Blue Ridge Railway (1901)

The Blue Ridge Railway was originally chartered in 1852 as the Blue Ridge Railroad (not to be confused with Virginia's Blue Ridge Railroad). Original plans were for a 195 mile line from Anderson, South Carolina to Knoxville, Tennessee going through the mountains with as many as thirteen tunnels. By 1859, the railroad had built between Anderson and Walhalla, South Carolina and substantial work on several tunnels had started. However, with the outbreak of the civil war, no further work was ever completed despite efforts after the war, including one by the Black Diamond Railroad. In 1894, Southern Railway (US) acquired the 34 miles of track that had been laid. In 1901 the Southern reorganized the Blue Ridge at which time the original "Railroad" name was changed to "Railway." Eventually, the Blue Ridge was fully consolidated into the Southern.