Despite the extensive evolution of Tennessee's railroad system since the Civil War era, nearly all of the state's Civil War railroad corridors survive.  The following map depicts those Civil War railroad corridors that still remain in active railroad use as solid black lines, while Civil War railroad corridors that have been abandoned (or whose current status is uncertain) are depicted as broken black lines.  (In the interests of clarity, the map does not show railroad corridors which were newly constructed subsequent to the Civil War period.)
 
 

The surviving Civil War railroad corridors typically retain much of the original grading along with most of the immediate surrounding topography that existed at the time of original construction.  Although the early track, ballast, trestles, and bridges were replaced by subsequent versions as part of ongoing railroad maintenance and upgrades, later railroaders continued to use the original grading, along with some engineering structures such as tunnels.  (For discussion of post-war railroad evolution, see  Tennessee Railroads After the Civil War.)  Indeed, current railroad companies continue to utilize most of these same routes for their original transportation purpose, albeit with radically more sophisticated equipment.

The railroad grading and associated landscape constitutes a survival of form even after the early trackage, buildings, engineering structures, rolling stock, and other physical remnants have long disappeared--as can be observed by comparing Civil War period photographs with the equivalent modern views.  This is especially noticeable when modern track exists to reinforce the transportation theme, but also applies when original grading survives on abandoned routes.

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Last update:  March 31, 2000