Editing Chessie System

{{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.

== History ==
The beginnings of the Chessie System came from cooperation between the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] (B&O) and the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] (C&O). An announcement from the [[New York Central Railroad|New York Central]] (NYC) and [[Pennsylvania Railroad|Pennsylvania]] (PRR) railroads in November 1957 that they were considering combining prompted the B&O and C&O to consider a similar move.{{Sfn|Solomon|2005|pp=43-45}} Ultimately, the financially stronger C&O took control of the B&O in December 1962, though the two railroads kept their separate identities.{{Sfn|Solomon|2005|p=48}}  

The combined C&O/B&O purchased stock in the [[Western Maryland Railway]] until it was able to take full control in February 1967, bringing a third railroad into the combined entity, which in 1973 became formally known as the Chessie System after the C&O's historic cat mascot [[Chessie (mascot)|Chessie]].{{Sfn|Solomon|2005|pp=51-52}} 

Chessie System was incorporated in Virginia on February 26, 1973, and it acquired the railroads on June 15. 

On November 1, 1980, Chessie System merged with [[Seaboard Coast Line Industries]] to form [[CSX Corporation]]. Initially, the three Chessie System railroads continued to operate separately, even after Seaboard's six Family Lines System railroads were merged into the [[Seaboard System Railroad]] on December 29, 1982. That began to change in 1983, when the WM was merged into the B&O. The Chessie image continued to be applied to new and re-painted equipment until July 1, 1986, when CSXT introduced its own paint scheme. In April 1987, the B&O was merged into the C&O. In August 1987, C&O merged into [[CSX Transportation]], a 1986 renaming of the Seaboard System Railroad, and the Chessie System name was retired. 

[[Image:ChessieSystemSD50.jpg|thumb|right|Chessie System SD50 locomotive in [[Connellsville, Pennsylvania]]]]

==List of railroad subsidiaries==

Its subsidiaries included:

*[[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad|Baltimore & Ohio Railroad]]
*[[Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad|Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad]]
*[[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway|Chesapeake & Ohio Railway]]
*[[C&O Railroad Bridge|Covington & Cincinnati Elevated Railroad & Transfer & Bridge Company]]
*[[Staten Island Railway|Staten Island Railroad]]
*[[Toledo Ore RR Company]]
*[[Western Maryland Railway]]

== Notable locomotives ==
The Chessie System company itself directly owned no locomotives or other rolling stock. Instead, equipment was placed on the roster of one of the three component railroads and ownership denoted by the reporting marks C&O, B&O, and WM. All three companies shared a common paint scheme of yellow, [[Vermilion|vermillion]], and blue.

Notable Chessie System locomotives include:
*B&O #1977 ([[EMD GP40-2]]) was meant to celebrate the B&O's 150th anniversary. For a short time, there were two B&O locomotives numbered 1977; this GP40 was later renumbered B&O 4100 and B&O 4163. 
*B&O #GM50 (EMD GP40-2) was painted gold to celebrate [[Electro-Motive Diesel|GM-EMD]]'s 50th anniversary as a diesel locomotive manufacturer. In 1984, it was repainted and renumbered B&O 4164.
*B&O #3802 ([[EMD GP38]]) was named the ''All American Locomotive'' by ''[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]]'' in 1982. It has been restored and is on display at the [[B&O Railroad Museum]] in [[Baltimore]].
*B&O #4444 (EMD GP40-2) pulled [[Ronald Reagan]]'s 1984 presidential train through [[Ohio]]. It was the third-to-last GP40-2 owned by Chessie; the last was B&O 4447.

[[File:Plymouth, MI C&O Jul 1977 10-31.jpg|thumb|right|The former [[Reading 2101]] leading the "Chessie Steam Special" into [[Plymouth, Michigan]] in 1977.]]

The former [[Reading Company]] [[Reading 2101|#2101]] ([[Reading T-1|T-1-class 4-8-4]]) was one of three locomotives that pulled the [[American Freedom Train]] in 1975 and 1976. As part of B&O's 150th anniversary celebration in 1977, the Chessie System sent #2101 on a national tour as the "Chessie Steam Special". Painted in the Chessie System motif, the train consisted of the locomotive, two tenders, and 18 to 20 passenger and baggage cars. In March 1979, the locomotive was severely damaged in a fire while stored in a Chessie System [[Railway roundhouse|roundhouse]] in [[Silver Grove, Kentucky]]. It has since been cosmetically restored to its American Freedom Train paint scheme, and is on static display at the B&O Railroad Museum, although has been exposed to the elements for most of its time there. In October 2023, the locomotive was moved into the museum's shops to undergo a cosmetic restoration.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Franz |first=Justin |date=2023-10-24 |title=B&O Railroad Museum to Cosmetically Restore American Freedom Train 4-8-4 |url=https://railfan.com/bo-railroad-museum-to-cosmetically-restore-american-freedom-train-4-8-4/ |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Railfan & Railroad Magazine |language=en-CA}}</ref>

In 2017, the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society acquired C&O 8272, a [[GE B30-7]]. It has been restored in the Chessie System paint scheme and currently resides at the Lake Shore Railway Museum in [[North East, Pennsylvania]], and most recently, an [[EMD GP15T]] (C&O 1507) was donated to the B&O Railroad Museum.

==Heritage units==

In 2015, CSX used decals to decorate two of its locomotives in the livery of predecessor railroads. CSX AC4400CW 366 bears the "Chess-C" and C40-8W 7765 has the "B&O" logo. 366's decal was later damaged by fire and removed.

In June 2023, [[GE Evolution Series|GE ES44AH]] unit #1973 entered service, being repaired and painted at CSX shops in [[Waycross, GA|Waycross]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|GA]] with a CSX blue and yellow color scheme on the front (nose) and cab of the locomotive and throughout the rest of the locomotive, the classic yellow and red Chessie System scheme. It was numbered #1973 in homage to the year the Chessie System was created.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Book sources ==

* {{Solomon-CSX}}{{sfn whitelist| CITEREFSolomon2005}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book|last=Ori|first=Dave|year=2006|title=Chessie System|series=MBI Railroad Color History|edition=1st|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=978-0-7603-2339-7}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Chessie System}}
{{Portal|Railways}}
*[https://chessiesystem.org/ Chessie System Historical Society official site]
*[http://www.trainweb.org/chessiephotos/ Chessie Photo Archives]
*[http://themetrains.com/chessie-steam-special-main.htm The 1977-1978 Chessie Steam Special for the railroad's 150th Anniversary]

{{North America Class I}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]]
[[Category:Companies affiliated with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]]
[[Category:Companies based in Cleveland]]
[[Category:Predecessors of CSX Transportation]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1973]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1986]]
[[Category:United States railroad holding companies]]
[[Category:Western Maryland Railway]]