We are leading the way in rail improvements and partnership development in North Carolina.

The North Carolina legislature authorized an east to west railroad that would connect the coastal plain with the piedmont opening the state for economic and industrial development.

NC Senate President Calvin Graves received the honor of lifting the first shovel of dirt at a groundbreaking ceremony in Greensboro on July 11, 1851. Having cast the deciding vote for legislative approval, it ended his political career because it did not pass in his district.

John Motley Morehead, first President of the North Carolina Railroad and former state governor, called upon the legislature to provide increased funding calling the railroad a “tree of life” for North Carolina. The legislature approved State purchase of an additional $1 million in shares, making the railroad 75% owned by the State and 25% owned by private stockholders.

On January 21, 1856, the first train ran the completed length of the 223-mile corridor from Charlotte to Goldsboro. Trains soon began hauling passengers and freight including tobacco, cotton, corn, wheat, bacon, lumber, naval stores, iron and machinery.

In 1856, the railroad built workshops on 632 acres of land purchased in Alamance County, the mid-way point on the line. The community that sprang up around these rail car and track repair shops was known as Company Shops and later became the town of Burlington, North Carolina. In addition to Burlington, several other towns developed at stops along the rail line.

Upon the conclusion of the Civil War the railroad was in a state of disrepair. During the war, railroad traffic had multiplied and maintenance had become difficult. Within two years of the war’s end, however, the roadbed, track and bridges on the whole line had been returned to reasonably good repair and the burned structures were reconstructed. NCRR purchased both used and new equipment to return rolling stock inventory to pre-war levels. The North Carolina Railroad was ready to enter into a new phase of its history.

NCRR signed a 30-year lease with the Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) for operations and equipment.

J.P. Morgan’s Southern Railway System acquired the Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) and NCRR then entered into a 99-year lease with Southern Railway (now Norfolk Southern) commencing on January 1, 1896. Needing a “back shop” service facility on their eastern main line between Washington, DC and Atlanta, Southern Railway opened its own shops in 1896 in Spencer, North Carolina just north of Salisbury and NCRR’s Company Shops fell permanently out of use.

On September 29, 1989, the NCRR merged with the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad (A&NCRR), consolidating a 317-mile east-west corridor from Charlotte to the Port of Morehead City. The charter in 1854 originally linked Shepard’s Point (now Morehead City) with the NCRR terminus in Goldsboro.

The State of North Carolina bought out the 25% of private shares of NCRR stock making the NCRR a privately run company, fully owned by the state. At the time of the state’s acquisition of NCRR in 1998, the total stock value of the NCRR was $282 million.

Norfolk Southern Railway Company (previously Southern Railway) and NCRR reached an exclusive trackage rights agreement for Norfolk Southern to continue freight and maintenance operations on the NCRR line for 15 years renewable for an additional 30 years. NSR operates with its own crews and rolling stock over lines and property owned by the NCRR. The agreement also allows for operations of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) on the NCRR line.

The North Carolina Railroad Company begins its capital improvement program to serve as a blueprint to improve the maintenance, integrity and economic potential of the railroad corridor. In a partnership that is unique nationwide, NCRR, Norfolk Southern and the North Carolina Department of Transportation work together, to improve the quality of crossings and bridges, add double track and sidings, realign curves, and improve signaling and other infrastructure along the corridor.

NCRR completed renovations for both the former freight depot in downtown Raleigh and the Burlington Engine House. The restored freight depot now features a variety of food and beverage options in Raleigh’s Warehouse District and received the 2003 Real Estate Deals of the Year (REDY) Award for Best Redevelopment Project in the Triangle area. Similarly, the Burlington Engine House has been transformed into the city’s passenger station and also houses offices for a division of the City of Burlington’s police department and Impact Alamance. This project won the Department of Commerce’s 2003 Mainstreet Award for Best Adaptive Use Project and includes NCRR’s Whistlestop exhibit, which highlights the Company’s history.

NCRR celebrated its 175th charter year with several accomplishments, including the launch of a new logo and branding, the implementation of a Track Protection program to provide flagging services, the introduction of four new economic development programs, the establishment of a $10 million impact fund and disaster recovery program, and the securing of a $105.6 million federal grant award from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program (CRISI).