*1910 merged into the Carolina & North-Western Railway.

When the Chester & Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad arrived in Lenoir, North Carolina in 1884, it sparked "railroad fever" in the area. A number of companies offered stock and subscription for railroad construction, but none were built.

However in 1891, a charter was issued to the Caldwell Land & Lumber Company for construction of a railroad. In 1893, a line was constructed from Lenoir to Collettsville, and was named the Caldwell & Northern Railway. At completion, the line owned two locomotives, one passenger car, and twenty-one (21) flatcars. It was little more than a logging line that supported the numerous furniture factories in and around Lenoir.

The Caldwell & Northern Railway gradually expanded its operations southwesterly and made money for its owners. By 1903, it had extended the line up Wilson Creek when it ran out of funds. The Carolina & North-Western Railway gained control of the line in 1905, but operated it as a separete entity. The tracks were extended up Wilson Creek to Mortimer, and by 1906 it made it to Edgemont.

In 1910, the line was merged into the Carolina & North-Western Railway to provide better service to its customers.

Towns on Route:

Lenoir

Valmead (1909)

Glenburnie (faded 1903)

Collettsville

Houck > Mortimer (1905)

Edgemont (1907)