Embedded Files
From Wikipedia
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) is a southeast railroad that operated from 1900 until 1967, when it merged with long- time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Much of the original ACL network has been part of CSX Transportation since 1986. The Atlantic Coast Line served the Southeast, with a concentration of lines in Florida. Numerous named passenger trains were operated by the railroad for Florida-bound tourists, with the Atlantic Coast Line contributing significantly to Florida's economic development in the first half of the 20th century. The earliest predecessor of the ACL was the Petersburg Railroad between Petersburg, Virginia and a point near Weldon, North Carolina, founded in 1830. A route between Richmond, Virginia and Petersburg was built by the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad, which was founded in 1836.
In 1840 the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, at the time known as the Wilmington and Raleigh and renamed in 1855, completed a route between Weldon and Wilmington, North Carolina. From Wilmington, the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad began operations in 1853 to Florence, South Carolina, where the Northeastern Railroad operated to Charleston, South Carolina. In 1871, the two lines began using the Atlantic Coast Line name to advertise the two lines.
An investor from Baltimore, William T. Walters, gained control of these separate railroads after the Civil War, and operated them as a network of independent companies. In 1897–98, most of the South Carolina lines in Walters' system were consolidated under the name of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of South Carolina.
In 1898, as the companies moved towards combining themselves into a single system, the lines in Virginia were combined into the new Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of Virginia, and the lines in North Carolina underwent a similar process in 1899, becoming the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of North Carolina. In 1900, due to a regulatory climate in Virginia that was better suited to the company than that in other states, the ACL of Virginia took control of the other lines and subsequently shortened its name to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company.
Forming the ACL by mergers
These mergers created an ACL system reaching from southern Virginia to South Carolina and Georgia. Other small acquisitions took place in 1901, and in 1902 the ACL took over the Plant System, which operated numerous lines within Florida and Georgia. This same year the ACL took control of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad as well as the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, though the two were never merged into the ACL and were operated independently. The ACL acquired the East Carolina Railway in 1935, running south from Tarboro to Hookerton. The ACL's last major acquisition was the Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad, which it purchased in 1927, though the AB&C was not merged into the ACL until 1945.
Atlantic Coast Line headquarters, Jacksonville, Florida.
Later history
By the early 1900s the railroad had largely reached its final configuration and began to focus on upgrading its physical plant. By the 1920s the railroad's main line from Richmond, Virginia to Jacksonville, Florida had been double-tracked, which benefited the railroad during the 1920s when Florida boomed.
In 1928 the ACL completed a line between Perry, Florida and Drifton, near Monticello, Florida, the last link of the new "Perry Cutoff". This created a more direct route between Chicago and Florida's west coast and bypassing Jacksonville, one which passed through Macon, Albany, and Thomasville, the route followed by ACL's passenger train Southland from December 1928 to 1957 when it was rerouted to Jacksonville.
1910 advertisement for ACL trains from New York to Florida
During the Great Depression ACL's freight traffic declined by around 60%, but the railroad survived the 1930s without declaring bankruptcy; its success in this regard has been attributed to its leadership and careful financial practices, as well as owning the Louisville and Nashville, which remained strong through the Depression.
During World War II ACL's passenger traffic increased 200% and freight traffic 150%. The railroad provided a submarine-proof alternative to coastal shipping, and it also served the fast-emerging military industry in the Southeast. In 1942 Champion McDowell Davis (nicknamed "Champ") became president of the ACL and immediately began an improvement program that finished in the mid-1950s, including the rebuilding of several hundred miles of track, the installation of modern signaling systems and improvements to freight yards. The railroad spent at least $268 million in upgrading its physical plant during this period.
In 1956 the railroad moved its headquarters from Wilmington, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville was selected from three candidate cities. The new complex was finished in July 1960, with the move from Wilmington completed over the following weeks.
The Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) Railroad was known for one of the most striking and memorable paint schemes in American railroading history:
Original Colors:
Purple and Silver: Locomotives were painted in a rich royal purple with gleaming silver accents.
Yellow Trim: A bright yellow stripe added contrast and flair.
This livery was introduced on first-generation diesel locomotives, thanks to the design influence of General Motors' styling department.
Why the Colors Changed
Southern Sunlight: The intense sun in the southeastern U.S.—especially in Florida—was brutal on the purple paint. It faded quickly (turning Pink) and became difficult to maintain.
Maintenance Costs: Keeping the vibrant colors fresh required frequent repainting, which was costly and impractical.
Simplification: By the 1950s, the ACL simplified its paint scheme, retiring the purple-and-silver look. Later locomotives adopted more subdued and utilitarian colors.
Predecessor: The Petersburg Railroad (1830)
Successor: Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL)
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse