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The '''Louisville & Nashville Railroad''' ('''L & N Railroad''', '''LN''') was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeastern United States from [[1850]] to [[1983]]. It was a primary passenger and cargo carrier in [[Birmingham]].
[[File:L & N logo.jpg|right|225px]]
The '''Louisville & Nashville Railroad''' ('''L&N Railroad''', '''LN''') was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeastern United States from [[1850]] to [[1983]]. It was a primary passenger and cargo carrier in [[Birmingham]].


The financial backing of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad allowed the former [[Nashville & Decatur Railroad]] to complete the [[South & North Alabama Railroad]] line south to [[Montgomery]] in [[1872]], creating the crossing that established [[Birmingham]] as the transportation hub of Alabama's [[Birmingham District|mineral district]]. The deal gave the L&N the right to operate the line as part of its network.
The railroad grew from a road with just 285 miles of track between Louisville and Lebanon, Kentucky to a 6,000-mile system serving thirteen states. It survived the depradations of [[Civil War]] and the scarcities of the [[Great Depression]], operating both freight and passenger trains in a manner that earned it the nickname, "The Old Reliable."
 
The Louisville & Nashville Railroad financed the completion of the [[South & North Alabama Railroad]] line south to [[Montgomery]] in [[1872]], creating the crossing that established [[Birmingham]] as the transportation hub of Alabama's [[Birmingham District|mineral district]]. The deal gave the L&N the right to operate the line as part of its network.


The company developed the [[Birmingham Mineral Railroad]] to serve mining and industrial sites in the Birmingham District beginning in [[1884]]. It also constructed Birmingham's [[L & N Station]] on the site of the former [[Relay House]] in [[1887]].
The company developed the [[Birmingham Mineral Railroad]] to serve mining and industrial sites in the Birmingham District beginning in [[1884]]. It also constructed Birmingham's [[L & N Station]] on the site of the former [[Relay House]] in [[1887]].


<!--==History==
==History==
The Louisville & Nashville Railroad was chartered by the Kentucky State Legislature in 1850. Under Milton H. Smith, its president for thirty years, the L&N grew from a road with just 285 miles of track between Louisville and Lebanon, Kentucky to a 6,000-mile system serving thirteen states. The venture was economically strong throughout its lifetime, surviving the [[Civil War]] and the [[Great Depression]], and operating both freight and passenger trains in a manner that earned it the nickname, "The Old Reliable."
The Louisville & Nashville Railroad was chartered by the Kentucky State Legislature in 1850. In March of that year, the line connecting Louisville to Lebabon, Kentucky was opened. Nine years later, it was extended to Bowling Green and then across the Cumberland River into Nashville by bridge. Another bridge, completed the same year across the Green River at Munfordville was, at the time, the longest iron bridge in the United States.
 
===19th century===
In March 1850 the railroad was opened between Louisville and Lebanon. The segment between Nashville and Bowling Green opened in August 1859, and two months later the line was completed, including a bridge across the Cumberland into Nashville and another over the Green River at Munfordville, Kentucky that was the longest iron bridge in the U.S. at the time. The line to Memphis was opened in April 1861. It was a joint effort by the L&N, the Memphis & Ohio, and the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville railroads.
 
By then the Civil War had begun, with Kentucky on one side and Tennessee on the other. During the war Union and Confederate forces fought up and down the L&N, destroying as they went. By mid-1863 the major action of the war had moved to the Southeast. L&N began to pick up the pieces and get to business — and there was enough business that L&N prospered.


With the war over, L&N began to find its territory invaded by competing railroads. On the west the Evansville, Henderson & Nashville was completed in 1872 and sold to the St. Louis & Southeastern Railway (StL&SE), and to the east the city of Cincinnati was busy planning and building the Cincinnati Southern Railway.
L&N partnered with the Memphis & Ohio and the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroads to extend its line to Memphis before the start of the Civil War in April 1861. The war divided Kentucky and Tennessee and made the railroad a target for both sides. As the fighting moved further Southeast, the railroad was able to return to regular operation, prospering through the remainder of the conflict. The end of war brought a rush of competitors from Illinois and Ohio eager to extend their lines into the South, but L&N's existing infrastructure gave it a head start, and its ability to raise capital allowed it to acquire uncompleted lines in the former Confederate states which had been chartered before the war.


To the south, though, L&N faced little competition. By 1860 several railroad companies had put together a line from Nashville to Decatur, Alabama — they were consolidated in 1866 as the Nashville & Decatur Railroad (N&D) — and by 1870 a rail line was open from Montgomery, Alabama, through Mobile to New Orleans. The N&D proposed a lease to the L&N if L&N would guarantee the completion of the South & North Alabama, which was under construction from Mobile north through the infant industrial center of Birmingham to Decatur. The Louisville-Montgomery route was completed in 1872. L&N also began extending its Lebanon branch southeastward toward Knoxville and Cumberland Gap.
Of critical importance, for the railroad as well as for the hoped-for industrial development of central Alabama, was the line between Nashville and Montgomery, from which connections to the ports of Mobile and New Orleans were well underway. A handful of antebellum lines were consolidated in [[1866]] as the [[Nashville & Decatur Railroad]] (N&D). They struck a deal with the L&N to complete their projected lines to the Gulf, which opened in [[1870]] and through the mineral district to Nashville, which opened in [[1872]], creating the Louisville & Nashville Railroad's main line.


In 1875 L&N had a main line for Louisville to Montgomery and branches from Lebanon Junction to [[Livingston, Kentucky]], from Richmond Junction to [[Richmond, Kentucky]], and from Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Memphis. L&N began expanding in earnest. It purchased the Evansville, Henderson & St. Louis (EH&StL) at foreclosure in 1879, gaining a second route from the Ohio River to Nashville. EH&StL owners, the StL&SE, had been in receivership since 1874; its line from [[East St. Louis, Illinois|East St. Louis]] to [[Evansville, Indiana|Evansville]] was purchased by the [[Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway|Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis]] (NC&StL). On the southern front, L&N purchased the Montgomery & Mobile and the New Orleans, Mobile & Texas, obtaining a route to New Orleans; along with the Montgomery & Mobile came routes into western [[Florida]]. L&N was alarmed at the sudden expansion of the NC&StL that promised a bridge over the Ohio, a link between [[Owensboro, Kentucky|Owensboro]] and Evansville, and leases of the [[Western and Atlantic Railroad|Western & Atlantic Railroad]] and [[Central of Georgia Railway]]. L&N began buying NC&StL stock, soon acquiring virtual control over its rival. L&N quickly took the East St. Louis-Evansville line from NC&StL and added it to its own system.
<!--In 1875 L&N had a main line for Louisville to Montgomery and branches from Lebanon Junction to [[Livingston, Kentucky]], from Richmond Junction to [[Richmond, Kentucky]], and from Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Memphis. L&N began expanding in earnest. It purchased the Evansville, Henderson & St. Louis (EH&StL) at foreclosure in 1879, gaining a second route from the Ohio River to Nashville. EH&StL owners, the StL&SE, had been in receivership since 1874; its line from [[East St. Louis, Illinois|East St. Louis]] to [[Evansville, Indiana|Evansville]] was purchased by the [[Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway|Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis]] (NC&StL). On the southern front, L&N purchased the Montgomery & Mobile and the New Orleans, Mobile & Texas, obtaining a route to New Orleans; along with the Montgomery & Mobile came routes into western [[Florida]]. L&N was alarmed at the sudden expansion of the NC&StL that promised a bridge over the Ohio, a link between [[Owensboro, Kentucky|Owensboro]] and Evansville, and leases of the [[Western and Atlantic Railroad|Western & Atlantic Railroad]] and [[Central of Georgia Railway]]. L&N began buying NC&StL stock, soon acquiring virtual control over its rival. L&N quickly took the East St. Louis-Evansville line from NC&StL and added it to its own system.


One of L&N's major acquisitions was the "Short Line" between Louisville and Cincinnati. The [[Louisville and Frankfort Railroad|Louisville & Frankfort]] and Lexington & Frankfort railroads completed a line from Louisville to Lexington in 1851. There were proposals to extend that line from Lexington to Cincinnati and to build a new short, direct line from Louisville to Cincinnati. The latter was built in 1869 by the Louisville and Frankfort in the face of rivalry between the cities of Louisville and Cincinnati, debate over the gauge (and thus over which city would have the freight transfer business), and even the route into Louisville — the city council advocated a route that the railroad said could be damaged by floods, and when the railroad knuckled under to the city and sent surveyors out, they found the proposed route deep under water. The two railroads consolidated in 1869 to form the [[Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railroad]], over the protests of the city of [[Frankfort, Kentucky|Frankfort]] that it would become simply a way station. L&N purchased the Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexington in 1881.
One of L&N's major acquisitions was the "Short Line" between Louisville and Cincinnati. The [[Louisville and Frankfort Railroad|Louisville & Frankfort]] and Lexington & Frankfort railroads completed a line from Louisville to Lexington in 1851. There were proposals to extend that line from Lexington to Cincinnati and to build a new short, direct line from Louisville to Cincinnati. The latter was built in 1869 by the Louisville and Frankfort in the face of rivalry between the cities of Louisville and Cincinnati, debate over the gauge (and thus over which city would have the freight transfer business), and even the route into Louisville — the city council advocated a route that the railroad said could be damaged by floods, and when the railroad knuckled under to the city and sent surveyors out, they found the proposed route deep under water. The two railroads consolidated in 1869 to form the [[Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railroad]], over the protests of the city of [[Frankfort, Kentucky|Frankfort]] that it would become simply a way station. L&N purchased the Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexington in 1881.

Latest revision as of 11:02, 9 January 2015

L & N logo.jpg

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N Railroad, LN) was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeastern United States from 1850 to 1983. It was a primary passenger and cargo carrier in Birmingham.

The railroad grew from a road with just 285 miles of track between Louisville and Lebanon, Kentucky to a 6,000-mile system serving thirteen states. It survived the depradations of Civil War and the scarcities of the Great Depression, operating both freight and passenger trains in a manner that earned it the nickname, "The Old Reliable."

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad financed the completion of the South & North Alabama Railroad line south to Montgomery in 1872, creating the crossing that established Birmingham as the transportation hub of Alabama's mineral district. The deal gave the L&N the right to operate the line as part of its network.

The company developed the Birmingham Mineral Railroad to serve mining and industrial sites in the Birmingham District beginning in 1884. It also constructed Birmingham's L & N Station on the site of the former Relay House in 1887.

History

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad was chartered by the Kentucky State Legislature in 1850. In March of that year, the line connecting Louisville to Lebabon, Kentucky was opened. Nine years later, it was extended to Bowling Green and then across the Cumberland River into Nashville by bridge. Another bridge, completed the same year across the Green River at Munfordville was, at the time, the longest iron bridge in the United States.

L&N partnered with the Memphis & Ohio and the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroads to extend its line to Memphis before the start of the Civil War in April 1861. The war divided Kentucky and Tennessee and made the railroad a target for both sides. As the fighting moved further Southeast, the railroad was able to return to regular operation, prospering through the remainder of the conflict. The end of war brought a rush of competitors from Illinois and Ohio eager to extend their lines into the South, but L&N's existing infrastructure gave it a head start, and its ability to raise capital allowed it to acquire uncompleted lines in the former Confederate states which had been chartered before the war.

Of critical importance, for the railroad as well as for the hoped-for industrial development of central Alabama, was the line between Nashville and Montgomery, from which connections to the ports of Mobile and New Orleans were well underway. A handful of antebellum lines were consolidated in 1866 as the Nashville & Decatur Railroad (N&D). They struck a deal with the L&N to complete their projected lines to the Gulf, which opened in 1870 and through the mineral district to Nashville, which opened in 1872, creating the Louisville & Nashville Railroad's main line.

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