Southern Railway Co. - 1902 dated $1,000 Railroad Gold Bond - Memphis Division

$1,000 5% Bond printed by American Bank Note Company, New York. Gorgeous Bond! The Southern Railway, officially known as the Southern Railway Company and identified by the reporting mark SOU, was a Class 1 railroad that operated in the Southern United States from 1894 until 1982. In that year, it merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) to establish the Norfolk Southern Railway. The formation of this railroad was the culmination of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were merged, reorganized, and restructured starting in the 1830s, with the Southern Railway being formally established in 1894. The inception of Southern Railway occurred in 1894 through the amalgamation of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, the Richmond and Danville system, and the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad.

The company owned approximately two-thirds of the 4,400 miles of track it operated, while the remainder was managed through leases, operating agreements, and stock ownership. Southern Railway also had control over the Alabama Great Southern and the Georgia Southern and Florida railroads, which functioned independently, and maintained an interest in the Central of Georgia. Furthermore, Southern Railway entered into a lease agreement with the North Carolina Railroad Company, which provided a vital link from Virginia to the southeastern region via the Carolinas.