Raleigh and Gaston Railroad stock certificate 1877 (North Carolina) 

Early NC RR. Two nice smaller vignettes - to the left, a steam train at a passenger depot and, to the right, vignette of the company's founder and first president, George Mordecai. Issued and pen cancelled at lower left. Dated 1877 on the cert.  Approximately 10 x 7 inches. 

The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad was a Raleigh, North Carolina, based railroad opened in April 1840 between Raleigh and the town of Gaston, North Carolina, on the Roanoke River. George W. Mordecai was the first president of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad and is considered a founder due to his leadership in its early development. He was instrumental in securing funding and beginning construction, though he resigned in 1840 and was succeeded by Samuel F. Patterson.

Construction on the line began in 1836. At the north end, the line initially crossed the Roanoke River near Roanoke Rapids on a 1,040-foot bridge to connect the line to Gaston. In Gaston, it connected with the Greensville and Roanoke Railroad (which was operated by the Petersburg Railroad). In 1852, the line was extended from Roanoke Rapids east to Weldon.

The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad served the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Its track provided a link in a route that provided the most direct route from Richmond, Virginia to Raleigh at the time. During the fall of Richmond, the original bridge over the Roanoke River at Gaston was destroyed and was never rebuilt. After the war, the line was reconnected to the north side of the river when the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad rebuilt their bridge over the Roanoke River at Weldon.

The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1900. In 1967, the SAL merged with its rival, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL). The merged company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation.

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