A Brief History
The Maysville and Lexington Railroad was granted a charter by the Kentucky Legislature on March 4, 1850 to construct a railroad from Maysville to Lexington. By December 19, 1854, the 18 mile stretch from Lexington to Paris was completed and promptly leased to the Covington and Lexington Railroad which had incorporated in 1849. On January 21 1868 the Maysville and Lexington Railroad was split into two parts - The M&L Southern Division from Lexington to Paris and the M&L Northern Division which was to complete the trackage between Paris and Maysville.
On January 1, 1861 a joint stock association known as the Kentucky Central Railroad Association was formed for the purpose of acquiring the property previously operated by the Covington and Lexington Railroad. This new company operated the line until July 7, 1875 when the Kentucky Central Railroad assumed ownership of the property.
The line from Maysville to Paris was scheduled for completion by October 6, 1853 but due to the change in ownership and problems in construction, was not completed until 1873.
The Kentucky Central Railroad went into receivership on January 28, 1886 and emerged as the Kentucky Central Railway on January 7, 1887. On September 22, 1891 the Kentucky Central Railway was acquired by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
The Kentucky Central Railroad designated the Covington-Lexington line as the "Bluegrass Route" and advertised "Free Parlor Cars on Afternoon Trains". As of May 20, 1881 three daily round trips were scheduled over the Lexington-Maysville line, two to Covington by the way of Paris and the one to Maysville. In addition, there were two daily freight trains between Paris and Maysville.
Permission was received from the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the Lexington Paris line on June 8, 1951. Track removal began on September 1st and by December 1st 1951 the line was removed.
The L&N continued to operate the Paris-Maysville line until 1978 when it was taken out of service and proposed for abandonment. The Corbin Division timetable dated April 1980 still listed the P&M branch even though it was not in operation.
Fortunately, a group of investors envisioned a short-line coal route from the coal mines located on the L&N in Eastern Kentucky to the Ohio River providing attractive freight rates that included barge shipments to electric utility companies.
In 1979, Transkentucky Transportation Railroad, Inc., purchased the old Maysville and Lexington Northern Division. Several millions of dollars were spent to bring the line to a serviceable condition, part of which was the removal of a large slide in the tunnel cut just north of Carlisle, Kentucky. TTI crews labored several weeks and removed thousands of tons of rock and earth before the line could be opened. Today, the entire line from Paris to Maysville is a fine example of carefully made decisions in all areas - from the operation of trains to the maintenance of track and structures.
Transkentucky Transportation Railroad Inc. and its sister company Transcontinental Terminals, Inc. were acquired by units of CSX Transportation in late 1991. Their joint goal is to move large volumes of East Kentucky coal quickly, dependably and cost effectively to the Ohio River where it is transloaded into barges for shipment to utilities and industry located on the inland waterway system.