How do railroads get their names?

[scharnhorst]

Singer Sewing Machine was the company with the NJ, I, &, I had an association with. Singer had plants in New Jersey, Indiana, and Illinois. Guess nowadays, knowledge of Mandarin would be helpful in making Singers.

The line today is deeply buried within the Norfolk Southern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey ... s_Railroad" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

bit off topic but they also had a factory in Auburn, NY as well That Operation was sold to McQuay International.

[scharnhorst]

The Erie Railroad never served Erie PA; in fact I recall a News Photo in TRAINS over 50 years ago that showed a detroued ERIE passenger train in Erie, Pa. The caption read to the effect of 'The ERIE finally makes it to its namesake city.' The ERIE once had the name of New York & Erie:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Railroad" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

However, the most ambitious name coming to mind has got to be the Quannah, Acme, and Pacific. This was a one-time Frisco subsidiary; who knows if any of it remains in service on the BNSF today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quanah,_Ac ... ic_Railway" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I looked in the SPV Railroad Atlas and found the Quannah, Acme, and Pacific listed it looks like a small part of it is still in use in Quannah, Texas as a lead going to a Georgia Pacific plant.

[ExCon90]

Thanks to Mr. Norman for picking up the Singer connection; I knew the company was a household name, but the only South Bend company I could think of was Studebaker, and I didn't think they had any other plants. I suppose today the railroad would have to be called the New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois & Orient.

[wjstix]

"The Hudson Division of the New York Central was named for the Hudson River it parallels."

Yes, but I think the main reason is that it was originally the Hudson River RR. For a while after they joined, the Central was called the New York Central & Hudson River RR.

"The nickname of the NYC was "Water Level Route" to separate itself from rival Pennsylvania Railroad that had to cross mountains to get to the same destinations. The implied meaning was that the NYC was faster and more reliable since it followed the relatively level pathways of rivers and lakes on its way from New York to Chicago."

NYC ads often used the phrase "The Water Level Route - You Can Sleep". They were making the point that on a Pennsylvania RR from New York to Chicago, you would be jostled during the night as the train went up and down grades - whereas the Central's line was smooth and flat.

BTW re railroad names, IIRC Baltimore and Ohio was built to connect Baltimore and it's east coast port to the Ohio river - not to the state of Ohio. Similarly, I believe the Santa Fe referred to in Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe refers to the Santa Fe Trail which the railroad followed for part of it's line. The ATSF only reached the city of Santa Fe N.M. on a branch line.

[D Alex]

Perhaps CSX should be renamed the Baltimore, Ohio, Chesapeake, Pennsylvania, New York, Southern and Western? BOCPNYS&W for short?

[ExCon90]

Penn Central's first corporate name was Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Company until cooler heads realized that PANYC might not be an ideal designation; newspaper ads and lapel pins were quickly issued reading "Call Us Penn Central," and the lawyers tidied up. Later, Great Northern Pacific and Burlington Lines soon became Burlington Northern. I still have a certain fondness for East Tennessee and Western North Carolina -- can't beat it for specificity.

[D Alex]

FWIW, the Erie......didn't serve Erie, PA!

[ExCon90]

No, but it reached Lake Erie, at Dunkirk, NY. That was the object -- to connect New York City with the Great Lakes -- in fact, I think the original name was the New York & Erie.

[BR&P]

And then there are a few which fit none of the above criteria. Out in Oklahoma you'll find the AT&L Railroad, which stands for Austin Todd and Ladd. Nope, no cities by those names. Not the counties, either. Nearby rivers? Guess again.

Give up? Those are the names of the founder's grandsons!

[Cynthia Zeigler]

Wow... interesting topic. Thanks for the information guys.