The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Standard Railroad of the South

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, also known as the ACL or Coast Line, was synonymous with the South and served points from Richmond, Virginia to Florida and east to Birmingham, Alabama. The railroad was also very profitable being that it served direct north-south routes from Florida to Richmond. It also held one of the most unique paint schemes of any Class I of both its day, having a beautiful purple and silver livery with yellow trim. Remembered in the likes of the Southern Railway in later years the ACL was highly respected throughout most of its existence and like the Southern was blessed with excellent management and never faced any serious bankruptcy threat up until its merger with the Seaboard Air Line in the late 1960s to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.

The Atlantic Coast Line began its life like many classic fallen flags, put together and shaped through a series of mergers with small railroads. Its earliest predecessor was the Richmond & Petersburg chartered in 1836, and after linking with the Petersburg Railroad the two made a through connection from Richmond to North Carolina. Throughout the 1800s there were numerous smaller lines that would go on to form the Atlantic Coast Line including the Wilmington & Weldon, Wilmington & Raleigh, and North Eastern which served points between South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (including the ports of Wilmington, NC and Charleston, SC).

The rest of the ACL would come together in the 1920s when it gained control of the Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast giving it a link to western southeastern cities such as Birmingham, Alabama. In all, including its subsidiaries, the ACL was a giant system serving nearly every major southeastern market from Kentucky and Virginia, south to Alabama and Florida. Like a giant, and being well managed it earned substantial profits, calling on the L&N for help during the few short times when money was hard to come by.

When the "Great Depression" hit in the fall of 1929 the ACL was able to weather the storm and the worst of the times (through the mid-1930s) by its excellent management team and frugal financial practices even though freight traffic was down more than 50% and passenger traffic was off by more than 60%. With the help of its subsidiary, the L&N, it was soundly able to avoid receivership and bankruptcy.

After the Great Depression the Atlantic Coast Line would live out the rest of its life upgrading its equipment and infrastructure. By 1955 the railroad had totally dieselized its motive power fleet, purchasing locomotives from EMD, GE, and Alco. Also by the 1950s the railroad had upgraded its infrastructure substantially. By that time most of its main line was double-tracked between Florida and Virginia, and it had put in Centralized Traffic Control and automatic block signaling to more efficiently handle train movements (especially on its signal-track segments, where CTC is predominantly used). The railroad had also become a high-speed highway and freights were flying up and down the coast averaging 50 mph.

Because of its extraordinary success it’s interesting to wonder what the future may have held for the Atlantic Coast Line had the railroad not merged. Alas, this was the railroad’s fate like so many others during the same period. Mergers, if planned and implemented correctly can save a railroad millions of dollars down the road and this was the very reason behind the ACL and Seaboard Air Line discussing the option seriously as early as the late 1950s.

While the two companies were fierce competitors, similar to the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central who would also merge during the same period, the difference between the two was that the ACL and SAL spent many years planning their new system in an effort to ensure the marriage would go smoothly. Their planning would pay off as the new Seaboard Coast Line, formed in the summer of 1967 would become a very profitable venture itself for 13 years before merging again, this time with the Chessie System to form today’s CSX Transportation.

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For a more complete Atlantic Coast Line diesel locomotive roster please click here. Also, for an excellent source regarding all EMD-built diesel locomotives and their respective serial numbers please click here. Lastly, for a list of known preserved Atlantic Coast Line diesel locomotives please click here.

The American Locomotive Company

The Baldwin Locomotive Works

Electro-Motive Corporation/Electro-Motive Division

General Electric

For more information regarding ACL's steam locomotive roster please click here. Also, for a list of surviving ACL steam locomotives please click here.

Notable Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Passenger Trains

It should be noted that the ACL reached New York via the Pennsylvania Railroad and eastern Florida via the Florida East Coast Railway. The railroad likewise ferried other railroads most prestigious trains to and from Florida.

The Champion

Everglades: (New York - Jacksonville)

Florida Special: (New York - Miami/St. Petersburg)

Gulf Coast Special: (New York - Tampa/Ft. Myers/St. Petersburg)

Havannah Special: Connected New York with Key West until the devastating 1935 Hurricane which destroyed the Florida East Coast's Key West Extension.

Miamian: (Washington - Miami)

Palmetto: (New York - Savannah/Augusta/Wilmington)

Vacationer: (New York - Miami)

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