Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | Seaboard Air Line Railway Building, 1 High Street, Portsmouth, Virginia (1900–1958) 3600 W. Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia (1958–1967) |
Reporting mark | SAL |
Locale | Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida |
Dates of operation | 1900–1967 |
Successor | Seaboard Coast Line |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad (reporting mark SAL), known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Its predecessor railroads dated from the 1830s and reorganized extensively to rebuild after the American Civil War, and by 1900 had merged together to form the SAL. The company was headquartered in Portsmouth, Virginia until 1958, when its main offices were relocated to Richmond, Virginia.
Styling itself as "The Route of Courteous Service", Seaboard, along with its main competitors Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Florida East Coast Railway and Southern Railway, contributed greatly to the economic development of the Southeastern United States, and particularly to that of Florida throughout the first half of the 20th century. Its trains brought vacationers to Florida from the Northeast and carried southern timber, minerals and produce, especially Florida citrus crops, to the northern states.
At the end of 1925 SAL operated 3,929 miles of road, not including its flock of subsidiaries; at the end of 1960 it reported 4,135 miles. The main line ran from Richmond, Virginia to Tampa, Florida via Raleigh, North Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville itself was a major interchange point for passenger trains bringing travelers to the Sunshine State. Seaboard rails continued around Tampa Bay to St. Petersburg, and by 1927 extended to West Palm Beach and Miami starting from Wildwood.
Other important Seaboard routes included a line from Jacksonville via Tallahassee to a connection with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) at Chattahoochee, Florida, for through service to New Orleans; a line to Atlanta, Georgia, and Birmingham, Alabama, connecting with the main line at Hamlet, North Carolina; and a line from the main at Norlina, North Carolina, to Portsmouth, Virginia, the earliest route of what became the Seaboard.