The Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad, which had built no track of its own, gained stock control of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1839.

[3] After 10 years of full operation, and the breakaway and reconsolidation of the LC&CRR, the South Carolina Railroad was still obliged by its original charter to connect with Camden.

Despite hard economic times, and heavy debt inherited from the failed LC&CRR project, the 37.1-mile (59.7 km) branch between Kingsville and Camden was completed in 1848,[3] fixing the route map for the next 50 years.

During the great prosperity and statewide railroad expansion of the 1850s, the SCRR enjoyed a doubling of its receipts but was obliged to focus on paying off debt, upgrading its physical plant and resolving inefficiencies in its route.

Losses due to the downfall of the Confederacy were $3,803,917, including defaulted CSA bonds, uncollected transport charges and 111 emancipated slaves.

Local interests had also stopped the line at the city limits of Charleston, greatly hampering connection to seaport terminals, and were not overcome until 1885.