Look Ahead, Look South
Railroads have been a presence in Columbia for more than a hundred and fifty years. All around town, you are bound to run into signs of their activity past and present, from the former Union Station (now California Dreamin’ restaurant) and Seaboard Air Line Station (now the Blue Marlin), to Norfolk Southern’s Andrews Yard near Williams Brice Stadium and CSX’s yard across the river in Cayce.
Historically the city was served by the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line, and the Southern Railway (an advertising motto for which serves as the title of this post). There was also a regional line, the Columbia, Newberry & Laurens Railroad, acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line in the 1920s and featured passenger service from Union Station to Laurens. The ACL and SAL merged in the 1960s to form the Seaboard Coast Line, which in the 1980s combined with the Chessie System to become CSX, while the Southern merged with Norfolk & Western in 1982 to form Norfolk Southern. Both continue operations here. Amtrak provides passenger service with stops at its station off of Huger Street for the Silver Star route.
Check out RCPL’s collection for books on railroads of regional interest, as well as other legendary American railroads such as the Pennsylvania, Union Pacific, and many others. Look in the 385 call number area for books on railroad companies and their histories, and in 625 for books on railroad equipment (locomotives, cars, etc.)
Recommended railroad reads:
- Logging Railroads of South Carolina
- Norfolk Southern Railway
- Rails Through the Wiregrass
- The Southern Railway
- Through the Heart of the South
- The West Point Route
Bland Says: Norfolk Southern Railway
Amazon Says: With a quarter of a century behind it, Norfolk Southern is one of the oldest Class 1 railroads operating in North America. This illustrated history tells how Norfolk Southern ...
Amazon
Bland Says: Rails Through the Wiregrass
Amazon Says: The Georgia & Florida Railroad began with bright promise, but like many other enterprises in the early 20th-century South, it experienced hard times. The story begins in 1906,...
Amazon
Bland Says: The Southern Railway
Binding: Hardcover Publisher: University of North Carolina Press Date published: 1985 ISBN-13: 9780807816363 ISBN: 0807816361Amazon
Amazon Says: "The Seaboard Air Line didn't own any airplanes. It was not an airline. It was a railroad -- and a pretty darn good one at that." Seaboard pioneered the use of articulated ste...
Amazon