The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. ( reporting mark SBD ) was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.
18-800: Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads—notably the Louisville & Nashville and Clinchfield —as the "Family Lines System". In 1980, SCLI merged with the Chessie System to create the holding company CSX Corporation ; two years later, CSX merged the Family Lines railroads to create the Seaboard System Railroad. In 1986, Seaboard renamed itself CSX Transportation , which absorbed
36-538: 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 grey Seaboard System scheme. It was numbered #1982 in homage to the year the Seaboard System was created. A second heritage unit featuring The Family Lines System, a GE Evolution Series GE ES44AH unit #1972 entered service in March 2024. This section lists the operating divisions of
54-570: A numbering system that partially became meshed within the Chessie System locomotive fleet, and removed any existing Mars Lights or Gyralights from locomotives. Any new locomotives purchased by Seaboard would be built to meet Chessie specifications; of which only three, EMD SD50 , EMD MP15T and GE B36-7 , were ordered. In June 2023, GE ES44AH unit #1982 entered service, being repaired and repainted at CSX shops in Waycross , GA with
72-552: A source for the company slogan, "The Light from Mars". The beams came in a variety of shapes and colors, with some locomotives having red and white lights. Many railroads used Mars lights on a variety of locomotives, both steam and diesel, from 1930s until 1990s. Prominent users were railroads such as the Chicago and North Western , Southern Pacific , and Denver and Rio Grande Western . Mars Lights are no longer used on modern rolling stock , having been replaced by ditch lights , with
90-531: A standardized paint scheme. When the Seaboard System came into being, the new scheme retained the grey, red, and yellow colors were of the Family Lines scheme. The new Seaboard System also had a new logo featuring a coupled variation font of ITC Eras Demi . The first locomotive to be decorated with the new Seaboard System paint scheme was Uceta GP16 #4802 in October 1982. Because the merger did not occur until December, locomotives after October 1982 were to receive
108-602: The Chicago and North Western railroad in 1936, and Mars Lights began appearing on locomotives in the later 1930s. Tri Lite, Inc. announced its acquisition of the Mars Signal Light Company, on January 23, 1991. Tri Lite still manufactures many of the traditional Mars Lights under the Tri Lite Mars brand. The company has since updated the Mars "888" Traffic Breaker with energy-efficient LEDs replacing
126-778: The Seaboard Coast Line and Louisville & Nashville (under the Family Lines entity) were merged to form the Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. Considered as a "temporary railroad", the Seaboard System quickly began to merge the smaller railroads that were owned under the Family Lines System entity. This included the Georgia Railroad and the Clinchfield Railroad (1983), South Carolina Pacific Railway (April 30, 1984), Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis Railway (July 1984), Gainesville Midland (1985), Atlanta & West Point Railroad (June 1986) and
144-525: The United States and built by Mars Signal Light Company for railroad locomotives and firefighting apparatus . Mars Lights used a variety of means to cause the light to oscillate vertically, horizontally, or both, to catch the attention of motorists and pedestrians. Mars lights were developed by Jerry Kennelly, a Chicago firefighter who realized that oscillating lamps would benefit fire departments and railroads. He performed an operational test with
162-484: The United States . Through 1979, the Family Lines network totaled 16,326 miles (26,274 km) in 13 states. The company succeeded SCL Industries, Inc. , incorporated August 1, 1968, in Virginia and renamed Seaboard Coast Line Industries, Inc. on February 5, 1969. On November 1, 1980, Seaboard Coast Line Industries merged with Chessie System, Inc. to form CSX Corporation (Chessie-Seaboard Multiplied), and in 1983
180-458: The Chesapeake & Ohio (still under the Chessie System entity for corporate reasons) was merged into CSX Transportation. All the major railroads under CSX Corporation were now one company. (The Western Railway of Alabama would remain an operating subsidiary until December 2002, when it was finally merged into CSX.) After creation of the Family Lines name, SCLI begin painting locomotives in
198-781: The Chessie System's two major railroads the following year. The Seaboard System's roots trace back to SCL Industries, a holding company created in 1968 that combined the Seaboard Coast Line's subsidiary railroads into one entity. In 1969, SCL was renamed Seaboard Coast Line Industries , which was known as the Family Lines System from 1972-1982, to better compete with the Southern Railway System . This entity adopted its own logo and colors, but each railroad maintained its own identity. Over time, this caused confusion among customers. In comparison to
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#1732773358041216-524: The Columbia, Newberry & Laurens (June 1986). These mergers simplified equipment and management alongside the Chessie System railroads ( Chesapeake & Ohio , Baltimore & Ohio , Western Maryland ). The Seaboard System renamed itself CSX Transportation on July 1, 1986. On April 30, 1987, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was merged into the Chesapeake & Ohio. Finally, on August 31, 1987,
234-487: The Family Lines units were combined as the Seaboard System Railroad . In 1986, Seaboard System was renamed CSX Transportation, and then merged with sister CSX Corp. subsidiary Chessie System to form a single new railroad, reporting mark CSXT. This United States rail–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mars Light Mars Lights are signal-safety lights used in
252-663: The Seaboard System as of January 1, 1985: Seaboard Coast Line Industries Seaboard Coast Line Industries, Inc. , incorporated in Delaware on May 9, 1969, was a railroad holding company that owned the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad , its subsidiary Louisville and Nashville Railroad , and several smaller carriers. Its railroad subsidiaries were collectively known as the Family Lines System . Its headquarters were in Jacksonville, Florida , in
270-603: The Seaboard System paint scheme with the existing railroad's reporting marks applied. When the merger officially took effect on January 1, 1983, all former reporting marks were to be either removed or patched with SBD initials. Shortly before taking delivery of the L&;N specified EMD SD50 's, Seaboard adopted a Swis721 type font for reporting marks and numbers, instead of the customized Seaboard Coast Line lettering seen on pre-1983 repaints. To simplify its locomotive roster and meet Chessie System specifications, Seaboard introduced
288-413: The earlier sealed beam halogen/incandescent lamp. There were many models of Mars Lights, that used several methods to oscillate the beam. Sometimes the entire lamp and assembly were moved; on other models, the reflector behind the bulb was rotated. The beam was usually oscillated in a triple eight pattern , i.e. , the beam would oscillate up and down two or more times for every horizontal sweep, providing
306-526: The exception of some passenger carriers, such as Chicago's Metra , which uses both Mars Lights and ditch lights on their equipment. Older locomotives originally equipped with Mars Lights may still use them if fitted and still functioning. Mars Lights are still used on fire fighting apparatus. The lights continue to be produced, and are available from Tri Lite / Mars, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Los Angeles County Fire Department required Mars lights as
324-591: The neighboring Chessie System , which had four railroads, the Family Lines had six railroads. In 1971 SCL bought out the remaining shares and made the Louisville & Nashville a subsidiary. On November 1, 1980, Seaboard Coast Line Industries and Chessie System merged under the holding company CSX Corporation . Over the following seven years, the Chessie and Seaboard's various railroads were gradually merged into one. The first step came on December 29, 1982, when
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