Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway The Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company was chartered in Tennessee in 1845. The main line from Nashville to Chattanooga, running a distance of 151 miles, was opened in early 1854. A key link in the line, the 2,228-ft. Cumberland Mountain Tunnel near Cowan, Tennessee, opened in 1852. From Chattanooga, the line twisted its way westward through the mountains of the Cumberland Plateau, generally following the route of today’s I-24. At several places on the west side of Lookout Mountain, the rails crossed into Georgia, but seldom more than a few hundred feet. At Georgia’s northwest corner, the railroad turned southwest to Stevenson, Alabama, then northwest to Nashville. The Nashville and Chattanooga acquired the Nashville and Northwestern (Nashville to Hickman, Kentucky) in 1870, and the two roads consolidated in 1872. The name was changed to Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway in 1873. L&N acquired 55% of NC&St.L 's stock in 1880. In 1890, NC&St.L leased the Western and Atlantic Railroad from the State of Georgia. NC&St.L was merged into L&N in 1957. The branch from Kingston to Rome was bought from the Rome Railroad in 1894. It was abandoned in 1943. In 1944 the NC&St.L had 1,072 miles of track, most of which was in Tennessee. Suggested Reading: Dain L. Schult, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis; A History of the Dixie Line (Lynchburg, VA: TLC Publishing, 2002). Charles B. Castner, Jr., Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway; The Dixie Line (Newton, NJ: Carstens Publications, 1995). Richard E. Prince, Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway; History and Steam Locomotives. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001, Reprint. Originally published by Richard E. Prince in Green River, Wyoming, 1967.) Eight-wheel standard passenger locomotive built by Rogers for NC&StL. (From 1897 Rogers Locomotive Company catalog). Ten-wheel passenger locomotive built by Baldwin for NC&StL. (From Railway and Locomotive Engineering, April 1906). More information: NC&StL Preservation Society Maps and Timetables: 1863 timetable (102K) 1870 timetable (182K)  1889 map at Library of Congress 1895 timetable (178K) 1895 map (275K) 1918 timetable (382K) 1944 map (36K)     NC&St.L passenger car at Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum On the railroad overpass at St. Elmo Avenue on the south side of Chattanooga, near the Georgia/Tennessee line. RailGa.com. Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. © Steve Storey Railroad History | The Depot List | Locomotives On Display | Odds & Ends | Sources & References | Home