellington and Powellsville Railroad
Chapel Hill Iron Mountain Railroad SOU 1873 1879 State University Railroad
Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad ACL/ L&N, SOU 1886 1893 Ohio River and Charleston Railway
Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad SOU 1869 1894 Southern Railway
Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad SOU 1847 1869 Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad
Chatham Railroad SAL 1861 1871 Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad
Cheraw and Coalfields Railroad ACL 1867 1868 Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad
Cheraw and Darlington Railroad ACL 1882 1898 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad ACL 1868 1882 Cheraw and Darlington Railroad
Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad SOU 1873 1897 Carolina and Northwestern Railway
Chowan River Railway and Baltimore Steamboat Company ACL 1883 1886 Chowan and Southern Railroad
Chowan and Southern Railroad ACL 1886 1889 Norfolk and Carolina Railroad
Cliffside Railroad CLIF 1905 1987 N/A
Clinchfield Railroad CRR ACL/ L&N 1924 1983 Seaboard System Railroad
Clinton and Faison Railroad ACL 1881 1885 Clinton and Warsaw Railroad
Clinton and Warsaw Railroad ACL 1885 1888 Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
Dan Valley and Yadkin River Railroad SOU 1879 1880 North Carolina Midland Railroad
Dan Valley and Yadkin River Narrow Gauge Railroad SOU 1881 1883 North Carolina Midland Railroad
Danville, Mocksville and Southwestern Railroad SOU 1880 1899 Danville and Western Railway
Danville and New River Railroad SOU 1873 1890 Danville and Western Railway
Danville and Western Railway D&W SOU 1891
Dismal Swamp Railroad 1896 1941 N/A
Dover and South Bound Railroad 1905 1930 N/A
Dunn-Erwin Railway DER 1987 1989 Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad
Durham and Charlotte Railroad NS 1893 1912 Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway
Durham and Northern Railway SAL 1887 1901 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Durham and Roxboro Railroad N&W 1885 1887 Lynchburg and Durham Railroad
Durham and South Carolina Railroad NS 1905 1993 New Hope Valley Railway
Durham and Southern Railway DS SCL 1904 1981 Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Durham Union Station Company N&W/ SAL/ SOU 1904 1965 N/A
Duval Transportation of the Carolinas 1987 1987 Mid Atlantic Railroad
East Carolina Railway ACL 1898 1965 N/A
East Carolina Land and Railway Company ACL 1887 1894 Wilmington, Newbern and Norfolk Railroad
East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad ETWN 1866 1950 N/A
Edenton and Norfolk Railway NS 1888 1902 Suffolk and Carolina Railway
Egypt Railway NS 1892 1910 Sanford and Troy Railroad
Elizabeth City and Norfolk Railroad NS 1870 1883 Norfolk Southern Railroad
Elizabeth City and Western Railroad NS 1899 1902 Suffolk and Carolina Railway
Elkin and Alleghany Railroad 1920 1931 N/A
Elkin and Alleghany Railway 1907 1919 Elkin and Alleghany Railroad
Florence and Fayetteville Railroad ACL 1862 1881 Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway
French Broad Railroad 1919 1925 N/A (leased the Madison County Railway)
Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway SAL 1887 1901 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Georgia and North Carolina Railroad L&N 1871 1887 Marietta and North Georgia Railway
Glendon and Gulf Mining and Manufacturing Company NS 1891 1896 Durham and Charlotte Railroad
Goldsboro Union Station Company ACL/ NS/ SOU 1908 1968 N/A
Graham County Railroad GC 1905 1984 N/A
Great Smoky Mountains Railway GSM 1988 1999 Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
Greensville and Roanoke Railroad ACL 1834 1855 Petersburg Railroad
Greenville and French Broad Railroad SOU 1855 1874 Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad
Gumberry and Jackson Railroad and Lumber Company 1887 1896 Northampton and Hertford Railroad
Halifax and Weldon Railroad ACL 1834 1837 Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad
Hendersonville and Brevard Railway, Telegraph and Telephone Company SOU 1891 1897 Transylvania Railroad
High Point and Randleman Railroad SOU 1883 1887 High Point, Randleman, Asheboro and Southern Railroad
High Point, Randleman, Asheboro and Southern Railroad SOU 1887 Still exists as a lessor of the Norfolk Southern Railway
Hoffman and Troy Railroad 1883
Howland Improvement Company NS 1903 1905 Atlantic and North Carolina Company
Jackson Springs Railroad NS 1901 1907 Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad
Kinston Carolina Railroad NS 1918 1929 N/A
Kinston and Carolina Railroad NS 1909 Kinston–Carolina Railroad and Lumber Company
Kinston–Carolina Railroad and Lumber Company NS 1910 1918 Kinston Carolina Railroad
Kinston and Snow Hill Railroad NS 1913 Carolina Railroad
Lawndale Railway and Industrial Company 1903 1943 N/A
Linville River Railroad 1896 1899 Linville River Railway
Linville River Railway 1899 1940 N/A (owned by East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad)
Louisburg Railroad SAL 1881 1901 Raleigh and Gaston Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad L&N, LN L&N 1905 1983 Seaboard System Railroad
Lower Creek and Linville Valley Transportation Company SOU 1891 1893 Caldwell and Northern Railroad
Lynchburg and Durham Railroad N&W 1887 1896 Norfolk, Lynchburg and Durham Railroad
Madison County Railway 1910 1925 N/A
Marietta and North Georgia Railway L&N 1887 1895 Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway
Maxton, Alma and Southbound Railroad MA&S 1911 1937 N/A
Mid Atlantic Railroad MRR 1987 1995 Carolina Southern Railroad
Midland North Carolina Railway ACL 1873 1884 Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
Milton and Sutherlin Railroad 1876 1894 N/A
Moore Central Railroad 1945 1948 N/A
Moore Central Railway 1924 1945 Moore Central Railroad
Moore County Railroad 1893 1904 N/A
Mount Airy Railroad SOU 1879 1879 Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway
Mount Airy and Eastern Railway 1899 1910 Virginia and Mount Airy Railway
Mount Airy and Ore Knob Railroad SOU 1871 1879 Mount Airy Railroad
Mount Hope Valley Railroad NS 1904 1905 Durham and South Carolina Railroad
Norfolk and Carolina Railroad ACL 1889 1900 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway NFD N&W 1962 1983 Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk, Lynchburg and Durham Railroad N&W 1896 1896 Norfolk and Western Railroad
Norfolk, Roanoke and Southern Railroad N&W 1896 1896 Norfolk and Western Railroad
Norfolk Southern Railroad NS NS 1910 1942 Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railroad NS 1883 1891 Norfolk and Southern Railroad
Norfolk and Southern Railroad NS 1891 1906 Norfolk and Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway NS NS 1942 1982 Carolina and Northwestern Railway
Norfolk and Southern Railway NS 1906 1910 Norfolk Southern Railroad
Norfolk and Western Railroad N&W 1892 1896 Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway N&W, NW N&W 1896 1998 Norfolk Southern Railway
North Carolina Railroad SOU 1849 Still exists as a lessor of the Norfolk Southern Railway
North Carolina Air–Line Railway SOU 1877 1877 Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway
North Carolina Connecting Railway 1905 1907 Roanoke River Railway
North Carolina Midland Railroad SOU 1880 Still exists as a lessor of the Norfolk Southern Railway
North Carolina Mining, Manufacturing and Development Company ACL/ N&W 1903 1905 Carolina, Glenanna and Pee Dee Railway and Development Company
North Carolina Ports Railway Commission NCPR 1979 2002 North Carolina State Ports Authority
North and South Carolina Railroad SOU 1899 1940 N/A
North and South Carolina Railway SAL 1910 1914 Carolina, Atlantic and Western Railway
North Western North Carolina Railroad SOU 1868 1894 Southern Railway
Northampton and Hertford Railroad 1891 1908 Northampton and Hertford Railway
Northampton and Hertford Railway 1909 1917 Carolina and Northeastern Railroad
Ohio River and Charleston Railway ACL/ L&N, SOU 1894 1902 South Carolina and Georgia Extension Railroad, South and Western Railway
Oxford and Clarksville Railroad SOU 1885 1894 Southern Railway
Oxford and Coast Line Railroad SAL 1891 1906 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Oxford and Henderson Railroad SOU 1871 1894 Southern Railway
Palmetto Railroad SAL 1883 1895 Palmetto Railway
Palmetto Railway SAL 1895 1901 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Pee Dee Valley Railway ACL 1909 1910 Rockingham Railway
Petersburg Railroad ACL 1831 1898 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Piedmont Railroad SOU 1862 1894 Southern Railway
Piedmont Railway ACL/ N&W 1909 1912 Carolina and Yadkin River Railway
Piedmont and Northern Railway P&N 1914 1969 Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Electric until 1954
Pigeon River Railway 1906 1931 N/A
Pittsboro Railroad SAL 1885 1899 Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad
Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad SAL 1833 1846 Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad
Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad SAL 1871 1901 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Raleigh and Cape Fear Railway NS 1898 1905 Raleigh and Southport Railway
Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway NS 1911 1913 Norfolk Southern Railroad
Raleigh and Charleston Railroad SAL 1906 1941 N/A
Raleigh and Eastern North Carolina Railroad NS 1903 1903 Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad
Raleigh and Gaston Railroad SAL 1835 1901 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad NS 1903 1906 Norfolk and Southern Railway
Raleigh and Southport Railway NS 1905 1912 Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway
Raleigh and Western Railway NS 1893 1908 N/A Leased the Egypt Railway
Randolph and Cumberland Railroad 1906 1907 Randolph and Cumberland Railway
Randolph and Cumberland Railway 1907 1924 Moore Central Railway
Richmond and Danville Railroad SOU 1866 1894 Southern Railway
Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad SAL 1892 1900 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Roanoke Railroad SAL 1847 1849 Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad
Roanoke River Railway 1907 1919 Townsville Railroad
Roanoke and Southern Railway N&W 1887 1896 Norfolk, Roanoke and Southern Railroad
Roanoke and Tar River Railroad SAL 1885 1911 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Roanoke Valley Railroad 1855 1863 N/A
Rockingham Railroad RKG ACL 1910 1968 N/A
Rockingham Railway ACL 1910 1910 Rockingham Railroad
Roxboro Railroad N&W 1881 1887 Lynchburg and Durham Railroad
Roxboro and Narrow Gauge Railroad N&W 1879 1881 Roxboro Railroad
Rutherfordton, Marion and Tennessee Railway ACL/ L&N, SOU 1881 1886 Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad
Sanford and Glendon Railroad NS 1910 Sanford and Troy Railroad
Sanford and Troy Railroad NS 1910 1912 Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway
Seaboard Air Line Railroad SAL SAL 1946 1967 Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Seaboard Air Line Railway SAL 1900 1945 Seaboard Air Line Railroad
Seaboard Air Line System SAL 1893 1900 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad SCL 1967 1983 Seaboard System Railroad
Seaboard and Raleigh Railroad ACL 1873 1883 Albemarle and Raleigh Railroad
Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad SAL 1846 1911 Seaboard Air Line Railway
Seaboard System Railroad SBD 1983 1986 CSX Transportation
Smoky Mountain Railway SMN 1905 1927 N/A
South Carolina and Georgia Extension Railroad SOU 1898 1902 Southern Railway – Carolina Division
South and Western Railroad ACL/ L&N 1905 1908 Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway
South and Western Railway ACL/ L&N 1901 1906 South and Western Railroad
Southeastern Railroad ACL 1897 1900 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Southern Railway SOU SOU 1894 1990 Norfolk Southern Railway
Southern Railway – Carolina Division SOU 1902 1996 Norfolk Southern Railway
Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad SOU 1874 1881 Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad
Statesville and Western Railroad SOU 1887 1894 Southern Railway
Suffolk and Carolina Railway NS 1884 1906 Norfolk and Southern Railway
Tallulah Falls Railway TF SOU 1909 1961 N/A
Tennessee and North Carolina Railroad 1903 1920 Tennessee and North Carolina Railway
Tennessee and North Carolina Railway 1920 1951 N/A
Town Creek Railroad and Lumber Company 1905 1911 Wilmington, Brunswick and Southern Railroad
Townsville Railroad 1919 1933 N/A
Transylvania Railroad SOU 1899
Tuckaseegee and Southeastern Railway 1920 1945 N/A
Virginia and Carolina Railroad SAL 1883 1892 Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad
Virginia–Carolina Railway N&W 1911 1919 Norfolk and Western Railway
Virginia and Carolina Southern Railroad ACL 1903
Virginia and Mount Airy Railway 1920 N/A Never operated
Warrenton Railroad WAR 1876 1985 N/A
Washington and Plymouth Railroad NS 1901 1904 Norfolk and Southern Railroad
Washington and Vandemere Railroad ACL 1903 1944 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Weldon and Roanoke Rapids Electric Railway 1907 1917 Carolina and Northeastern Railroad
Wellington and Powellsville Railroad 1893 1926 Carolina Southern Railway
Western Railroad ACL, SOU 1852 1879 Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway
Western North Carolina Railroad SOU 1855 1894 Southern Railway
Wilmington Railway Bridge Company ACL/ SAL 1866 1956 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Seaboard Air Line Railroad
Wilmington, Brunswick and Southern Railroad 1907 1945 N/A
Wilmington and Carolina Railroad ACL 1870 1870 Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad
Wilmington, Chadbourn and Conway Railroad ACL 1887 1895 Wilmington and Conway Railroad
Wilmington, Chadbourn and Conwayboro Railroad ACL 1883 1887 Wilmington, Chadbourn and Conway Railroad
Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad SAL 1855 1855 Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad
Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad SAL 1855 1873 Carolina Central Railroad
Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad ACL 1870 1898 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Wilmington and Conway Railroad ACL 1895 1896 Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad
Wilmington and Manchester Railroad ACL 1847 1870 Wilmington and Carolina Railroad
Wilmington and Newbern Railroad ACL 1897 1897 Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
Wilmington, Newbern and Norfolk Railroad ACL 1893 1897 Wilmington and Newbern Railroad
Wilmington, Onslow and East Carolina Railroad ACL 1885 1893 Wilmington, Newbern and Norfolk Railroad
Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad ACL 1834 1855 Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
Wilmington and Tarboro Railroad ACL 1861 1873 Seaboard and Raleigh Railroad
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad ACL 1855 1900 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Winston-Salem and Madison Railroad SOU 1879 1880 North Carolina Midland Railroad
Winston-Salem and Mooresville Railroad SOU 1878 1880 North Carolina Midland Railroad
Winston-Salem Terminal Company ACL/ N&W/ SOU 1922 1972 Norfolk and Western Railway, Southern Railway, Winston-Salem Southbound Railway
Winton Railroad and Lumber Company 1889
Yadkin Railroad SOU 1871 Still exists as a lessor of the Norfolk Southern Railway
Yancey Railroad YAN 1955 1982 N/A
Electric railways
Private carriers
Not completed

Notes

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

References