Chessie System
| File:Chessie System logo.svg Chessie System "Ches-C" logo featuring the kitten silhouette | |
| Company type | Holding company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | February 26, 1973 in Virginia, United States |
| Founder | Cyrus S. Eaton, Hays T. Watkins |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Fate | Merged into CSX Transportation |
| Headquarters | Cleveland , United States |
Area served | United States (primarily coal and automotive transport) |
Key people | Hays T. Watkins (President and CEO of C&O) |
| Products | Transportation of coal, automotive components, and completed vehicles |
Chessie System, Inc. functioned as a holding corporation overseeing the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Operating under the Chessie banner from 1973 until 1987, its headquarters were located in Cleveland, Ohio.
The company was established by Cyrus S. Eaton alongside his mentee Hays T. Watkins, who was then serving as president and CEO of C&O. Chessie System’s primary income sources involved the transportation of coal from West Virginia as well as automotive components and completed vehicles.
The "Chessie" name traces back to the C&O’s 1930s emblem—a sleeping kitten known as Chessie. In the 1970s, the holding company adopted the "Ches-C" logo, featuring a kitten silhouette shaped into a stylized letter C, which was prominently displayed on all Chessie locomotives and rolling stock.
History
The origins of Chessie System lie in the collaboration between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). Following the announcement of a possible merger between the New York Central (NYC) and Pennsylvania (PRR) in 1957, B&O and C&O sought to consolidate their operations. The financially stronger C&O gained control over B&O in December 1962, though both companies initially retained their distinct identities.
Subsequently, the combined C&O/B&O acquired full ownership of the Western Maryland Railway by February 1967. These three railroads were officially consolidated under the Chessie System name in 1973, honoring the C&O’s historic feline mascot.
Incorporated in Virginia on February 26, 1973, Chessie System completed acquisition of its railroads on June 15 that same year.
On November 1, 1980, Chessie merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries, resulting in the formation of CSX Corporation. Despite Seaboard's six Family Lines railroads merging into the Seaboard System Railroad in December 1982, Chessie’s railroads continued to operate independently at first. This changed in 1983 when WM was merged into B&O. The Chessie branding persisted until July 1, 1986, when CSX Transportation unveiled its own livery. By April 1987, B&O was merged into C&O; subsequently, in August, C&O was absorbed into CSX Transportation (the new name for Seaboard System Railroad), marking the retirement of the Chessie System brand.
List of railroad subsidiaries
The subsidiaries under Chessie System included:
- Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
- Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad
- Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
- Covington & Cincinnati Elevated Railroad & Transfer & Bridge Company
- Staten Island Railroad
- Toledo Ore RR Company
- Western Maryland Railway
Notable locomotives
Chessie System did not directly own locomotives; rather, equipment was registered under its three main railroads—C&O, B&O, and WM—all of which shared a distinctive yellow, vermilion, and blue paint scheme.
Prominent locomotives associated with Chessie System include:
- B&O #1977 (EMD GP40-2), created to celebrate B&O's 150th anniversary; it was later renumbered as B&O 4100 and subsequently 4163.
- B&O #GM50 (EMD GP40-2), painted gold to commemorate GM-EMD's 50 years producing diesel locomotives; it was repainted and renumbered B&O 4164 in 1984.
- B&O #3802 (EMD GP38), dubbed the All American Locomotive in 1982; currently exhibited at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore.
- B&O #4444 (EMD GP40-2), notable for pulling President Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign train through Ohio.
The former Reading Company locomotive #2101 (T-1-class 4-8-4) hauled the American Freedom Train during 1975–76. For B&O's sesquicentennial celebration in 1977, it toured nationwide as the "Chessie Steam Special," adorned with Chessie colors alongside passenger and baggage cars. After suffering significant fire damage at a Chessie roundhouse in Silver Grove, Kentucky in 1979, it underwent cosmetic restoration back to its American Freedom Train appearance and is now on static display at the B&O Railroad Museum. In October 2023, it was moved indoors for further cosmetic refurbishment.
In 2017, the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society acquired C&O 8272, a GE B30-7, restored it with Chessie livery, and displays it at the Lake Shore Railway Museum in North East, Pennsylvania. Additionally, an EMD GP15T (C&O 1507) was donated to the B&O Railroad Museum.
Heritage units
In 2015, CSX adorned two locomotives with decals representing former railroads: AC4400CW 366 displayed the "Chess-C" emblem, while C40-8W 7765 carried the "B&O" logo. The decal on unit 366 was subsequently removed following fire damage.
In June 2023, GE ES44AH locomotive #1973 was reintroduced into service after undergoing repairs and a repaint at CSX’s Waycross, Georgia facility. This unit features a mixed paint scheme, combining CSX’s blue and yellow on the front with the traditional yellow and red Chessie System colors on the remainder, commemorating the Chessie System’s establishment year of 1973.