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Jefferson County · Kentucky · 1850 – 1859

Louisville & Nashville Railroad opens the interior

Kentucky chartered the Louisville & Nashville on March 5, 1850, to build south toward Nashville; Tennessee authorized the extension in 1851.

Track laying began in Louisville in May 1853; the first eight-mile excursion ran August 25, 1855, and on October 27, 1859, the first train covered the full ~187-mile Louisville–Nashville main line. The L&N survived Civil War use by both sides, later reached the Gulf Coast, and drove branch construction into western and eastern Kentucky coalfields—the “Old Reliable” that opened much of the commonwealth’s interior freight map.

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Chicago

Snowden, Shannon. "Louisville & Nashville Railroad opens the interior." Kentucky History Drive. Published October 3, 2026. Last revised October 3, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/louisville-nashville-railroad-opens-the-interior/.

MLA

Snowden, Shannon. "Louisville & Nashville Railroad opens the interior." Kentucky History Drive, published 3 Oct. 2026, last revised 3 Oct. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/louisville-nashville-railroad-opens-the-interior/.

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