Marion County Railway

Last updated

The Marion County Railway was a shortline railroad that operated in eastern South Carolina in the mid-1980s.

The line, acquired from Seaboard Systems in July 1984, ran a little more than six miles from Mullins, South Carolina, to Marion, South Carolina. [1]

It operated until February 1985 [2] and while it had not been abandoned as of a decade later, most of the track had been taken up. [3]

Related Research Articles

The Virginia Southern Railroad is a shortline railroad division of the North Carolina and Virginia Railroad, a subsidiary of the Genesee & Wyoming, with rights to operate 78 miles (126 km) of track between Norfolk Southern Railway connections at Oxford, North Carolina and Burkeville, Virginia. The southernmost segment between Clarksville, Virginia and Oxford is out of service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valdosta Railway</span>

The Valdosta Railway is a shortline railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia, connecting Clyattville to CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway at Valdosta. The company began operations in 1992 as a subsidiary of the Rail Management and Consulting Corporation, and was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Railroad of Indianapolis</span>

Central Railroad of Indianapolis is a Class III short-line railroad that operates approximately 39 miles (63 km) miles of rail line in north central Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolina Piedmont Railroad</span>

The Carolina Piedmont Railroad is a class III railroad and subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. operating in the Upstate region of South Carolina. From an interchange with CSX Transportation at Laurens the railroad runs 34 miles (55 km) to the northwest, terminating at East Greenville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yadkin Valley Railroad</span>

The Yadkin Valley Railroad is the trade name of the Piedmont and Atlantic Railroad and is a shortline railroad operating two lines leased from the Norfolk Southern Railway originating out of Rural Hall, North Carolina for a distance of 93 miles (150 km). The railroad began operation in 1989 and is currently a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf and Ohio Railways</span>

Gulf & Ohio Railways is a holding company for four different short-line railroads in the Southern United States, as well as a tourist-oriented passenger train, and locomotive leasing and repair service through Knoxville Locomotive Works. Gulf & Ohio maintains its corporate headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Waccamaw Coast Line Railroad was a 14.1-mile (22.7 km) short-line railroad division of the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad, extending from a connection with the Carolina Southern Railroad, another division of that company, at Conway to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The line was opened in 1900 by the Conway Coast and Western Railroad, a predecessor of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The Seaboard System Railroad sold the line to Horry County in November 1984, and it was operated by the Horry County Railway until October 1987, when the WCLR took over. The Carolina Southern Railroad acquired the WCLR in September 1995, and operated until both its lines and WCLR's line ceased operations. In 2015, RJ Corman took control of the Carolina Southern and all of its trackage and rehabilitated it as the R.J. Corman Carolina Lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway</span>

The Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway is a Class III common carrier shortline railroad that operates in the cities of Marion and Herrin in the Southern Illinois region. It is most historically recognized by the FRA for being the last U.S. railroad of any kind to use steam locomotives exclusively in regular revenue freight service up until 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurinburg and Southern Railroad</span>

The Laurinburg and Southern Railroad is a short-line railroad operating in North Carolina. The railroad has 28 mi (45 km) of track that runs south from Raeford to Laurinburg, North Carolina and industries south of there. However much of the track is seldom run on and used for car storage. In the past the Laurinburg and Southern controlled a number of other small railroads in North Carolina and Virginia. The railroad has been owned by Gulf and Ohio Railways since 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Central Railroad</span> Railroad in South Carolina, USA

The South Carolina Central Railroad is a class III railroad that operates 42 miles (68 km) of former CSX Transportation trackage in South Carolina. Originally a RailTex subsidiary upon its start in 1987, the railroad passed to RailAmerica following their acquisition of RailTex in 2000 and passed to the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad upon its acquisition of RailAmerica.

The Nash County Railroad was the operator of the Rocky Mount & Western railroad, connecting with CSX Transportation at Rocky Mount and running 14.7 miles (23.7 km) to Nashville, North Carolina. This short line railroad was created in 1985 and was formerly a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways. The line is now operated by the Carolina Coastal Railway.

The Gulf and Mississippi Railroad was the first regional railroad in the United States upon its creation in 1985. With over 713 miles (1,147 km) of track in the states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama it was among the largest spin-off railroads in the post-Staggers Act era. MidSouth Rail acquired the entire G&M railroad in 1988, operating it as a separate entity, SouthRail. Kansas City Southern purchased MidSouth Rail in 1994 and most of the former G&M lines are still in service under KCS.

The Greenville and Northern Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between Travelers Rest and Greenville, South Carolina, 11.3 miles (18.2 km). The railroad was part of the Pinsly Railroad Company after 1957 before being purchased by RailTex in 1997. Operations ended in February 1998 and the railroad was abandoned in 2005.

The Thoroughbred Shortline Program was a system of shortline creation devised by Norfolk Southern in the late 1980s. It involved an alternative to the typical practice of a Class I railroad selling rail lines outright to shortlines in the post-Staggers Act era. Defining features of the program included leasing lines to shortline operators, as opposed to outright sales, keeping stations available in Norfolk Southern marketing campaigns, and crediting carloads delivered to Norfolk Southern towards the lease and eventual purchase of the line. The program ran from 1988 to 1991, creating more than a dozen new shortline railroads, nearly all of which are still in operation today.

The Columbia and Silver Creek Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between a connection with the Illinois Central at Silver Creek to Columbia, 28.7 miles (46.2 km). Later the railroad shifted location from the Columbia line to a branch from Taylorsville to Soso, Mississippi and was owned by Richard Abernathy. Currently the original line exists as part of the Gloster Southern Railroad, while the newer segment was abandoned.

The Carolina & Northwestern Railway (Ca&NW) was a railroad that served South Carolina and North Carolina from 1897 until January 1, 1974. The original line was operated by the Ca&NW as a separate railroad controlled by the Southern Railway until 1974 when the name was changed to the Norfolk Southern Railway. On June 1, 1982, Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railroad merged to form Norfolk Southern Railway. Choosing to use the name 'Norfolk Southern Railway' for the merger, in 1981, the original Ca&NW line along with original Norfolk Southern Railway was renamed Carolina and Northwestern once again. In the early 1950s several shortline subsidiaries of the Southern Railway were leased to the Ca&NW for operation, with these lines remaining a part of the Ca&NW into the 1980s.

The Hampton and Branchville Railroad and Lumber Company was a shortline railroad that served Western South Carolina in the early 20th century.

The Colleton County Railroad was a shortline railroad in Colleton County, South Carolina that existed briefly in the mid-1980s. It was organized in 1986 to take over a Seaboard System branch line. In 1988, it was merged into the Hampton and Branchville Railroad.

The Thermal Belt Railway is a Class III shortline railroad that operates for freight service on an irregular schedule on a former CSX line from Bostic to Forest City and on a former Norfolk Southern line from Forest City to Alexander Mills, North Carolina. Total mileage is 8.5 miles (13.7 km). Connections are made with CSX at Bostic. Rail is 85 pounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caldwell County Railroad</span>

The Caldwell County Railroad is a Class III shortline railroad operating over 17 miles between Hickory and Lenoir, North Carolina. The CWCY is operated by Southeast Shortlines, Inc., which also operates the Thermal Belt Railway.

References