The Seaboard Air Line Railroad, "Through The Heart Of The South"

The Seaboard Air Line is perhaps best remembered for being a somewhat smaller version of the Atlantic Coast Line as everywhere the ACL went so too did the SAL (and thus it is not surprising that the two would decide to merge in the late 1960s). This is not to say, however, that the SAL was an inferior road to the ACL, quite the contrary. The Seaboard held its own with its fiercest competitor and after managing to pull through troubled waters during the early years of its life, the railroad provided quality freight transportation to the Southeast.

Like all classic fallen flags, the SAL was derived over the years from several smaller lines which merged together or were later included under the Seaboard banner. The railroad itself has its beginnings dating back originally to the Portsmouth & Roanoke Rail Road, which was chartered in 1832 to connect Portsmouth, Virginia with Wheldon, Virginia, a town that sat along the banks of the Roanoke River (and was reorganized as the Seaboard & Roanoke in 1846). The other original components of the Seaboard included the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad (connecting Raleigh and Gaston, NC) and the Raleigh & Augusta Air-Line Railroad (connecting Raleigh and Hamlet, NC which would control both former lines by the 1870s).

Together these three lines formed the backbone of the later Seaboard Air Line system which first began to come together in the latter 19th century when John Robinson took control of the three and merged them as the Seaboard Air Line System. Throughout the rest of the 19th century and for the first part of the 20th century the Seaboard expanded north and south throughout the southeast reaching cities such as Richmond, Norfolk, Wilmington, Charleston, Atlanta, Savannah, and points west in Alabama (essentially everywhere rival ACL went!). The railroad also built one of the last major main lines in recent years when it completed an extension to Miami in 1927 (at its peak the railroad was a 4,000+ mile system).

The Seaboard’s transition into a major southeastern competitor began after it fell into receivership following the Great Depression (it emerged following WWII as the Seaboard Air Line Railroad). The railroad began to aggressively upgrade its system and reduce expenses by purchasing new locomotives (including new diesel-electrics) and equipment, and adding Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) to its single-track main lines.

By the 1960s the railroad was a premier southern Class I system and fiercely competed with the Atlantic Coast Line for both passengers and traffic (its “Air Line” named referred to the shortest distance and fastest delivery between two points). By its latter years the Seaboard had a quite diverse freight traffic base which included agriculture, aggregates, cement, perishables, and iron ore. The railroad likewise was one of the first to champion the trailer-on-flat-car (TOFC) concept in 1950 (it also holds the distinction of being one of the relatively few railroads to name its premier freight trains).

The Seaboard Air Line also had an extensive and popular passenger fleet (partly due to the southeastern markets it reached) including famous trains such as the Orange Blossom Special (also known as the OBS), Silver Meteor, and Silver Star (the SAL also had a number of seasonal trains). The railroad offered top-notch passenger service and was one of the few to continue such right up until the end when Amtrak took over operations in 1971. Because of this and the markets the railroad served a number of its train soldier on today including the Silver Meteor and Silver Star.

By the latter 1960s the SAL and ACL began to understand that because the railroads operated in virtually every market as the other that merging would be very beneficial. Mergers, if planned and implemented correctly can save a railroad millions of dollars in the long term and this was the very reason behind the Seaboard Air Line and ACL discussing the option seriously, as early as the late 1950s.

While the SAL and ACL were fierce competitors, similar to the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central who would also merge during the same period, the difference between the PRR/NYC and SAL/ACL partnerships was that the ACL and SAL spent many years planning their new system in an effort to ensure the marriage would go smoothly.

Seaboard Air Line Railroad All-Time Locomotive Rosters

SAL Diesel Locomotive Roster

SAL Steam Locomotive Roster

Notable Seaboard Air Line Railroad Passenger Trains

Silver Meteor

Cotton Blossom: (Washington - Atlanta)

Gulf Wind: (Jacksonville - New Orleans)

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

Orange Blossom Special: (New York - Miami)

Palmland: (New York - Tampa/Boca Grande)

Silver Comet: (New York/Portsmouth - Birmingham)

Silver Star: (New York - Miami/St. Petersburg/Venice/Boca Grande)

Sunland: (Washington/Portsmouth - Miami/Venice)

Suwanee River Special: (Cincinnati - Florida)

Their planning would pay off as the new Seaboard Coast Line, formed in the summer of 1967, which soon became a very profitable venture itself for 13 years before merging again, this time with the Chessie System to form today’s CSX Transportation.

For more information about Seaboard Air Line successor, Seaboard Coast Line and the Family Lines system consider the book Seaboard Coast Line Family Lines Railroad 1967-1986 from William Griffin, Jr. The book, filled with colored photographs, gives a great overview of the mergers (Seaboard Coast Line, the marketed Family Lines name, and Seaboard System) leading up to the eventual formation of CSX Transportation in 1987. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".