bought the bankrupt Tennessee and Pacific Railroad from the state government and operated it as a connection to Lebanon, Tennessee. The company also took full control of the Duck River Valley Narrow Gauge Railway in 1888, converting it to standard gauge the following year. It had already leased the line, which linked Columbia, Lewisburg, and Fayetteville, Tennessee from its owners in 1879, when they had difficulty completing the final stretch into Fayetteville. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, an aggressive competitor of the NC&StL, gained a controlling interest in 1880 through a hostile stock takeover that caused much rancor between the cities of Nashville and Louisville. However, the railroads continued to operate separately until finally merging in 1957. The company gave up steam operations in 1953. After the 1880 takeover, the NC&StL acquired branch lines in Kentucky and Alabama, and expanded from Nashville to Memphis. In 1890 the tracks reached Atlanta, Georgia, by leasing the state-owned Western and Atlantic Railroad. In 1902, the L&N was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in a takeover similar to that of the NC&StL, but continued to operate as a separate company. In 1982, the L&N's corporate existence ended when it was merged into ACL's successor, the Seaboard System Railroad. After several other mergers, in 1986 the Seaboard System was renamed CSX Transportation, which continues to use the original NC&StL route between Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta. Other portions of the system, such as the route to Hickman, have been abandoned. Mileage and revenues At the end of 1925 NC&StL operated 1,259 miles of road on 1,859 miles of track; at the end of 1956, mileages were 1,043 and 1,791. Passenger trains The railroad's named passenger trains included: City of Memphis (Memphis - Nashville) Dixie Express (once the coach section of the all-Pullman Dixie Flyer and at another time the interim name of the Dixie Limited) (Chicago - New Orleans) Dixie Flyer (Chicago and St. Louis - Florida) Dixie Limited (formerly the Dixie Express, formerly the Chicago and Florida Limited) (Chicago and St. Louis - Florida) Dixieland (winter season only until the early 1950s) (Chicago and St. Louis - Florida) Dixiana (Chicago and St. Louis - Florida) Dixie Flagler (ran every third day; later renamed the Dixieland) (Chicago and St. Louis - Florida) Dixie Mail aka Dixie Flyer - Mail and Express (Chicago and St. Louis - Florida) Lookout (Memphis - Jackson, TN - Nashville