List of Tennessee railroads
The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Common freight carriers
- BNSF Railway
- Canadian National Railway through subsidiary Illinois Central Railroad
- Caney Fork and Western Railroad
- Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway
- CSX Transportation
- East Chattanooga Belt Railway
- EACH Railroad
- East Tennessee Railway
- Heritage Railroad
- Kansas City Southern Railway
- Knoxville and Holston River Railroad
- KWT Railway
- Mississippi Central Railroad
- Mississippi Tennessee Railroad
- Nashville and Eastern Railroad
- Nashville and Western Railroad
- Norfolk Southern Railway including subsidiaries Alabama Great Southern Railroad, Central of Georgia Railroad, Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway, Tennessee Railway, and Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway
- R.J. Corman Railroad/Memphis Line
- R.J. Corman Railroad/Tennessee Terminal
- Sequatchie Valley Railroad
- South Central Tennessee Railroad
- Tennessee Southern Railroad
- Tennken Railroad
- Tyner Terminal Railroad
- Union City Terminal Railroad
- Union Pacific Railroad
- Walking Horse and Eastern Railroad
- West Tennessee Railroad
Private freight carriers
- Franklin Industries
- Lhoist North America
- Southern Freight Logistics
- Tennessee Valley Authority
Passenger carriers
- Amtrak
- Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association
- Music City Star
Defunct railroads
| Name | Mark | System | From | To | Successor | Notes |
| Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad | SOU | 1868 | 1877 | Alabama Great Southern Railroad | - | |
| Arkansas and Memphis Railway Bridge and Terminal Company | MP/ RI/ SSW | 1912 | Still exists as a nonoperating subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad | |||
| Athens and Tellico Railway | L&N | 1910 | 1911 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway | L&N | 1896 | 1905 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio Railroad | SOU | 1852 | 1894 | N/A | Sold at foreclosure; no property in Tennessee | |
| Beaver Dam Railroad | 1900 | 1918 | N/A | - | ||
| Belt Railway of Chattanooga | SOU | 1895 | 1946 | Alabama Great Southern Railroad | - | |
| Birmingham and Northwestern Railway | GM&O | 1910 | 1929 | Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad | - | |
| Bon Air Railway | L&N | 1887 | 1887 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | - | |
| Brimstone Railroad | SOU | 1941 | 1965 | Brimstone and New River Railway | - | |
| Brimstone and New River Railway | SOU | 1965 | 1966 | New River Railway | - | |
| Bristol, Elizabethtown and North Carolina Railway | SOU | 1889 | 1895 | Virginia and Southwestern Railway | - | |
| Burlington Northern Inc. | BN | 1980 | 1981 | Burlington Northern Railroad | - | |
| Burlington Northern Railroad | BN | 1981 | 1996 | Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway | - | |
| Cambria Southern Railway | L&N | 1904 | 1904 | Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway | - | |
| Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway | CC&O | ACL/ L&N | 1908 | 1990 | CSX Transportation | - |
| Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway | SOU | 1882 | 1895 | N/A | Sold at foreclosure; no property in Tennessee | |
| Central of Georgia Railway | CG | CG | 1901 | 1971 | Central of Georgia Railroad | - |
| Central Mississippi Railroad | IC | 1877 | 1878 | Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad | - | |
| Central Southern Railroad | L&N | 1853 | 1866 | Nashville and Decatur Railroad | - | |
| Central of Tennessee Railway and Navigation Company | CTRN | 1992 | 2000 | Nashville and Western Railroad | - | |
| Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad | ACL/ L&N | 1887 | 1893 | Ohio River and Charleston Railway | - | |
| Chattanooga Railway, Bridge and Terminal Company | SOU | 1890 | 1892 | Chattanooga Terminal Railway | - | |
| Chattanooga, Harrison and Cleveland Railroad | SOU | 1850 | 1852 | Chattanooga, Harrison, Georgetown and Charleston Railroad | - | |
| Chattanooga, Harrison, Georgetown and Charleston Railroad | SOU | 1852 | 1854 | East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad | - | |
| Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad | CG | 1887 | 1891 | Savannah and Western Railroad | - | |
| Chattanooga, Rome and Southern Railroad | CG | 1897 | 1901 | Central of Georgia Railway | - | |
| Chattanooga Southern Railroad | SOU | 1896 | 1911 | Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railroad | - | |
| Chattanooga Southern Railway | SOU | 1894 | 1895 | Chattanooga Southern Railroad | - | |
| Chattanooga Station Company | CG/ SOU | 1905 | - | |||
| Chattanooga Terminal Railway | SOU | 1892 | 1993 | Alabama Great Southern Railroad | - | |
| Chattanooga Union Railway | SOU | 1888 | 1895 | Belt Railway of Chattanooga | - | |
| Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain Railway | 1889 | 1928 | N/A | - | ||
| Chesapeake and Nashville Railway | L&N | 1884 | 1892 | Gallatin and Scottsville Railway | - | |
| Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad | IC | 1881 | 1896 | Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad | - | |
| Chicago, Memphis and Gulf Railroad | IC | 1909 | 1963 | Illinois Central Railroad | - | |
| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad | RI, ROCK | RI | 1948 | 1980 | N/A | - |
| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway | RI | RI | 1948 | Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad | - | |
| Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad | IC | 1878 | 1951 | Illinois Central Railroad | - | |
| Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad | SOU | 1836 | 1837 | Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad | - | |
| Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap and Charleston Railroad | SOU | 1853 | 1871 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad | - | |
| Cincinnati, Green River and Nashville Railroad | L&N | 1882 | 1884 | Chesapeake and Nashville Railway | - | |
| Cincinnati, Nashville, Southern Railway | 1912 | 1934 | N/A | - | ||
| Cincinnati Southern Railway | SOU | 1870 | Still exists as a lessor of Norfolk Southern Railway operating subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway | |||
| Clinchfield Railroad | CRR | ACL/ L&N | 1924 | 1983 | Seaboard System Railroad | - |
| Coal Creek and New River Railroad | SOU | 1877 | 1889 | Knoxville and Ohio Railroad | - | |
| Corinth and Counce Railroad | CCR | 1958 | 1991 | TennRail Corporation | - | |
| Crandull and Shady Valley Railway | 1909 | 1918 | N/A | - | ||
| Cumberland Railway | SOU | 1902 | 1944 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Cumberland and Big Stone Gaps Railroad | L&N | 1889 | 1900 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Cumberland Plateau Railroad | TC | 1901 | 1902 | Tennessee Central Railroad | - | |
| Decatur, Chesapeake and New Orleans Railway | L&N | 1887 | 1893 | Middle Tennessee and Alabama Railway | - | |
| Duck River Valley Narrow Gauge Railroad | L&N | 1872 | 1879 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | - | |
| Dyersburg Northern Railroad | IC | 1904 | 1909 | Chicago, Memphis and Gulf Railroad | - | |
| East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad | SOU | 1848 | 1869 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad | - | |
| East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad | SOU | 1848 | 1869 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad | - | |
| East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad | SOU | 1869 | 1886 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway | - | |
| East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway | SOU | 1886 | 1894 | Southern Railway | - | |
| East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad | ETWN | 1866 | 1983 | East Tennessee Railway | - | |
| Edgefield and Kentucky Railroad | L&N | 1852 | 1872 | Nashville, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad | - | |
| Emory River Railroad | 1918 | 1958 | formerly the Emory River Lumber Company until 1943 | |||
| Gallatin and Scottsville Railway | L&N | 1906 | 1907 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Greenback Railroad | L&N | 1905 | 1907 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Gulf and Chicago Railroad | GM&O | 1889 | 1903 | Gulf and Chicago Railway | - | |
| Gulf and Chicago Railway | GM&O | 1903 | 1909 | New Orleans, Mobile and Chicago Railroad | - | |
| Gulf and Mississippi Railroad | GMSR | 1985 | 1988 | SouthRail Corporation | - | |
| Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad | GM&N | GM&O | 1915 | 1940 | Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad | - |
| Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad | GM&O | GM&O | 1940 | 1972 | Illinois Central Gulf Railroad | - |
| Harriman Railway and Construction Company | SOU | 1890 | 1891 | Harriman Coal and Iron Railroad | - | |
| Harriman Coal and Iron Railroad | SOU | 1891 | 1895 | Harriman and Northeastern Railroad | - | |
| Harriman, Knoxville and Eastern Railroad | L&N | 1910 | 1913 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Harriman and Northeastern Railroad | SOU | 1895 | 1970 | Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway | - | |
| Henderson and Nashville Railroad | L&N | 1848 | 1867 | N/A | Sold at foreclosure; no property in Tennessee | |
| Hickman and Obion Railroad | L&N | 1853 | 1855 | Nashville and Northwestern Railroad | sold to Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad in 1872 | |
| Hiwassee Railroad | SOU | 1836 | 1848 | East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad | - | |
| Holston River Railway | SOU | 1905 | 1908 | Virginia and Southwestern Railway | - | |
| Holston Valley Railway | 1892 | 1915 | Bristol Traction Company | - | ||
| Illinois Central Railroad | IC | IC | 1883 | 1972 | Illinois Central Gulf Railroad | - |
| Illinois Central Gulf Railroad | ICG | 1972 | 1988 | Illinois Central Railroad | - | |
| Indiana, Alabama and Texas Railroad | L&N | 1885 | 1887 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Iron Mountain Railroad of Memphis | MP | 1886 | 1966 | Missouri Pacific Railroad | - | |
| Jackson and Southeastern Railroad | IC | 1905 | 1913 | Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad | - | |
| Jamestown Railroad | 1912 | 1913 | Oneida and Western Railroad | - | ||
| Johnson City, Bakersville and Southern Railway | 1905 | 1909 | Unicoi Railway | - | ||
| Johnson City and Carolina Railway | SOU | 1887 | 1891 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway | - | |
| Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad | SLSF | 1901 | St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad | - | ||
| Kansas City and Memphis Railway and Bridge Company | SLSF | 1887 | 1928 | St. Louis – San Francisco Railway | - | |
| Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad | SLSF | 1886 | 1928 | St. Louis – San Francisco Railway | - | |
| Kingsport Southern Railway | ACL/ L&N | 1906 | 1906 | South and Western Railroad | - | |
| Knoxville and Augusta Railroad | SOU | 1878 | 1890 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway | - | |
| Knoxville Belt Railroad | SOU | 1887 | 1898 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Knoxville and Bristol Railway | SOU | 1898 | 1903 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Knoxville and Carolina Railroad | 1921 | 1926 | Smoky Mountain Railroad | - | ||
| Knoxville and Charleston Railroad | SOU | 1852 | 1873 | Knoxville and Augusta Railroad | - | |
| Knoxville, Cumberland Gap and Louisville Railroad | SOU | 1888 | 1895 | Knoxville, Cumberland Gap and Louisville Railway | - | |
| Knoxville, Cumberland Gap and Louisville Railway | SOU | 1895 | 1898 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad | SOU | 1853 | 1871 | Coal Creek and New River Railroad | - | |
| Knoxville, La Follette and Jellico Railroad | L&N | 1902 | 1904 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Knoxville and Ohio Railroad | SOU | 1871 | 1903 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Knoxville, Sevierville and Eastern Railway | 1907 | 1921 | Knoxville and Carolina Railroad | - | ||
| Knoxville Southern Railroad | L&N | 1887 | 1890 | Marietta and North Georgia Railway | - | |
| La Grange and Memphis Railroad | SOU | 1835 | 1852 | Memphis and Charleston Railroad | - | |
| Laurel Railway | 1905 | 1926 | N/A | - | ||
| Laurel Fork Railway | 1910 | 1925 | N/A | - | ||
| Lewisburg and Northern Railroad | L&N | 1910 | 1915 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Lexington and Knoxville Railroad | SOU | 1852 | 1853 | Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad | - | |
| Little River Railroad | LR | 1901 | 1940 | N/A | - | |
| Livingston Terminal Company | 1910 | 1911 | Overton County Railroad | - | ||
| Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad | SOU | 1837 | 1843 | N/A | Sold at foreclosure; no property in Tennessee | |
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad | L&N, LN | L&N | 1851 | 1983 | Seaboard System Railroad | - |
| Louisville and Nashville Terminal Company | L&N | 1893 | 1962 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway | IC | 1884 | 1892 | Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad | - | |
| Marietta and North Georgia Railway | L&N | 1890 | 1895 | Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway | - | |
| McCormick, Ashland City and Nashville Railroad | MACO | 1988 | 1992 | Central of Tennessee Railway and Navigation Company | - | |
| McMinnville and Manchester Railroad | L&N | 1850 | 1875 | Memphis and Charleston Railroad | sold to Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway in 1877 | |
| Memphis, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad | SLSF | 1885 | 1887 | Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad | - | |
| Memphis and Charleston Railroad | SOU | 1846 | 1898 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Memphis–Chattanooga Railway | SOU | 1899 | 1941 | Southern Railway | - | |
| Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad | L&N | 1852 | 1871 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Memphis, Holly Springs and Mobile Railroad | SLSF | 1860 | 1869 | Memphis, Holly Springs, Okolona and Selma Railroad | - | |
| Memphis, Holly Springs, Okolona and Selma Railroad | SLSF | 1869 | 1870 | Selma, Marion and Memphis Railroad | - | |
| Memphis, Holly Springs and Selma Railroad | SLSF | 1881 | 1881 | Memphis, Selma and Brunswick Railroad | - | |
| Memphis and Ohio Railroad | L&N | 1853 | 1872 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Memphis, Paducah and Northern Railroad | IC | 1878 | 1881 | Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad | - | |
| Memphis, Selma and Brunswick Railroad | SLSF | 1881 | 1885 | Memphis, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad | - | |
| Memphis and Southeastern Railroad | SLSF | 1886 | 1886 | Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad | - | |
| Memphis and State Line Railroad | IC | 1903 | 1908 | Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad | - | |
| Memphis Union Station Company | MUSC | L&N/ MP/ SOU/ SSW | 1909 | 1976 | N/A | - |
| Mentor Southern Railway | L&N | 1904 | 1904 | Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway | - | |
| Middle and East Tennessee Central Railway | L&N | 1883 | 1897 | Gallatin and Scottsville Railway | - | |
| Middle Tennessee Railroad | 1907 | 1920 | N/A | - | ||
| Middle Tennessee and Alabama Railway | L&N | 1893 | 1897 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | - | |
| Middlesborough Railroad | L&N | 1895 | 1896 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Middlesborough Belt Railroad | L&N | 1890 | 1895 | Middlesborough Railroad | - | |
| Mississippi Central Railroad | IC | 1859 | 1874 | New Orleans, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad | - | |
| Mississippi Central and Tennessee Railroad | IC | 1853 | 1859 | Mississippi Central Railroad | - | |
| Mississippi River Railway | IC | 1858 | 1872 | Paducah and Memphis Railroad | - | |
| Mississippi and Tennessee RailNet | MT | 1998 | 2003 | Mississippi Tennessee Railroad | - | |
| Mississippi Tennessee Railroad | MTNR | 2003 | 2004 | N/A | - | |
| Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad | IC | 1853 | 1889 | Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad | - | |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | MP | MP | 1917 | 1997 | Union Pacific Railroad | - |
| Mobile, Clarksville and Evansville Railroad | L&N | 1881 | 1885 | Indiana, Alabama and Texas Railroad | - | |
| Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad | GM&O | 1903 | 1909 | New Orleans, Mobile and Chicago Railroad | - | |
| Mobile and Ohio Railroad | GM&O | 1848 | 1940 | Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad | - | |
| Morgan and Fentress Railway | 1914 | 1934 | N/A | - | ||
| Morristown and Carolina Railroad | SOU | 1881 | 1882 | Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway | - | |
| Morristown and Cumberland Railroad | SOU | 1890 | 1898 | Knoxville and Bristol Railway | - | |
| Morristown, Cumberland Gap and Ohio Railroad | SOU | 1880 | 1882 | Carolina, Cumberland Gap and Chicago Railway | - | |
| Nashville and Ashland City Railroad | NACR | 1981 | 1988 | McCormick, Ashland City and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Nashville and Atlantic Railroad | 1921 | 1939 | N/A | - | ||
| Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad | L&N | 1845 | 1873 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | changed name | |
| Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | N&C, NC | L&N | 1873 | 1957 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - |
| Nashville, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad | L&N | 1872 | 1872 | St. Louis and South Eastern Railway | - | |
| Nashville and Clarksville Railroad | TC | 1901 | 1902 | Tennessee Central Railroad | - | |
| Nashville and Decatur Railroad | L&N | 1866 | 1990 | CSX Transportation | - | |
| Nashville and Florence Railroad | L&N | 1879 | 1887 | Nashville, Florence and Sheffield Railway | - | |
| Nashville, Florence and Sheffield Railway | L&N | 1887 | 1900 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Nashville and Knoxville Railroad | TC | 1884 | 1902 | Tennessee Central Railroad | - | |
| Nashville and Memphis Railroad | L&N | 1852 | 1853 | Memphis and Ohio Railroad | - | |
| Nashville and Northwestern Railroad | L&N | 1850 | 1872 | Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad | - | |
| Nashville and Tellico Railroad | L&N | 1887 | 1893 | Nashville, Tellico and Charleston Railway | - | |
| Nashville, Tellico and Charleston Railway | L&N | 1892 | 1899 | Tellico Railway | - | |
| Nashville Terminal Company | TC | 1894 | 1937 | Tennessee Central Railway | - | |
| Nashville and Tuscaloosa Railroad | L&N | 1877 | 1884 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | - | |
| Natchez Trace Railroad | NTR | 1982 | 1993 | Mississippi Central Railroad | - | |
| New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad | IC | 1852 | 1874 | New Orleans, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad | - | |
| New Orleans, Mobile and Chattanooga Railroad | L&N | 1867 | 1871 | New Orleans, Mobile and Texas Railroad | - | |
| New Orleans, Mobile and Chicago Railroad | GM&O | 1909 | 1915 | Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad | - | |
| New Orleans, Mobile and Texas Railroad | L&N | 1871 | 1880 | N/A | Sold at foreclosure; no property in Tennessee | |
| New Orleans and Ohio Railroad | IC | 1866 | 1871 | Paducah and Memphis Railroad | - | |
| New Orleans, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad | IC | 1874 | 1877 | Central Mississippi Railroad | - | |
| New River Railway | SOU | 1966 | 1970 | Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway | - | |
| Oakdale and Cumberland Mountain Railroad | SOU | 1879 | 1882 | Walden's Ridge Railroad | - | |
| Ohio River and Charleston Railway | ACL/ L&N | 1894 | 1902 | South and Western Railway | - | |
| Oneida and Western Railroad | OD&W | 1913 | 1954 | N/A | - | |
| Ooltewah and Red Clay Railroad | SOU | 1881 | 1882 | Tennessee State Line Railroad | - | |
| Overton County Railroad | 1904 | 1912 | Cincinnati, Nashville, Southern Railway | - | ||
| Paducah and Memphis Railroad | IC | 1872 | 1877 | Memphis, Paducah and Northern Railroad | - | |
| Paducah and Tennessee Railroad | L&N | 1854 | 1889 | Paducah, Tennessee and Alabama Railroad | - | |
| Paducah and Tennessee Railway | L&N | 1888 | 1889 | Paducah, Tennessee and Alabama Railroad | - | |
| Paducah, Tennessee and Alabama Railroad | L&N | 1890 | 1895 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Powells Valley Railroad | SOU | 1887 | 1888 | Knoxville, Cumberland Gap and Louisville Railroad | - | |
| Powells Valley Railway | SOU | 1886 | 1887 | Powells Valley Railroad | - | |
| Ripley Railroad | GM&O | 1871 | 1872 | Ship Island, Ripley and Kentucky Railroad | - | |
| Rock Island Memphis Terminal Railway | RI | 1913 | 1948 | Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad | - | |
| Rockwood and Tennessee River Railway | 1867 | 1911 | N/A | - | ||
| Rogersville and Jefferson Railroad | SOU | 1852 | 1873 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway | - | |
| St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway | MP | 1917 | Missouri Pacific Railroad | - | ||
| St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad | SLSF | 1901 | 1916 | St. Louis – San Francisco Railway | - | |
| St. Louis – San Francisco Railway | SLSF | SLSF | 1916 | 1980 | Burlington Northern Inc. | - |
| St. Louis and South Eastern Railway | L&N | 1872 | 1879 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| St. Louis Southwestern Railway | SSW | SSW | 1912 | 1997 | Union Pacific Railroad | - |
| Savannah and Western Railroad | CG | 1891 | 1894 | Chattanooga, Rome and Southern Railroad | - | |
| Seaboard System Railroad | SBD | 1983 | 1986 | CSX Transportation | - | |
| Selma, Marion and Memphis Railroad | SLSF | 1870 | 1881 | Memphis, Holly Springs and Selma Railroad | - | |
| Sequatchie Valley Railroad | L&N | 1868 | 1877 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | - | |
| Ship Island, Ripley and Kentucky Railroad | GM&O | 1872 | 1889 | Gulf and Chicago Railroad | - | |
| Smoky Mountain Railroad | 1926 | 1961 | N/A | - | ||
| South and Western Railroad | ACL/ L&N | 1906 | 1908 | Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway | - | |
| South and Western Railway | ACL/ L&N | 1901 | 1906 | Kingsport Southern Railway, South and Western Railroad | - | |
| Southern Railway | SOU | SOU | 1894 | 1990 | Norfolk Southern Railway | - |
| Southern Freight Railroad | SFR | 1997 | 2003 | Heritage Railroad | - | |
| SouthRail Corporation | SR | 1988 | 1993 | Kansas City Southern Railway | - | |
| Southwestern Railroad | L&N | 1852 | 1877 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | - | |
| Swan Creek Railway | L&N | 1906 | 1921 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Tellico Railroad | L&N | 1887 | 1887 | Nashville and Tellico Railroad | - | |
| Tellico Railway | L&N | 1898 | 1910 | Athens and Tellico Railway | - | |
| Tennessee Railroad | TENN | SOU | 1918 | 1973 | Tennessee Railway | - |
| Tennessee Railway | SOU | 1904 | 1918 | Tennessee Railroad | - | |
| Tennessee and Alabama Railroad | L&N | 1852 | 1866 | Nashville and Decatur Railroad | - | |
| Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railroad | SOU | 1911 | 1922 | Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway | - | |
| Tennessee and Carolina Southern Railway | SOU | 1902 | 1935 | N/A | - | |
| Tennessee Central Railroad | TC | TC | 1902 | 1922 | Tennessee Central Railway | - |
| Tennessee Central Railroad | TC | 1893 | 1897 | Tennessee Central Railway | - | |
| Tennessee Central Railroad | 1883 | 1891 | N/A | - | ||
| Tennessee Central Railway | TC | TC | 1922 | 1968 | Harriman and Northeastern Railroad, Illinois Central Railroad, Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - |
| Tennessee Central Railway | TC | 1897 | 1902 | Tennessee Central Railroad | - | |
| Tennessee and Cumberland River Railroad | 1897 | 1915 | N/A | - | ||
| Tennessee, Kentucky and Northern Railroad | 1912 | 1934 | N/A | - | ||
| Tennessee Midland Railway | L&N | 1886 | 1895 | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | - | |
| Tennessee and North Carolina Railroad | 1900 | 1920 | Tennessee and North Carolina Railway | - | ||
| Tennessee and North Carolina Railway | 1920 | 1951 | N/A | - | ||
| Tennessee Northern Railway | SOU | 1896 | 1903 | Knoxville and Ohio Railroad | - | |
| Tennessee and Ohio Railroad | SOU | 1884 | 1889 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway | - | |
| Tennessee and Pacific Railroad | L&N | 1866 | 1877 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | - | |
| Tennessee and Sequatchie Valley Railroad | 1880 | 1883 | Tennessee Central Railroad | - | ||
| Tennessee Southern Railroad | IC | 1881 | 1884 | Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway | - | |
| Tennessee State Line Railroad | SOU | 1882 | 1886 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad | - | |
| Tennessee Valley Railroad | SOU | 1887 | 1888 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway | - | |
| Tennessee Western Railroad | L&N | 1912 | 1939 | N/A | - | |
| TennRail Corporation | 1991 | 1993 | Kansas City Southern Railway | - | ||
| Troy and Tiptonville Railroad | IC | 1887 | 1903 | Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad | - | |
| Unicoi Railway | 1909 | 1918 | N/A | - | ||
| Union Railway | URY | MP | 1886 | 1966 | Missouri Pacific Railroad | - |
| Union Railway | SOU | 1883 | 1888 | Chattanooga Union Railway | - | |
| Virginia and Southwestern Railway | SOU | 1899 | Still exists as a nonoperating subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Railway | |||
| Walden's Ridge Railroad | SOU | 1877 | 1888 | East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway | - | |
| Wauhatchie Extension Railway | SOU | 1914 | 1917 | Alabama Great Southern Railroad | - | |
| West Nashville Railway | L&N | 1887 | 1887 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway | - | |
| Western and Atlantic Railroad | L&N | 1848 | Still exists as a lessor of CSX Transportation | |||
| Wills Valley Railroad | SOU | 1854 | 1868 | Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad | - | |
| Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad | IC | 1892 | 1946 | Illinois Central Railroad | - |
;Private carriers
- Babcock Lumber Company
- Dayton Iron and Coal Company
- Bristol Traction Company
- Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain Railway
- Fountain Head Railroad
- Memphis Street Railway
- Nashville–Franklin Railway
- Brownsville and Ohio Railroad
- Holly Springs, Brownsville and Ohio Railroad
- Memphis and Knoxville Railroad
- Memphis and Raleigh Railroad