Editing Chessie System (section)

{{Short description|Holding company for several Eastern US Class I railroads}}
{{No footnotes|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox rail
| railroad_name=Chessie System
| logo_filename=File:Chessie_System_Logo,_July_1980.svg
| logo_size=300px
| marks=B&O<br />C&O<br />WM
| locale=[[Delaware]]<br />[[Illinois]]<br />[[Indiana]]<br />[[Kentucky]]<br />[[Maryland]]<br />[[Michigan]]<br />[[New Jersey]]<br />[[New York (state)|New York]]<br />[[Ohio]]<br />[[Ontario]]<br />[[Pennsylvania]]<br />[[Virginia]]<br />[[Washington, D. C.]]<br />[[West Virginia]]
| start_year=February 26th, 1973
| end_year=June 30th, 1986
| successor_line=[[CSX Transportation]]
| gauge = {{track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| old_gauge=
| hq_city=[[Cleveland]], Ohio, U.S.
}}
'''Chessie System, Inc.''' was a [[holding company]] that owned the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] (C&O), the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] (B&O), the [[Western Maryland Railway]] (WM), and [[Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad]] (B&OCT). Trains operated under the Chessie name from 1973 to 1987. 

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.

"Chessie" had been a popular nickname for the C&O since the 1930s, cemented with an advertising campaign that featured a sleeping kitten named [[Chessie (mascot)|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.