The acquirer is acquired but continues to grow
The Central of Georgia was acquired by the Richmond Terminal Company in 1887. The new company issued overvalued bonds based on the good credit of the Central. This resulted in huge corporate debts.
Under its new ownership, the Savannah & Western Railroad (S&W) was founded in 1888 as a Central subsidiary. It acquired several small railroads, pushing further into Alabama and across the Tennessee border. Shortly after it was founded the S&W purchased the 157-mile Columbus & Western (C&W), which connected Columbus with Birmingham, Alabama. In addition, a branch line ran from near the Alabama state line at Opelika to Roanoke.
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Like many of the FreightWaves staff and our readers, I like trucks… and ships, airplanes and trains. I also like to learn the history of different aspects of transportation and logistics and the companies that have helped build that history.
This is the first installment of a multi-part article on the history of BNSF Railway, one of the seven Class I railroads remaining in North America. Much of the information contained in this and later articles comes from the BNSF website and specifically the BNSF Historical Overview.
Today, BNSF serves the western two-thirds of the United States, parts of Canada and important Mexican gateways. The railroad’s routes cover approximately 32,500 miles.
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