Formation and early years

The Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad was incorporated on February 13, 1855, but the name was changed soon after to the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad. The company intended to build a railway line from Wilmington, North Carolina, on the Atlantic Ocean, to Rutherford County, North Carolina, via Charlotte, North Carolina.^[1]

The company completed a 112-mile (180 km) line from Navassa, outside Wilmington, to Rockingham, in 1861. This line included a 78.8-mile (126.8 km)-long segment of straight track between Laurel Hill and East Arcadia, the longest such line in the United States.^[2][3] Separately, the company built a 31-mile (50 km) from Charlotte to Lincolnton, in the direction of Rutherford County. The outbreak of the American Civil War prevented any further construction from taking place.^[2] In 1870 an additional 7 miles (11 km) opened between Rockingham and Pee Dee, on the Pee Dee River, leaving the a 63-mile (101 km) gap between the two sections of the railroad.^[2][4]

When the east end of the line in Navassa was completed in 1861, it ran just north of Royster Road to its terminus at the Cape Fear River just south of the Interstate 140 bridge (both road locations as of 2023). In 1866, the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad created the Wilmington Railway Bridge Company as a joint venture with the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad to build a bridge over the Cape Fear River. The bridge, which was jointly owned by both railroads, was completed in 1867 allowing both railroad to extend into central Wilmington.^[5]

The company entered receivership in 1872 and was sold in 1873 to the Carolina Central Railway, which in 1874 completed the connection between Wilmington and Charlotte.^[1][4] The railroad finally reached Rutherford via a new extension of the line in 1877.^[5] Another change in corporate identity occurred in 1880, when the Carolina Central Railway became the Carolina Central Railroad, controlled by a predecessor of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.^[5]

In 1896, a branch was built from Ellenboro south to Caroleen and the Henrietta Mill.^[6]

The Carolina Central Railroad was ultimately merged into the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1900.^[5]

Seaboard Air Line years

Wilmington and Monroe Subdivisions
Overview
Status	Segments still operating under CSX
Owner	Seaboard Air Line Railroad
Termini	Wilmington, North Carolina Rutherfordton, North Carolina
Technical
Line length	304.3 mi (489.7 km)
Electrification	No

Seaboard Air Line Hamlet Passenger Depot in 1912.

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad operated the line as their Wilmington Subdivision east of Hamlet and as their Monroe Subdivision west of Hamlet to Rutherfordton. The branch to Caroleen was known as the Caroleen Subdivision.^[7][8] The line would be the Seaboard Air Line's only line to the port city of Wilmington, which by then was the headquarters and a major hub of their main competitor, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.^[9]

The Seaboard built their historic Hamlet station at the junction with the main line in Hamlet which would become a major junction for the company. In the 1950s, the company was running a local passenger train from Wilmington to Charlotte daily. At the same time, Seaboard's Silver Comet, The Cherry Blossoms, and The Capitol ran the line daily from the main line at Hamlet to Monroe, where they turned down the Abbeville Subdivision toward Atlanta. On the Wilmington Subdivision, a through-freight train ran daily along with separate local freight trains which ran three days a week. On the Monroe Subdivision, the Tar Heel, a named freight train ran from Hamlet to Bostic daily along with separate local freight trains.^[8][7]

Seaboard discontinued its local passenger train from Wilmington to Charlotte in 1958, ending its passenger service to Wilmington.^[10]

Later years

In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line merged with its rival, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL). The merged company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). Seaboard Coast Line continued operating the line as the Wilmington Subdivision and Monroe Subdivision.^[11][12] The Silver Comet was discontinued the following year.^[13]

In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation. CSX extended the Monroe Subdivision name from Monroe to Abbeville as it is today and truncated the Abbeville Subdivision to Abbeville. The former Monroe Subdivision west of Monroe towards Charlotte, North Carolina is now the Charlotte Subdivision.

Wilmington Subdivision

Wilmington Subdivision
CSX Hamlet Terminal Subdivision SE 254.3 East Junction CSX Andrews Subdivision SE 259.1 Laurinburg Laurinburg and Southern Railroad SE 275.9 Maxton fmr. Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Ry. (ACL) ← to Bennettsville · to Hope Mills → SE 278.4 Alma SE 285.7 Pembroke CSX A Line (South End Subdivision) SE 291.3 Lowe SE 297.1 Lumberton Duart Spur SE 310.8 Bladenboro SE 318.9 Clarkton SE 327.1 Rosindale SE 338.8 East Arcadia Davis Yard SE 360.3 Navassa Malmo Spur Cape Fear River fmr. Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Ry. (ACL) to Fayetteville SE 364.2 Wilmington fmr. Wilmington & Weldon RR (ACL) to Contentnea fmr. Wilmington, New Bern & Norfolk RR (ACL) to New Bern

The segment from Wilmington to East Junction in Hamlet is still operated as CSX's Wilmington Subdivision.^[14] It is now the only remaining rail line serving Wilmington, North Carolina since all former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad lines to Wilmington have since been severed.^[15]

East Junction to Monroe

The line from East Junction in Hamlet west to Pee Dee is now the east-west segment of CSX's Hamlet Terminal Subdivision. From Pee Dee west to Monroe is still known as the Monroe Subdivision, which now continues beyond Monroe down to Abbeville on the former Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway.^[14]

Charlotte Subdivision

Charlotte Subdivision
CSX Monroe Subdivision SF 306.2 Monroe I-485 SF 319.5 Matthews SF 330.2 Charlotte NS Charlotte District I-277 I-77 Pinoca Yard SF 337.3 Thrift Catawba River CSX Terrell Subdivision Charlotte Western Railroad SF 341.8 Mount Holly SF 348.6 Stanley SF 362.3 Lincolnton SF 372.4 Cherryville SF 383.7 Shelby SF 391.8 Lattimore SF 398.2 Ellenboro SF 403.8 Bostic CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision to Rutherfordton (abandoned)
Note: Not to scale

The line from Monroe though Charlotte to Bostic is now CSX's Charlotte Subdivision. The Charlotte Subdivision now terminates at CSX's Blue Ridge Subdivision (a former Clinchfield Railroad line) in Bostic.^[14] It connects to the Terrell Subdivision and the Charlotte Western Railroad in Mount Holly.^[16]

West of Bostic

In the 1980s, CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway consolidated their parallel lines between Forest City and Rutherfordton. In the 1990, this remaining track and track from Forest City to Bostic was sold to the Thermal Belt Railway. Track from Forest City to Rutherfordton was abandoned in the early 2000s and is now part of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail. Track from Bostic to Forest City is still in place but has not been used since 2013.^[17]