Relic of the "Temporary Railroad"
One of the fun things about railfanning in a new area is the little surprises found along the way. Be it a faded sign on an old bridge bearing the name of a predecessor fallen flag, or an unexpected depot or tower, or the occasional classic freight cars such as this. This was one of those pleasant surprises that warranted a few images for posterity.
An old 40 ft. boxcar that is fairly intact and still sitting on its own wheels rests on a spur used as a storage shed by local CSXT MofW crews.
While I don't know the age or pedigree of this particular freight car, it is certainly far older than the image it wears. The Seaboard System was one of the shortest lived Class 1 systems existing only about 3 1/2 years from December 1982 until July 1986. I've often read that the Seaboard was created specifically as a "Temporary Railroad" as part of the multi step process that lead to the creation of the modern CSXT super system. It is interesting to note that CSX Corporation was formed in 1980 when Seaboard Coast Line Industries and Chessie System merged. SCL Industries was the parent company of a group of southern Class 1s that for a decade or so had been operating each of its separate railroads (the three largest components being L&N, SCL, and Clinchfield) under a common image and marketing scheme known as the Family Lines System. This schema was still in effect when CSX Corporation came into existence and the simplifying of the corporate structure was an important initiative of the new parent company.
But, Ron Flanary wrote an excellent article about this short lived railroad in Railroad's Illustrated a few years ago and I wanted to share this piece of his always fabulous writing:
"It has been stated that Seaboard System was intentionally a “temporary” railroad, owing to its brief existence before the eventual consolidation with Chessie System to create CSX Transportation. “That’s not true,” according to Sidney Johnson, a retired CSX executive who was a part of the management team that implemented the changes. “Dick Sanborn and some other members of the executive management team wanted to clean up all those old corporations and come up with something less confusing than the ‘Family Lines.’ At key interchange points, other railroads were never sure which of our companies were in the conversation if you mentioned ‘Family Lines.’ It could be SCL, L&N, Clinchfield, or any of the other railroads under that banner. Sure, it was a sentimental loss to see these proud old railroad names go, but it was a transportation business doing its best to adapt to the enormous opportunities afforded by deregulation, so it made perfect sense.” Johnson went on to state there was no plan or intention at that moment to make SBD a short-time transitional corporation. “To the contrary, we invested heavily in a new image for our locomotive fleet, a fresh new logo, and an aggressive program of new signage for bridges, buildings, and the freight car fleet. It was our intention that Seaboard System was here for the long haul…”
But that wasn't to be, and on July 1, 1986 Seaboard System renamed itself CSX Transportation and then the dominoes fell quickly as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was formally merged away into the Chesapeake and Ohio (both long operating together as the Chessie System) and then a couple months later in August 1986 the Chessie was formally merged into CSXT. But the legacy of the Seaboard held sway in the gray paint that dominated CSXT's locomotives for its first nearly two decades as well as the fact that the Seaboard and predecessor SCL's headquarters city and building remain as the home of CSX to this day overlooking the Saint Johns River in Jacksonville.
But here along the Ohio River far from traditional Seaboard territory a relic of that temporary (or not!) railroad lives on....
Parkersburg, West Virginia
Friday August 21, 2020
Relic of the "Temporary Railroad"
One of the fun things about railfanning in a new area is the little surprises found along the way. Be it a faded sign on an old bridge bearing the name of a predecessor fallen flag, or an unexpected depot or tower, or the occasional classic freight cars such as this. This was one of those pleasant surprises that warranted a few images for posterity.
An old 40 ft. boxcar that is fairly intact and still sitting on its own wheels rests on a spur used as a storage shed by local CSXT MofW crews.
While I don't know the age or pedigree of this particular freight car, it is certainly far older than the image it wears. The Seaboard System was one of the shortest lived Class 1 systems existing only about 3 1/2 years from December 1982 until July 1986. I've often read that the Seaboard was created specifically as a "Temporary Railroad" as part of the multi step process that lead to the creation of the modern CSXT super system. It is interesting to note that CSX Corporation was formed in 1980 when Seaboard Coast Line Industries and Chessie System merged. SCL Industries was the parent company of a group of southern Class 1s that for a decade or so had been operating each of its separate railroads (the three largest components being L&N, SCL, and Clinchfield) under a common image and marketing scheme known as the Family Lines System. This schema was still in effect when CSX Corporation came into existence and the simplifying of the corporate structure was an important initiative of the new parent company.
But, Ron Flanary wrote an excellent article about this short lived railroad in Railroad's Illustrated a few years ago and I wanted to share this piece of his always fabulous writing:
"It has been stated that Seaboard System was intentionally a “temporary” railroad, owing to its brief existence before the eventual consolidation with Chessie System to create CSX Transportation. “That’s not true,” according to Sidney Johnson, a retired CSX executive who was a part of the management team that implemented the changes. “Dick Sanborn and some other members of the executive management team wanted to clean up all those old corporations and come up with something less confusing than the ‘Family Lines.’ At key interchange points, other railroads were never sure which of our companies were in the conversation if you mentioned ‘Family Lines.’ It could be SCL, L&N, Clinchfield, or any of the other railroads under that banner. Sure, it was a sentimental loss to see these proud old railroad names go, but it was a transportation business doing its best to adapt to the enormous opportunities afforded by deregulation, so it made perfect sense.” Johnson went on to state there was no plan or intention at that moment to make SBD a short-time transitional corporation. “To the contrary, we invested heavily in a new image for our locomotive fleet, a fresh new logo, and an aggressive program of new signage for bridges, buildings, and the freight car fleet. It was our intention that Seaboard System was here for the long haul…”
But that wasn't to be, and on July 1, 1986 Seaboard System renamed itself CSX Transportation and then the dominoes fell quickly as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was formally merged away into the Chesapeake and Ohio (both long operating together as the Chessie System) and then a couple months later in August 1986 the Chessie was formally merged into CSXT. But the legacy of the Seaboard held sway in the gray paint that dominated CSXT's locomotives for its first nearly two decades as well as the fact that the Seaboard and predecessor SCL's headquarters city and building remain as the home of CSX to this day overlooking the Saint Johns River in Jacksonville.
But here along the Ohio River far from traditional Seaboard territory a relic of that temporary (or not!) railroad lives on....
Parkersburg, West Virginia
Friday August 21, 2020