Chessie

Chessie is a name associated with several notable subjects in American culture, most prominently in railroading and dog breeding. The best-known reference is Chessie the cat, a fictional orange tabby introduced in advertising for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) in the 1930s. The mascot was depicted as a content, sleeping cat and became an emblem of reliability and comfort; the image persisted through corporate mergers and survived in the branding heritage of CSX Transportation.

The Chessie System was a marketing umbrella used by a group of railroads in the 1970s, notably the C&O, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway. The Chessie System brand existed until the formation of CSX Transportation in 1980, when it and the Seaboard System were merged to form CSX.

Chessie is also a common nickname for the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a breed of dog named after the Chesapeake Bay. The affectionate "Chessie" appears in breed folklore, breeder nomenclature, and some media representations.

Overall, Chessie denotes several interrelated but distinct roots: a long-running railroad mascot, a historical railroad branding unit, and a nickname for a Bay-region dog breed.