Talk:Carolina Central Railroad

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Page title[edit]

Since Sanibel sun thinks that consensus, discussion, and BRD are all optional, I am doing what he refuses to do and opening a discussion as to which title this article should use:

  • Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad (original title)
  • Carolina Central Railroad (current title)

Trainsandotherthings (talk) 22:11, 25 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Let's assume good faith here. Do we have any sense of what name the line was best known as? It wouldn't surprise me if it was Carolina Central Railroad, given that it operated mostly and was merged into Seaboard under that name, unless most sources focus on the construction period. Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 22:22, 25 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
There are three topics here:
  • the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad, incorporated in 1855 and sold in 1873
  • the Carolina Central Railroad/Railway, incorporated in 1873 and merged into the Seaboard in 1901
  • the physical lines, some of which are extant
The article at present says almost nothing about the 1873-1901 period. Mackensen (talk) 22:23, 25 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I don't disagree there, but I believe the guiding principle here is to track with what reliable sources call it. (Or we could split the article.) Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 04:46, 26 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
My personal rule of thumb is that if a company built additional track it should probably have its own article, and if a railway line was owned by multiple companies it should have a standalone article. I really dislike conflating lines and companies. Mackensen (talk) 13:50, 26 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I think the reasoning behind titling the article "Carolina Central Railroad" is because the cited 2000 R. E. Prince book, Seaboard Air Line Railroad has a titled section "Carolina Central Railway" wherein the Wilmington, Charlotte & Rutherford Rail Road Company is briefly discussed with inaccuracies and most of the first paragraph is regurgitated here (as well as many other tertiary sources). It is my opinion that the article should be titled, "Wilmington, Charlotte & Rutherford Rail Road" since that is the name of the parent company that actively planned and built the line. The Carolina Central did little to expand the line. But I'm biased. Jhscarborough (talk) 21:42, 5 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I retract my comment. After reviewing the article history I see no legitimate reason for the name having ever been changed from WC&RRR to CCRR. Jhscarborough (talk) 00:43, 6 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]