Eastern Railroad Discussion > What does name CSX stand for?

Can anyone tell me what these three letters really stand for? The best (most believable) I have heard is "C" is for Chessie, "S" for Seaboard, and "X" symbolizes the way these two roads crossed somewhere down south. Other than that theory the letters/name makes little sense. Local management (old CR) doesn't seem to know. Anyone out there have an idea?

The X in CSX stands for the symbolic intersection between Chessie and Seaboard. Physically, the two systems connected at more than one place (Alexandria, VA/RF&P, Richmond, VA, and Cincinnati were the principal interchange points, but there were many others); the X did not refer to any one intersection. Originally the two railroad systems were to retain their identities under the CSX umbrella; over the long haul, of course, that has proven not to be the case.

I had always heard the X was for corporation.

The "C" stands for Chessie System, The "S" for Seaboard Coastline, and the "X" stands for all of the companies besides CSXT (the transportation company) the makes up the CSX system. That is straight from the CSX website- not my guess.

Can't Seem to eXpedite trains.

toledopatch wrote:

> Originally the two railroad systems were to retain their
> identities under the CSX umbrella; over the long haul, of
> course, that has proven not to be the case.

And what a shame too! I'd love to see some new units painted into Seaboard and Chessie colors.


Joe H.

This was a trendy way to name companies. USX is an example, where US Steel wanted to show that they were into more than just steel.

In the case of CSX, they wanted to show both that they were a combination of the two companies: Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries, and that they were more than the sum of the parts, hence the X, with the implication of multiplication rather than just addition.

I always hears that X was for Xpress
Chessie Seaboard Xpress
Hell, its even written in some publications

According to an executive at the railroad that I talked to at the time of its inception, CSX stood for Chessie System Excellence. I kid you not. As an earlier post stated, there was a corporate trend at the time with things ending in X, signifying Excellence. This was in the days when Japan Inc. was threatening to take over the business world and quality was the gospel. Since the name is "CSX", and not an abbreviation, like the AT&SF, there is no official meaning, and I'm sure the meaning has changed even for the corporation.

"C" stands for Chessie System
"S" stands for Seaboard System
"X" stands for all other roads that make up CSX.ie.RF&P and P&LE.
The "X" on other names is the mark for leasing operations.ie.FURX and CEFX.
That is why CSX is now referd to as CSXT and that is why "CSXT" is on their equipment,if it just said "CSX" it would be a leasing co.
Some other answers would be...
"C" Chicken
"S" Sh!*
"X" X-press
or
"C" Conrail
"S" Still
"X" X-sists
Our motto...
"Yesterdays freight,tomarrow.Maybe"

C=Chessie or C&O
S=Seabord Coast Line
X=Combination of the above two



CSX is the holding company.

CSXT is the operating subsidiary which owns the railroad e.g. CSX Transportation.

Now if we could get the railroad to function correctly, it could be a decent road. Else it needs to be sold by someone who can operate a railroad.

Bill

From the CSX corporate website, under frequntly asked questions.

"What does CSX stand for? CSX was formed in 1980 by the acquisition of the Chessie system Railway, and the Seaboard Coast Line RR...thus the C and the S. These two entities brought with them subsidies that were not transportation related, ie resort, video production, mineral ccompany, etc. Thus the X which stands for all others"

quoted in December 1980, Trains Magazine, page 4:

"C can stand for Chessie, S for Seaboard, and X, the multiplication symbol, means that together we are much more."

CSX=Can't
Stand
eXcellence
or
CSX=Conrail's
Southern
eXtension
But I like Conrail better..............
Still
eXists

"Quality in slow motion"

"Crash, Spill and eXplode" is still my favorite.....

In the "for what it's worth" dept., when CSX began, I recall reading in the press that the X stands for corporation and the C and S did not stand for anything. Of course, it was pretty obvious that the combination of the Chessie system and Seaboard System was the reason for selecting these letters. However, I do not beleive that these letters stand for "Chessie" and "Seaboard" in the same sense that SAL stood for "Seaboard Air Line". SAL were initials of a real corporate name. CSX are not initials of anything - it is the name itself. To my knowledge, there is no such thing as "Chessie Seaboard Corp."

Chessie System and the Seaboard System were the two major roads that merged to form CSX.
The X stands for all other RRs involved in the merger.
That's the answer from every official I see from day to day.They say it comes straight from corp. HQ.
If C and S don't stand for anything,than why did they use C and S?
Why not A and B or Y and Z.
X does not mean multiplied nor does it mean combined.
It means everybody else.
Thank you,
MetallicA
P.S. Crash Spill and X-plode is a good one,I'll have to remember that.

metallica wrote:
>
> Chessie System and the Seaboard System were the two major roads
> that merged to form CSX.
> The X stands for all other RRs involved in the merger.
> That's the answer from every official I see from day to
> day.They say it comes straight from corp. HQ.

Not as simple as that. It was two major holding companies that mergered: Chessie System, Inc. and Seaboard Coast Line Industries, Inc. They happened to have railroads as their major holdings, but also had many other businesses as part of their holdings. The railroads continued to operate as separate entities under their respective holding companies, and only later did they merge.

> X does not mean multiplied nor does it mean combined.
> It means everybody else.

The X definitely meant all of those things. At the time of the merger of the holding companies, the management was trying to convince the Wall Street analysts and potential investors that the combined company would be better than just the sum of the parts. The X meant not only was there a combination of two companies, but that there was more to the companies than just the rail assets, and that in making the combination the larger company would be more than just the sum of the parts, hence the implied multiplication. Their press releases at the time emphasized this latter benefit.

Hence, the X stood for combination, the many businesses under the CSX umbrella, and multiplication in that the combined company was going to be greater than the separate companies before the merger.

I don't care what CSX says today about the origin of its name. To know what it meant, you have to go back to contemporaneous accounts at its formation. I cited a reference for the "X = multiplication" that anyone can check. I wonder how many people in this debate were in diapers, or even born when CSX was formed? Railfans are bad about distorting history. It appears futile to try to correct some of these notions.

This debate in a small way shows how easily myths and legends are created and how history gets rewritten.