Smithfield and Goldsboro Railroad

The Smithfield and Goldsboro Railroad was chartered in 1881. It was the first and only railroad built by its parent company, the Midland North Carolina Railroad. The Smithfield and Goldsboro Railroad began operations between its namesake cities in 1883. In Goldsboro, it connected to the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad and the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad (the latter was briefly leased by Midland North Carolina Railroad).^[1] The branch closely paralleled the North Carolina Railroad (which was operated by the Southern Railway).

The Midland North Carolina Railroad was acquired by the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad in 1885, which included the Smithfield and Goldsboro Railroad. The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad would designate the line as their Midland Branch (named for the Midland North Carolina Railroad). By 1899, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was fully incorporated into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad network.^[2]

Atlantic Coast Line abandoned the Midland Branch in 1930.^[3]