The Blue Ridge Railway was a 19th century railroad in the U.S. state of South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. It was originally chartered in 1852 as the Blue Ridge Railroad of South Carolina. Original plans were for a 195-mile line from Anderson, South Carolina

Anderson, South Carolina

Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was estimated at 26,242 in 2006, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...

, to Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

 going through the mountains with as many as 13 tunnels including the incomplete Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel

Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel

Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel in Oconee County, South Carolina is an uncompleted railroad tunnel for the Blue Ridge Railroad of South Carolina in Sumter National Forest...

.

By 1859, the railroad had built between Anderson and West Union, South Carolina

West Union, South Carolina

West Union is a town in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States, Even though its name suggests that it is near Union, they are about four counties apart...

 and substantial work on several tunnels had started. However, with the outbreak of the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, no further work was ever completed on the tunnels despite efforts after the war, including one by the Black Diamond Railroad

Black Diamond Railroad

The Black Diamond Railroad was an attempt in the late 1890s by Albert E. Boone to build a railroad from the Ohio River Valley through the Rabun Gap to the Atlantic Coast...

. A final extension from West Union to Walhalla, South Carolina

Walhalla, South Carolina

Walhalla is a mountain city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. It is located from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina and is also located in the Appalachian Mountains of South Carolina. The population was 3,801 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Oconee County...

 at the urging of the Town Council and local citizens saw the first train arrive November 14, 1877, but no more track would ever be laid along the alignment up Stumphouse Mountain. In 1880, the Columbia and Greenville Railroad

Columbia and Greenville Railroad

The Columbia and Greenville Railroad was a South Carolina railroad that operated in the late 19th century.Originally chartered and begun as the Greenville and Columbia Railroad, the line was sold under foreclosure and reorganized under the Columbia and Greenville name in 1880.Beginning in 1886, it...

 acquired the 34 miles (54.7 km) of track that had been laid. In 1901 the Southern Railway, successor to the Columbia and Greenville, split out the line as the Blue Ridge Railway. The Southern leased the Blue Ridge to subsidiary Carolina and Northwestern Railway on July 1, 1951, and eventually merged the company.