Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the Chessie System was the creation of Cyrus S. Eaton and his protégé Hays T. Watkins, then president and chief executive officer of the C&O. A chief source of revenue for the Chessie System was coal mined in West Virginia. Another was the transport of auto parts and finished motor vehicles.
The name "Chessie System" had been a popular nickname for the C&O since the 1930s, cemented with an advertising campaign that featured a sleeping kitten named Chessie. The 1970s holding company developed the "Ches-C" emblem: a kitten outline imposed on a circle, creating a rough letter C. This emblem was emblazoned on the front of all Chessie System locomotives, and also served as the "C" in "Chessie System" on the locomotive's flanks, and on other rolling stock.
The three railroads that would make up the Chessie System had been closely related since the 1960s. C&O had acquired controlling interest in B&O in 1962, and the two had jointly controlled WM since 1967.
Chessie System was incorporated in Virginia on February 26, 1973, and it acquired the railroads on June 15.
On November 1, 1980, Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form CSX Corporation. Initially, the three Chessie System railroads continued to operate separately, even after Seaboard's six Family Lines System railroads were merged into the Seaboard System Railroad on December 29, 1982. That began to change in 1983, when the WM was merged into the B&O. The Chessie image continued to be applied to new and re-painted equipment until July 1, 1986, when CSXT introduced its own paint scheme. In April 1987, the B&O was merged into the C&O. In August 1987, C&O merged into CSX Transportation, a 1986 renaming of the Seaboard System Railroad, and the Chessie System name was retired.
The Chessie System company itself directly owned no locomotives or other rolling stock. Instead, equipment was placed on the roster of one of the three component railroads and ownership denoted by the reporting marks C&O, B&O, and WM. All three companies shared a common paint scheme of yellow, vermillion, and blue.
Notable Chessie System locomotives include:
B&O #1977 (EMD GP40-2) was meant to celebrate the B&O's 150th anniversary. For a short time, there were two B&O locomotives numbered 1977; this GP40 was later renumbered B&O 4100 and B&O 4163.
B&O #GM50 (EMD GP40-2) was painted gold to celebrate GM-EMD's 50th anniversary as a diesel locomotive manufacturer. In 1984, it was repainted and renumbered B&O 4164.
B&O #4444 (EMD GP40-2) pulled Ronald Reagan's 1984 presidential train through Ohio. It was the third-to-last GP40-2 owned by Chessie; the last was B&O 4447.
The former Reading Company#2101 (T-1-class 4-8-4) was one of three locomotives that pulled the American Freedom Train in 1975 and 1976. As part of B&O's 150th anniversary celebration in 1977, the Chessie System sent #2101 on a national tour as the "Chessie Steam Special". Painted in the Chessie System motif, the train consisted of the locomotive, two tenders, and 18 to 20 passenger and baggage cars. In March 1979, the locomotive was severely damaged in a fire while stored in a Chessie System roundhouse. It has since been cosmetically restored to its American Freedom Train paint scheme, and is on static display at the B&O Railroad Museum, although has been exposed to the elements for most of its time there.
In 2017, the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society acquired C&O 8272, a GE B30-7. It has been restored in the Chessie System paint scheme and currently resides at the Lake Shore Railway Museum in North East, Pennsylvania, and most recently, an EMD GP15T (C&O 1507) was donated to the B&O Railroad Museum.
Heritage units
In 2015, CSX used decals to decorate two of its locomotives in the livery of predecessor railroads. CSX AC4400CW 366 bears the "Chess-C" and C40-8W 7765 has the "B&O" logo. 366's decal was later damaged by fire and removed.
Further reading
Ori, Dave (2006). Chessie System. MBI Railroad Color History (1st ed.). Voyageur Press. ISBN978-0-7603-2339-7.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chessie System.
The 1977-1978 Chessie Steam Special for the railroad's 150th Anniversary
January 05, 2023
chessie, system, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2021, learn, when, remove, this, . This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Chessie System news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Chessie System Inc was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway C amp O the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad B amp O the Western Maryland Railway WM and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad B amp OCT Trains operated under the Chessie name from 1973 to 1987 Chessie SystemOverviewHeadquartersCleveland OhioReporting markB amp OC amp OWMLocaleDelawareIllinoisIndianaKentuckyMarylandMichiganNew JerseyNew YorkOhioOntarioPennsylvaniaVirginiaWashington D C West VirginiaDates of operationFebruary 26th 1973 June 30th 1986SuccessorCSX TransportationTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeHeadquartered in Cleveland Ohio the Chessie System was the creation of Cyrus S Eaton and his protege Hays T Watkins then president and chief executive officer of the C amp O A chief source of revenue for the Chessie System was coal mined in West Virginia Another was the transport of auto parts and finished motor vehicles The name Chessie System had been a popular nickname for the C amp O since the 1930s cemented with an advertising campaign that featured a sleeping kitten named Chessie The 1970s holding company developed the Ches C emblem a kitten outline imposed on a circle creating a rough letter C This emblem was emblazoned on the front of all Chessie System locomotives and also served as the C in Chessie System on the locomotive s flanks and on other rolling stock Contents 1 History 2 List of railroad subsidiaries 3 Notable locomotives 4 Heritage units 5 Further reading 6 External linksHistory EditThe three railroads that would make up the Chessie System had been closely related since the 1960s C amp O had acquired controlling interest in B amp O in 1962 and the two had jointly controlled WM since 1967 Chessie System was incorporated in Virginia on February 26 1973 and it acquired the railroads on June 15 On November 1 1980 Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form CSX Corporation Initially the three Chessie System railroads continued to operate separately even after Seaboard s six Family Lines System railroads were merged into the Seaboard System Railroad on December 29 1982 That began to change in 1983 when the WM was merged into the B amp O The Chessie image continued to be applied to new and re painted equipment until July 1 1986 when CSXT introduced its own paint scheme In April 1987 the B amp O was merged into the C amp O In August 1987 C amp O merged into CSX Transportation a 1986 renaming of the Seaboard System Railroad and the Chessie System name was retired Chessie System SD50 locomotive in Connellsville PennsylvaniaList of railroad subsidiaries EditIts subsidiaries included Baltimore amp Ohio Railroad Baltimore amp Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad Chesapeake amp Ohio Railway Covington amp Cincinnati Elevated Railroad amp Transfer amp Bridge Company Staten Island Railroad Toledo Ore RR Company Western Maryland RailwayNotable locomotives EditThe Chessie System company itself directly owned no locomotives or other rolling stock Instead equipment was placed on the roster of one of the three component railroads and ownership denoted by the reporting marks C amp O B amp O and WM All three companies shared a common paint scheme of yellow vermillion and blue Notable Chessie System locomotives include B amp O 1977 EMD GP40 2 was meant to celebrate the B amp O s 150th anniversary For a short time there were two B amp O locomotives numbered 1977 this GP40 was later renumbered B amp O 4100 and B amp O 4163 B amp O GM50 EMD GP40 2 was painted gold to celebrate GM EMD s 50th anniversary as a diesel locomotive manufacturer In 1984 it was repainted and renumbered B amp O 4164 B amp O 3802 EMD GP38 was named the All American Locomotive by Trains in 1982 It has been restored and is on display at the B amp O Railroad Museum in Baltimore B amp O 4444 EMD GP40 2 pulled Ronald Reagan s 1984 presidential train through Ohio It was the third to last GP40 2 owned by Chessie the last was B amp O 4447 The former Reading 2101 leading the Chessie Steam Special into Plymouth Michigan in 1977 The former Reading Company 2101 T 1 class 4 8 4 was one of three locomotives that pulled the American Freedom Train in 1975 and 1976 As part of B amp O s 150th anniversary celebration in 1977 the Chessie System sent 2101 on a national tour as the Chessie Steam Special Painted in the Chessie System motif the train consisted of the locomotive two tenders and 18 to 20 passenger and baggage cars In March 1979 the locomotive was severely damaged in a fire while stored in a Chessie System roundhouse It has since been cosmetically restored to its American Freedom Train paint scheme and is on static display at the B amp O Railroad Museum although has been exposed to the elements for most of its time there In 2017 the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society acquired C amp O 8272 a GE B30 7 It has been restored in the Chessie System paint scheme and currently resides at the Lake Shore Railway Museum in North East Pennsylvania and most recently an EMD GP15T C amp O 1507 was donated to the B amp O Railroad Museum Heritage units EditIn 2015 CSX used decals to decorate two of its locomotives in the livery of predecessor railroads CSX AC4400CW 366 bears the Chess C and C40 8W 7765 has the B amp O logo 366 s decal was later damaged by fire and removed Further reading EditOri Dave 2006 Chessie System MBI Railroad Color History 1st ed Voyageur Press ISBN 978 0 7603 2339 7 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chessie System Railways portalChessie System Historical Society official site Chessie Photo Archives The 1977 1978 Chessie Steam Special for the railroad s 150th Anniversary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chessie System amp oldid 1105603674, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
