In 1896, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad took possession of the KCG&LRY and abandoned much of its trackage.
Later that same year, the L&N acquired the Middlesborough Railroad in order to provide a company to lease certain property to the KCG&LRY, specifically much of the remaining trackage from the L&N connection with the KCG&L in Tennessee to the station in Middlesborough, a total of 4.342 miles, for 99 years.
The L&N bought and reinforced the tunnel and built a line from Pineville, Kentucky southeast to Middlesborough.
In 1986, the Seaboard Coast Line, owner of the ACL, merged with the Chessie System to form CSX Transportation.
However, in early 2022 R.J. Corman announced that its Knoxville and Cumberland Gap Railroad would acquire and operate this route.