Apparently started as the Durham & Lynchburg Railroad (not to be confused with the Lynchburg & Durham Railroad), this line was completed in 1889 and was jointly financed by the North Carolina towns of Henderson and Durham.

In 1890, the road was considered to be part of the burgeoning Seaboard Air Line Railway, and it was absorbed into the Seaboard Air Line in 1901.

A four and a half mile branch of this railroad, from Dickerson to Oxford, was completed by Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1902, and prior to being absorbed it was known as the Oxford & Coast Line Railroad.

From the 1st Annual Report of the North Carolina Railroad Commission, dated December 31, 1891:

The Durham & Northern Railway Company was organized August 29th, 1887, under the laws of the State of North Carolina, Acts February 23, 1887. It is largely owned by the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad Company, and forms part of the Seaboard Air-Line System. The road was opened April 1st, 1889.

The purpose of this Company was to construct and operate a road between Durham and some point in Wake, Franklin or Vance counties, to be determined by the present directors, with the privilege of extending the road to tidewater or Roanoke River, and with power to build branch roads not exceeding 25 miles in length, and with authority to consolidate with other railroad companies incorporated under the laws of this or any other State.

Property Operated:

Durham & Northern Railway Company, from Durham to Henderson, 42 miles.

Towns on Route:

Durham

East Durham (1887)

Fish Dam > Fishdam (1895)

Northside (1891)

Creedmoor (1886)

Hester (1889)

Tar River (1889)

Dickerson (1900s

Clay (1889)

Watkins (1889)

Henderson

Branch Line - Dickerson to Oxford (1902):

Dickerson

Oxford