List of North Carolina railroads
The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
Common freight carriers
- Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway
- Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad
- Alexander Railroad
- Atlantic and Western Railway
- Blue Ridge Southern Railroad
- Caldwell County Railroad
- Cape Fear Railways
- Carolina Coastal Railway
- *
- Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad
- Clinton Terminal Railroad
- CSX Transportation
- Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
- High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad
- Kinston and Snow Hill Railroad
- Laurinburg and Southern Railroad
- Norfolk Southern Railway including subsidiaries Camp Lejeune Railroad and State University Railroad
- *
- North Carolina and Virginia Railroad
- R.J. Corman Carolina Lines
- Thermal Belt Railway
- Virginia Southern Railroad
- Wilmington Terminal Railroad
- Winston-Salem Southbound Railway
- Yadkin Valley Railroad
Passenger carriers
- Amtrak
- Charlotte Trolley
- Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
- New Hope Valley Railway
- Red Springs & Northern Railroad
- Tweetsie Railroad
Defunct railroads
| Name | Mark | System | From | To | Successor | Notes |
| Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad | NS | 1897 | 1912 | Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway | - | |
| Aberdeen and Briar Patch Railway | ABPR | 1983 | 1987 | Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway | - | |
| Aberdeen and West End Railroad | NS | 1889 | 1897 | Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad | - | |
| Air Line Railroad in South Carolina | SOU | 1868 | 1870 | Atlanta and Richmond Air–Line Railway | - | |
| Albemarle and Pantego Railroad | NS | 1887 | 1891 | Norfolk and Southern Railroad | - | |
| Albemarle and Raleigh Railroad | ACL | 1883 | 1894 | Wilmington and Weldon Railroad | - | |
| Alma Railway | 1911 | Maxton, Alma and Southbound Railroad | - | |||
| Appalachian Railway | 1908 | 1935 | N/A | - | ||
| Asheboro and Montgomery Railroad | NS | 1896 | 1897 | Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad | - | |
| Asheville and Craggy Mountain Railway | SOU | 1889 | 1941 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Asheville Southern Railway | SOU | 1905 | 1941 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad | SOU | 1881 | 1902 | Southern Railway – Carolina Division | - | |
| Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway | SOU | 1877 | 1996 | Norfolk Southern Railway | - | |
| Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway | L&N | 1896 | 1905 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Atlanta and Richmond Air–Line Railway | SOU | 1870 | 1876 | North Carolina Air–Line Railway | - | |
| Atlantic and Carolina Railroad | 1914 | 1948 | N/A | - | ||
| Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | ACL | ACL | 1898 | 1967 | Seaboard Coast Line Railroad | - |
| Atlantic and Danville Railway | AD | N&W | 1889 | 1962 | Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway | - |
| Atlantic and East Carolina Railway | AEC | SOU | 1939 | 2003 | Norfolk Southern Railway | - |
| Atlantic and French Broad Valley Railroad | SOU | 1881 | 1882 | Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway | - | |
| Atlantic and North Carolina Company | NS | 1905 | 1906 | Norfolk and Southern Railway | - | |
| Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad | ANC | NS | 1852 | 1989 | North Carolina Railroad | - |
| Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio Railroad | SOU | 1855 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Atlantic and Western Railroad | 1889 | 1927 | Atlantic and Western Railway | - | ||
| Atlantic and Yadkin Railway | SOU | 1899 | 1950 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Beaufort and Morehead Railroad | BMH | 1937 | 1998 | North Carolina Railroad | - | |
| Beaufort and Morehead Railway | BMH | 1991 | 2002 | Carolina Rail Services | - | |
| Black Mountain Railway | ACL/ L&N | 1910 | 1955 | Yancey Railroad | - | |
| Blue Ridge and Atlantic Railway | SOU | 1901 | 1909 | Tallulah Falls Railway | - | |
| Bonlee and Western Railway | 1908 | 1932 | N/A | - | ||
| Caldwell and Northern Railroad | SOU | 1893 | 1910 | Carolina and Northwestern Railway | - | |
| Cape Fear and Northern Railway | SCL | 1898 | 1903 | Durham and Southern Railway | - | |
| Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway | ACL, SOU | 1879 | 1898 | Atlantic and Yadkin Railway, Wilmington and Weldon Railroad | - | |
| Carolina Railroad | NS | 1912 | 1931 | N/A | - | |
| Carolina, Atlantic and Western Railway | SAL | 1914 | 1915 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Carolina Central Railroad | SAL | 1880 | 1901 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Carolina Central Railway | SAL | 1873 | 1880 | Carolina Central Railroad | - | |
| Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway | CC&O | ACL/ L&N | 1908 | 1990 | CSX Transportation | - |
| Carolina Coast Railroad | NS | 1903 | 1906 | Norfolk and Southern Railway | - | |
| Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway | SOU | 1882 | 1895 | N/A | Sold at foreclosure; no property in North Carolina | |
| Carolina and Georgia Railway | 1919 | 1927 | Tennessee and North Carolina Railway | - | ||
| Carolina, Glenanna and Pee Dee Railway and Development Company | ACL/ N&W | 1905 | 1907 | Carolina Valley Railway | - | |
| Carolina Narrow-gauge Railroad | SOU | 1872 | 1873 | Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad | - | |
| Carolina and Northeastern Railroad | 1917 | 1931 | Carolina and Northeastern Railway | - | ||
| Carolina and Northeastern Railway | 1931 | 1934 | N/A | - | ||
| Carolina Northern Railroad | SAL | 1899 | 1905 | Raleigh and Charleston Railroad | - | |
| Carolina and Northwestern Railway | CRN | NS | 1994 | Caldwell County Railroad | Line from Hickory to Lenoir purchased by Caldwell County Economic Development Commission; Leased to CWCY. | |
| Carolina and Northwestern Railway | CRN | SOU | 1982 | 1988 | Southern Railway | - |
| Carolina and Northwestern Railway | CRN | SOU | 1897 | 1974 | Norfolk Southern Railway | - |
| Carolina Rail Services | CRIJ | 1986 | 2005 | Morehead and South Fork Railroad | - | |
| Carolina Southern Railway | 1926 | 1961 | N/A | - | ||
| Carolina and Tennessee Southern Railway | SOU | 1902 | 1944 | N/A | - | |
| Carolina Valley Railway | ACL/ N&W | 1907 | 1909 | Piedmont Railway | - | |
| Carolina and Yadkin River Railway | ACL/ N&W | 1912 | 1923 | High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad | - | |
| Carthage Railroad | 1886 | 1920 | Randolph and Cumberland Railway | - | ||
| Carthage and Pinehurst Railroad | NS | 1907 | 1922 | N/A | - | |
| Carthage and Western Railroad | 1893 | - | ||||
| Cashie and Chowan Railroad and Lumber Company | 1883 | - | ||||
| Cashie and Roanoke Railroad | 1887 | 1893 | Wellington and Powellsville Railroad | - | ||
| Chapel Hill Iron Mountain Railroad | SOU | 1873 | 1879 | State University Railroad | - | |
| Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad | ACL/ L&N, SOU | 1886 | 1893 | Ohio River and Charleston Railway | - | |
| Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad | SOU | 1869 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad | SOU | 1847 | 1869 | Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad | - | |
| Chatham Railroad | SAL | 1861 | 1871 | Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad | - | |
| Cheraw and Coalfields Railroad | ACL | 1867 | 1868 | Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad | - | |
| Cheraw and Darlington Railroad | ACL | 1882 | 1898 | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | - | |
| Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad | ACL | 1868 | 1882 | Cheraw and Darlington Railroad | - | |
| Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad | SOU | 1873 | 1897 | Carolina and Northwestern Railway | - | |
| Chowan River Railway and Baltimore Steamboat Company | ACL | 1883 | 1886 | Chowan and Southern Railroad | - | |
| Chowan and Southern Railroad | ACL | 1886 | 1889 | Norfolk and Carolina Railroad | - | |
| Cliffside Railroad | CLIF | 1905 | 1987 | N/A | - | |
| Clinchfield Railroad | CRR | ACL/ L&N | 1924 | 1983 | Seaboard System Railroad | - |
| Clinton and Faison Railroad | ACL | 1881 | 1885 | Clinton and Warsaw Railroad | - | |
| Clinton and Warsaw Railroad | ACL | 1885 | 1888 | Wilmington and Weldon Railroad | - | |
| Dan Valley and Yadkin River Railroad | SOU | 1879 | 1880 | North Carolina Midland Railroad | - | |
| Dan Valley and Yadkin River Narrow Gauge Railroad | SOU | 1881 | 1883 | North Carolina Midland Railroad | - | |
| Danville, Mocksville and Southwestern Railroad | SOU | 1880 | 1899 | Danville and Western Railway | - | |
| Danville and New River Railroad | SOU | 1873 | 1890 | Danville and Western Railway | - | |
| Danville and Western Railway | D&W | SOU | 1891 | - | ||
| Dismal Swamp Railroad | 1896 | 1941 | N/A | - | ||
| Dover and South Bound Railroad | 1905 | 1930 | N/A | - | ||
| Dunn-Erwin Railway | DER | 1987 | 1989 | Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad | - | |
| Durham and Charlotte Railroad | NS | 1893 | 1912 | Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway | - | |
| Durham and Northern Railway | SAL | 1887 | 1901 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Durham and Roxboro Railroad | N&W | 1885 | 1887 | Lynchburg and Durham Railroad | - | |
| Durham and South Carolina Railroad | NS | 1905 | 1993 | New Hope Valley Railway | - | |
| Durham and Southern Railway | DS | SCL | 1904 | 1981 | Seaboard Coast Line Railroad | - |
| Durham Union Station Company | N&W/ SAL/ SOU | 1904 | 1965 | N/A | - | |
| Duval Transportation of the Carolinas | 1987 | 1987 | Mid Atlantic Railroad | - | ||
| East Carolina Railway | ACL | 1898 | 1965 | N/A | - | |
| East Carolina Land and Railway Company | ACL | 1887 | 1894 | Wilmington, Newbern and Norfolk Railroad | - | |
| East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad | ETWN | 1866 | 1950 | N/A | - | |
| Edenton and Norfolk Railway | NS | 1888 | 1902 | Suffolk and Carolina Railway | - | |
| Egypt Railway | NS | 1892 | 1910 | Sanford and Troy Railroad | - | |
| Elizabeth City and Norfolk Railroad | NS | 1870 | 1883 | Norfolk Southern Railroad | - | |
| Elizabeth City and Western Railroad | NS | 1899 | 1902 | Suffolk and Carolina Railway | - | |
| Elkin and Alleghany Railroad | 1920 | 1931 | N/A | - | ||
| Elkin and Alleghany Railway | 1907 | 1919 | Elkin and Alleghany Railroad | - | ||
| Florence and Fayetteville Railroad | ACL | 1862 | 1881 | Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway | - | |
| French Broad Railroad | 1919 | 1925 | N/A | - | ||
| Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway | SAL | 1887 | 1901 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Georgia and North Carolina Railroad | L&N | 1871 | 1887 | Marietta and North Georgia Railway | - | |
| Glendon and Gulf Mining and Manufacturing Company | NS | 1891 | 1896 | Durham and Charlotte Railroad | - | |
| Goldsboro Union Station Company | ACL/ NS/ SOU | 1908 | 1968 | N/A | - | |
| Graham County Railroad | GC | 1905 | 1984 | N/A | - | |
| Great Smoky Mountains Railway | GSM | 1988 | 1999 | Great Smoky Mountains Railroad | - | |
| Greensville and Roanoke Railroad | ACL | 1834 | 1855 | Petersburg Railroad | - | |
| Greenville and French Broad Railroad | SOU | 1855 | 1874 | Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad | - | |
| Gumberry and Jackson Railroad and Lumber Company | 1887 | 1896 | Northampton and Hertford Railroad | - | ||
| Halifax and Weldon Railroad | ACL | 1834 | 1837 | Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad | - | |
| Hendersonville and Brevard Railway, Telegraph and Telephone Company | SOU | 1891 | 1897 | Transylvania Railroad | - | |
| High Point and Randleman Railroad | SOU | 1883 | 1887 | High Point, Randleman, Asheboro and Southern Railroad | - | |
| High Point, Randleman, Asheboro and Southern Railroad | SOU | 1887 | Still exists as a lessor of the Norfolk Southern Railway | |||
| Hoffman and Troy Railroad | 1883 | - | ||||
| Howland Improvement Company | NS | 1903 | 1905 | Atlantic and North Carolina Company | - | |
| Jackson Springs Railroad | NS | 1901 | 1907 | Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad | - | |
| Kinston Carolina Railroad | NS | 1918 | 1929 | N/A | - | |
| Kinston and Carolina Railroad | NS | 1909 | Kinston–Carolina Railroad and Lumber Company | - | ||
| Kinston–Carolina Railroad and Lumber Company | NS | 1910 | 1918 | Kinston Carolina Railroad | - | |
| Kinston and Snow Hill Railroad | NS | 1913 | Carolina Railroad | - | ||
| Lawndale Railway and Industrial Company | 1903 | 1943 | N/A | - | ||
| Linville River Railroad | 1896 | 1899 | Linville River Railway | - | ||
| Linville River Railway | 1899 | 1940 | N/A | - | ||
| Louisburg Railroad | SAL | 1881 | 1901 | Raleigh and Gaston Railroad | - | |
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad | L&N, LN | L&N | 1905 | 1983 | Seaboard System Railroad | - |
| Lower Creek and Linville Valley Transportation Company | SOU | 1891 | 1893 | Caldwell and Northern Railroad | - | |
| Lynchburg and Durham Railroad | N&W | 1887 | 1896 | Norfolk, Lynchburg and Durham Railroad | - | |
| Madison County Railway | 1910 | 1925 | N/A | - | ||
| Marietta and North Georgia Railway | L&N | 1887 | 1895 | Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway | - | |
| Maxton, Alma and Southbound Railroad | MA&S | 1911 | 1937 | N/A | - | |
| Mid Atlantic Railroad | MRR | 1987 | 1995 | Carolina Southern Railroad | - | |
| Midland North Carolina Railway | ACL | 1873 | 1884 | Wilmington and Weldon Railroad | - | |
| Milton and Sutherlin Railroad | 1876 | 1894 | N/A | - | ||
| Moore Central Railroad | 1945 | 1948 | N/A | - | ||
| Moore Central Railway | 1924 | 1945 | Moore Central Railroad | - | ||
| Moore County Railroad | 1893 | 1904 | N/A | - | ||
| Mount Airy Railroad | SOU | 1879 | 1879 | Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway | - | |
| Mount Airy and Eastern Railway | 1899 | 1910 | Virginia and Mount Airy Railway | - | ||
| Mount Airy and Ore Knob Railroad | SOU | 1871 | 1879 | Mount Airy Railroad | - | |
| Mount Hope Valley Railroad | NS | 1904 | 1905 | Durham and South Carolina Railroad | - | |
| Norfolk and Carolina Railroad | ACL | 1889 | 1900 | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | - | |
| Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway | NFD | N&W | 1962 | 1983 | Norfolk and Western Railway | - |
| Norfolk, Lynchburg and Durham Railroad | N&W | 1896 | 1896 | Norfolk and Western Railroad | - | |
| Norfolk, Roanoke and Southern Railroad | N&W | 1896 | 1896 | Norfolk and Western Railroad | - | |
| Norfolk Southern Railroad | NS | NS | 1910 | 1942 | Norfolk Southern Railway | - |
| Norfolk Southern Railroad | NS | 1883 | 1891 | Norfolk and Southern Railroad | - | |
| Norfolk and Southern Railroad | NS | 1891 | 1906 | Norfolk and Southern Railway | - | |
| Norfolk Southern Railway | NS | NS | 1942 | 1982 | Carolina and Northwestern Railway | - |
| Norfolk and Southern Railway | NS | 1906 | 1910 | Norfolk Southern Railroad | - | |
| Norfolk and Western Railroad | N&W | 1892 | 1896 | Norfolk and Western Railway | - | |
| Norfolk and Western Railway | N&W, NW | N&W | 1896 | 1998 | Norfolk Southern Railway | - |
| North Carolina Railroad | SOU | 1849 | Still exists as a lessor of the Norfolk Southern Railway | |||
| North Carolina Air–Line Railway | SOU | 1877 | 1877 | Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway | - | |
| North Carolina Connecting Railway | 1905 | 1907 | Roanoke River Railway | - | ||
| North Carolina Midland Railroad | SOU | 1880 | Still exists as a lessor of the Norfolk Southern Railway | |||
| North Carolina Mining, Manufacturing and Development Company | ACL/ N&W | 1903 | 1905 | Carolina, Glenanna and Pee Dee Railway and Development Company | - | |
| North Carolina Ports Railway Commission | NCPR | 1979 | 2002 | North Carolina State Ports Authority | - | |
| North and South Carolina Railroad | SOU | 1899 | 1940 | N/A | - | |
| North and South Carolina Railway | SAL | 1910 | 1914 | Carolina, Atlantic and Western Railway | - | |
| North Western North Carolina Railroad | SOU | 1868 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Northampton and Hertford Railroad | 1891 | 1908 | Northampton and Hertford Railway | - | ||
| Northampton and Hertford Railway | 1909 | 1917 | Carolina and Northeastern Railroad | - | ||
| Ohio River and Charleston Railway | ACL/ L&N, SOU | 1894 | 1902 | South Carolina and Georgia Extension Railroad, South and Western Railway | - | |
| Oxford and Clarksville Railroad | SOU | 1885 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Oxford and Coast Line Railroad | SAL | 1891 | 1906 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Oxford and Henderson Railroad | SOU | 1871 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Palmetto Railroad | SAL | 1883 | 1895 | Palmetto Railway | - | |
| Palmetto Railway | SAL | 1895 | 1901 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Pee Dee Valley Railway | ACL | 1909 | 1910 | Rockingham Railway | - | |
| Petersburg Railroad | ACL | 1831 | 1898 | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | - | |
| Piedmont Railroad | SOU | 1862 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Piedmont Railway | ACL/ N&W | 1909 | 1912 | Carolina and Yadkin River Railway | - | |
| Piedmont and Northern Railway | P&N | 1914 | 1969 | Seaboard Coast Line Railroad | Electric until 1954 | |
| Pigeon River Railway | 1906 | 1931 | N/A | - | ||
| Pittsboro Railroad | SAL | 1885 | 1899 | Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad | - | |
| Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad | SAL | 1833 | 1846 | Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad | - | |
| Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad | SAL | 1871 | 1901 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Raleigh and Cape Fear Railway | NS | 1898 | 1905 | Raleigh and Southport Railway | - | |
| Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway | NS | 1911 | 1913 | Norfolk Southern Railroad | - | |
| Raleigh and Charleston Railroad | SAL | 1906 | 1941 | N/A | - | |
| Raleigh and Eastern North Carolina Railroad | NS | 1903 | 1903 | Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad | - | |
| Raleigh and Gaston Railroad | SAL | 1835 | 1901 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad | NS | 1903 | 1906 | Norfolk and Southern Railway | - | |
| Raleigh and Southport Railway | NS | 1905 | 1912 | Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway | - | |
| Raleigh and Western Railway | NS | 1893 | 1908 | N/A | Leased the Egypt Railway | |
| Randolph and Cumberland Railroad | 1906 | 1907 | Randolph and Cumberland Railway | - | ||
| Randolph and Cumberland Railway | 1907 | 1924 | Moore Central Railway | - | ||
| Richmond and Danville Railroad | SOU | 1866 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad | SAL | 1892 | 1900 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Roanoke Railroad | SAL | 1847 | 1849 | Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad | - | |
| Roanoke River Railway | 1907 | 1919 | Townsville Railroad | - | ||
| Roanoke and Southern Railway | N&W | 1887 | 1896 | Norfolk, Roanoke and Southern Railroad | - | |
| Roanoke and Tar River Railroad | SAL | 1885 | 1911 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Roanoke Valley Railroad | 1855 | 1863 | N/A | - | ||
| Rockingham Railroad | RKG | ACL | 1910 | 1968 | N/A | - |
| Rockingham Railway | ACL | 1910 | 1910 | Rockingham Railroad | - | |
| Roxboro Railroad | N&W | 1881 | 1887 | Lynchburg and Durham Railroad | - | |
| Roxboro and Narrow Gauge Railroad | N&W | 1879 | 1881 | Roxboro Railroad | - | |
| Rutherfordton, Marion and Tennessee Railway | ACL/ L&N, SOU | 1881 | 1886 | Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad | - | |
| Sanford and Glendon Railroad | NS | 1910 | Sanford and Troy Railroad | - | ||
| Sanford and Troy Railroad | NS | 1910 | 1912 | Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway | - | |
| Seaboard Air Line Railroad | SAL | SAL | 1946 | 1967 | Seaboard Coast Line Railroad | - |
| Seaboard Air Line Railway | SAL | 1900 | 1945 | Seaboard Air Line Railroad | - | |
| Seaboard Air Line System | SAL | 1893 | 1900 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Seaboard Coast Line Railroad | SCL | 1967 | 1983 | Seaboard System Railroad | - | |
| Seaboard and Raleigh Railroad | ACL | 1873 | 1883 | Albemarle and Raleigh Railroad | - | |
| Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad | SAL | 1846 | 1911 | Seaboard Air Line Railway | - | |
| Seaboard System Railroad | SBD | 1983 | 1986 | CSX Transportation | - | |
| Smoky Mountain Railway | SMN | 1905 | 1927 | N/A | - | |
| South Carolina and Georgia Extension Railroad | SOU | 1898 | 1902 | Southern Railway – Carolina Division | - | |
| South and Western Railroad | ACL/ L&N | 1905 | 1908 | Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway | - | |
| South and Western Railway | ACL/ L&N | 1901 | 1906 | South and Western Railroad | - | |
| Southeastern Railroad | ACL | 1897 | 1900 | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | - | |
| Southern Railway | SOU | SOU | 1894 | 1990 | Norfolk Southern Railway | - |
| Southern Railway – Carolina Division | SOU | 1902 | 1996 | Norfolk Southern Railway | - | |
| Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad | SOU | 1874 | 1881 | Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad | - | |
| Statesville and Western Railroad | SOU | 1887 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Suffolk and Carolina Railway | NS | 1884 | 1906 | Norfolk and Southern Railway | - | |
| Tallulah Falls Railway | TF | SOU | 1909 | 1961 | N/A | - |
| Tennessee and North Carolina Railroad | 1903 | 1920 | Tennessee and North Carolina Railway | - | ||
| Tennessee and North Carolina Railway | 1920 | 1951 | N/A | - | ||
| Town Creek Railroad and Lumber Company | 1905 | 1911 | Wilmington, Brunswick and Southern Railroad | - | ||
| Townsville Railroad | 1919 | 1933 | N/A | - | ||
| Transylvania Railroad | SOU | 1899 | - | |||
| Tuckaseegee and Southeastern Railway | 1920 | 1945 | N/A | - | ||
| Virginia and Carolina Railroad | SAL | 1883 | 1892 | Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad | - | |
| Virginia–Carolina Railway | N&W | 1911 | 1919 | Norfolk and Western Railway | - | |
| Virginia and Carolina Southern Railroad | ACL | 1903 | - | |||
| Virginia and Mount Airy Railway | 1920 | N/A | Never operated | |||
| Warrenton Railroad | WAR | 1876 | 1985 | N/A | - | |
| Washington and Plymouth Railroad | NS | 1901 | 1904 | Norfolk and Southern Railroad | - | |
| Washington and Vandemere Railroad | ACL | 1903 | 1944 | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | - | |
| Weldon and Roanoke Rapids Electric Railway | 1907 | 1917 | Carolina and Northeastern Railroad | - | ||
| Wellington and Powellsville Railroad | 1893 | 1926 | Carolina Southern Railway | - | ||
| Western Railroad | ACL, SOU | 1852 | 1879 | Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway | - | |
| Western North Carolina Railroad | SOU | 1855 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Wilmington Railway Bridge Company | ACL/ SAL | 1866 | 1956 | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Seaboard Air Line Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington, Brunswick and Southern Railroad | 1907 | 1945 | N/A | - | ||
| Wilmington and Carolina Railroad | ACL | 1870 | 1870 | Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington, Chadbourn and Conway Railroad | ACL | 1887 | 1895 | Wilmington and Conway Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington, Chadbourn and Conwayboro Railroad | ACL | 1883 | 1887 | Wilmington, Chadbourn and Conway Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad | SAL | 1855 | 1855 | Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad | SAL | 1855 | 1873 | Carolina Central Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad | ACL | 1870 | 1898 | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington and Conway Railroad | ACL | 1895 | 1896 | Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington and Manchester Railroad | ACL | 1847 | 1870 | Wilmington and Carolina Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington and Newbern Railroad | ACL | 1897 | 1897 | Wilmington and Weldon Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington, Newbern and Norfolk Railroad | ACL | 1893 | 1897 | Wilmington and Newbern Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington, Onslow and East Carolina Railroad | ACL | 1885 | 1893 | Wilmington, Newbern and Norfolk Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad | ACL | 1834 | 1855 | Wilmington and Weldon Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington and Tarboro Railroad | ACL | 1861 | 1873 | Seaboard and Raleigh Railroad | - | |
| Wilmington and Weldon Railroad | ACL | 1855 | 1900 | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | - | |
| Winston-Salem and Madison Railroad | SOU | 1879 | 1880 | North Carolina Midland Railroad | - | |
| Winston-Salem and Mooresville Railroad | SOU | 1878 | 1880 | North Carolina Midland Railroad | - | |
| Winston-Salem Terminal Company | ACL/ N&W/ SOU | 1922 | 1972 | Norfolk and Western Railway, Southern Railway, Winston-Salem Southbound Railway | - | |
| Winton Railroad and Lumber Company | 1889 | - | ||||
| Yadkin Railroad | SOU | 1871 | Still exists as a lessor of the Norfolk Southern Railway | |||
| Yancey Railroad | YAN | 1955 | 1982 | N/A | - |
;Electric railways
- Asheville and East Tennessee Railroad
- Asheville Electric Company
- Asheville Loop Line Railway
- Asheville Street Railway
- Carolina Power and Light Company
- Charlotte Electric Railway, Light and Power Company
- Cumberland Railway and Power Company
- Durham Traction Company
- Fayetteville Street Railway
- Fries Manufacturing and Power Company
- North Carolina Public Service Company
- Piedmont and Northern Railway
- Piedmont Traction Company
- Salisbury and Spencer Railway
- Tidewater Power Company
- Wilmington Sea Coast Railroad
- Blackwood Lumber Company
- Butters Lumber Company
- Experimental Railroad
- Whiteville Lumber Company
- Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad
- Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad