▚ George Washington's railroad
The Chesapeake & Ohio traced its roots to lines chartered in the 1830s and formally to 1869, fulfilling George Washington's old dream of linking the Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River. It became the great coal-hauling railroad of the Appalachians.
▚ Chessie the kitten
The C&O's marketing genius was "Chessie," a sleeping kitten used to sell the comfort of sleeping-car travel from the 1930s onward — one of the most successful advertising mascots in American business, and the namesake of the later Chessie System.
▚ Coal, Alleghenies, and CSX
The C&O ran some of the largest steam ever built — the 2-6-6-6 Alleghenies — to move Appalachian coal. It gained control of the B&O in 1963, formed the Chessie System in 1973, and became part of CSX in 1987.
▚ On this layout
The C&O is represented by a brass 2-10-4 "Texas" type — the heavy coal-hauling power that defined the road.