NC&StL
Paducah & Memphis Division

The P&M Division ran a distance of 229 miles from Paducah, Ky., through Murray, Ky., Paris, Tenn., Bruceton, Lexington, and Jackson to Memphis.

The P&M was built by two relatively late companies - the Paducah, Tennessee & Alabama Railway, and the Tennessee Midland Railroad. Around 1890, the PT&A began building southward from Paducah toward the Tennessee state line, with the eventual goal of reaching Florence, Alabama. The line reached Lexington, Tenn. in 1892 for a connection with its subsidiary, the Tennessee Midland. The TM had earlier built from Memphis in the direction of Nashville, reaching Perryville, on the west bank of the Tennessee River. The duo went bankrupt in 1893, and was sold at auction to the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. The L&N in turn leased the entire line from Paducah to Memphis to its subsidiary, the NC&StL. Thus the lines became the P&M Division of the NC&StL, crossing the NC's Nashville Division at Hollow Rock Jct., Tennessee.

The P&M grew in importance to the NC as the railroad developed its Memphis and Paducah gateways for Southeastern traffic. The original line to Hickman faltered in comparison, and the end of the branch from Union City to Hickman was abandoned in 1951.

The P&M Today

A large portion of the P&M has been abandoned due to duplicating lines both on the L&N system and the Illinois Central. In fact, the abandonment of P&M track in 1967 from Burkitt (west of Jackson) to Cordova (near Memphis) was the one of the first major through-line abandonments by the L&N. In the early 80's, Bruceton to Beech Bluff (east of Jackson) and Hardin to Paducah were abandoned by SCL/L&N. Murray-Hardin was sold to J&J Railroad, later the Hardin Southern RR, and Bruceton-Murray was sold to KWT Railway. The branch out of Memphis to Cordova and yard trackage in Jackson are still served by CSX.

Sources

Lessley, Donald E. Paducah Gateway. Troll Publishing, 1978.

Various timetables.