HISTORY

The Louisville and Nashville railroad was officially chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky on March 5th, 1850, with the goal of building a railroad between the two namesake cities. Track construction started at 10th & Broadway in Louisville and headed south. Prior to the tracks reaching the targeted metropolis of Nashville, the L&N realized the importance of serving the heart of Kentucky and began construction of a branch line to Lebanon in Marion County. For this branch line that later became known as the “Lebanon Branch”, the citizens of Marion County put up $200,000 (roughly $7.5 million in 2024 dollars) in bond money for the construction of the railroad to their town. Construction work on the Lebanon Branch began in 1854, with the tracks reaching Lebanon in November 1857. Built in 1857 the L&N railroad named their new locomotive #6 “Marion” presumably after Marion County, Kentucky. On March 8th, 1858 the first train operated on the line through to Lebanon; a decade prior to the golden spike being driven marking the completion of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. Even Marion County native and future Kentucky Governor, J. Proctor Knott, knew how important the railroad would be to Central Kentucky, for he rode the first train from Lebanon to Campbellsville on October 3rd, 1879 along with the President of the L&N railroad, the Mayor of Louisville, and dignitaries and notable figures from Louisville, Lebanon, and across Marion County.

 
The Lebanon Branch also played a pivotal role in the Civil War, providing transportation of soldiers and supplies through central Kentucky. In 1863 Morgan’s Raiders confronted the Union soldiers in Lebanon, with the conflict occurring in downtown Lebanon in the railyard at the railroad’s freight depot building. Though this conflict which came to be known as “The Battle of Lebanon” was a defeat for the union, the Lebanon Branch no doubt was key in the Union’s successful fight against the Confederates throughout the Civil War. When it was completed, following the Civil War, the Lebanon Branch was over 137 miles long spanning from Lebanon Junction in Bullitt County, to Mount Vernon in Rockcastle County. The branch served the central Kentucky region offering passenger service directly to Louisville and Corbin with connections available across the nation and facilitated the movement of freight supporting the areas distilleries and manufacturing plants. Passenger service operated for a century from 1858 until 1958, and freight service continued until abandonment. The Lebanon Branch served the Lebanon and Marion County areas for 134 years, with the last train departing Lebanon on January 10th, 1991.