Cross-Country Lines (Johnsonverse)

Cross-Country Lines (reporting mark CCL) is a Class I line haul passenger and freight railroad. The railroad operates in all contiguous states (plus Alaska), with extensive trackage in Mexico as well. It is owned and operated by LeBlanc Incorporated as its oldest and largest subsidiary, and is considered the chief competitor of Johnson Industries-owned Continental Rail.
== History ==
Cross-Country Lines was incorporated in 1903. Unlike the humble origins of Continental Rail as the Central Valley Railroad, LeBlanc Industries founder Edward LeBlanc had a grand vision for a national rail network to rival the one Continental Rail was putting together. Cross-Country's life began with LeBlanc initiating a hostile takeover of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, granting it a 945-mile network, including a main line from Chicago to St. Louis. Other Midwestern roads would fall under LeBlanc's relentless takeovers, including the Chicago Great Western Railroad, Chicago, Indiana and Southern Railroad, Alton Railroad, culminating in its biggest coup, the Wabash Railroad, which it bought for cheap amidst the Great Depression in 1931.
With its Midwestern network assembled, CCL next turned to aggressive westward expansion, managing more hostile takeovers, particularly the Milwaukee Road in 1935, giving the railroad access to the west coast, followed by the Nicke Plate Road in 1936, gaining access to Upstate New York and the lucrative interchange traffic from the New York Central.
For southern expansion, CCL set its sights on the Illinois Central, successfully taking it over in 1938. Industry analysts began questioning exactly where CCL was getting the money for all of these acquisitions, only to find that the railroads acquired were already financially-insolvent due to a combination of the Great Depression and intense competition from Continental Rail.
From New Orleans, the railroad opted to build its own mainline parallel to the Southern Pacific line to reach Texas and California, but the outbreak of World War II ultimately cancelled these plans. Following the war, more railroads fell victim to LeBlanc's ruthless stock buyouts, including the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Grand Trunk Western, and Wisconsin Central Railroad.
Subsequent to this, however, CCL's expansion completely stalled, as other railroads were either merging to fend off competition from roads, or being picked off by Continental Rail. Upon the formation of Amtrak in 1971, CCL adamentaly refused to join, continuing to run its passenger trains using similar advertising tactics to Continental Rail.
For years, CCL seemed destined to be second-best to Continental Rail. Following the Staggers Act in 1980, CCL began attempting to start up expansion again through acquisitions, succeeding in taking over much of the Rock Island, but failed to take over the Missouri Pacific, Western Pacific, and Missouri-Kansas-Texas because Union Pacific gave all of them better offers. An attempt to acquire the Southern Pacific was also foiled when the SP snubbed CCL in favor of merging with the Santa Fe (a merger that itself failed), followed by the SP merging with the Denver and Rio Grande in 1988. Another attempt was made on the Seaboard System Railroad, but they received a better offer from the Chessie System, forming CSX. Later in the 1990s, another attempt was made to acquire the SP, only to lose out once again to UP. One last-ditch effort to expand the network was made with the Kansas City Souther, but this acquisition was rejected on antitrust grounds. CCL also figured into the "custody battle" over Conrail, but was ultimately forced out by Norfolk Southern and CSX.
Into the 2000s, although a smaller system than Continental Rail and lacking overseas subsidiaries, CCL was able to operate on equal footing with the larger CR. The crown jewel of the CCL network was its mainline from Chicago to New Orleans, which it had electrified in the 1930s in response to Continental Rail doing the same for the Northwest Corridor, referring to their electrified mainline as the Mid-America Mainline (MAML).
CCL's fortunes began to change in 2015 with the dissolution of Amtrak. The chronically-underfunded agency's passenger trains were evenly split between Continental Rail and Cross-Country Lines; among the trains received by CCL included the San Joaquins in California and half of the Amtrak Midwest services. Six years later, the Johnson adminstration signed the Railroad Act of 2021 into law, causing CCL's network to quadruple in size, with trackage all over the United States. Later in 2022, the railroad acquired Ferromex, giving it access to Mexico.
== Livery ==
Cross-Country Lines' livery has a similar pattern to Continental Rail's livery, except instead of blue with a white nose and frame, CCL's livery is red with a yellow nose and livery.
File:Hoc-freelanced-railroads-01.jpg|Locomotive livery
Category:Johnsonverse