JeffPo's Southern Railway Page #2
Last update: 03/27/07
This Adlake lantern was used by the Southern Railway.
The aqua-blue globe is etched with SOUTHERN RY. The globe shines as signal green when lit. It was used as a "proceed with caution" tower signal, or by those tending the switches, or by a wreck master
Southern Railway
Southern Railway engine at the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC.
The Southern Railway Company was chartered by the Virginia Legislature as a new company in February 1894. The Southern Railway is the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized, and recombined since the 1830s. By 1916, the railroad had become an 8000 mile, 13 state system. The Southern Railway, and its predecessors were responsible for many firsts in the industry. One predecessor, the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Co, was the first to carry passengers, U.S. troops and mail on regularly-scheduled steam-powered trains. It was also the first to operate at night. In 1953, Southern Railway became the first major railroad in the United States to convert totally to diesel-powered locomotives. On the cutting edge of change, the company's catch phrase was "The Railway System that Gives a Green Light to Innovations". The Southern Railway came to an end by name when it merged with the Norfolk & Western to form the Norfolk & Southern in 1982. But you can still find Southern boxcars on the track. "Southern Serves the South".