The C&S RR established and operated a 120-mile (190 km) 5 ft (1,524 mm)[1] gauge rail line from Charleston, South Carolina, to Savannah, Georgia, connecting two of the most important port cities in the antebellum southeastern United States.

South Carolina state senator Thomas Drayton was the president of the railroad from its earliest planning stages in 1853 until 1856.

During the Civil War, control of the railroad was vital to the protection of Savannah and keeping nearby Confederate troops supplied with food and materiel.

The original line east of Johns Island would become known as the Croghans Branch after the Ashley River Railroad began service.

[7] In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation.