The 'Seaboard Air Line' Railroad was an
American railroad that existed between the
1880s and July 1,
1967, when it merged with the
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The company was headquartered in
Richmond, Virginia.
History

1896 map with connections
The earliest portion of the SAL system was built as the
Portsmouth and Weldon Railroad, which began operating in 1835 in southeastern Virginia and a small section of northeastern North Carolina, linking the
Roanoke River to the harbor at
Hampton Roads. It was later known as the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad, and then the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad.
James H. Dooley, a Virginia lawyer, helped to found the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.
The SAL main line, now mostly
CSX's "S" Line, was built by the following companies:
★
Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad,
Richmond, Virginia to
Norlina, North Carolina (the immediate predecessor of the SAL)
★
Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, Norlina to
Raleigh, North Carolina
★
Raleigh and Augusta Air-Line Railroad, Raleigh to
Hamlet, North Carolina
★
Palmetto Railroad, Hamlet to
Cheraw, South Carolina
★
Chesterfield and Kershaw Railroad, Cheraw to
Camden, South Carolina
★ Predecessors of the
Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad:
★
★
South Bound Railroad, Camden to
Savannah, Georgia
★
★
Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Northern Division, Savannah to Georgia/Florida state line
★
★
Florida Northern Railroad, state line to
Yulee, Florida
★
★
Fernandina and Jacksonville Railroad, Yulee to
Jacksonville, Florida
★
★
Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad, Jacksonville to
Baldwin, Florida
★
★
Florida Railroad, Baldwin (continuing north to Yulee) to
Waldo, Florida
★
★
Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad Tampa Division, Waldo to
Tampa, Florida
See also
★
List of Seaboard Air Line Railroad precursors
★
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
★
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
External links
★
Atlantic Coast Line & Seaboard Air Line Railroads Historical Society