North Carolina Railroading and Railfanning In "The Tar Heel State"

North Carolina railroading offers a wide variety of operations, found in few other Southeastern states; from coastal and mountainous operations to high-speed main line freight and passenger trains, including plenty of local shortline services. And, as Southern states typically go, North Carolina offers spectacular scenery as a backdrop to railroading operations, whether you are along the coast, in flatlands of the piedmont or high in the Smoky Mountains. The Tar Heel State also has a rich railroading heritage dating back to the early 1830s and during its peak was home to no fewer than four eastern Class I railroads with the highly profitable and respected Atlantic Coast Line headquartered in its coastal and port city of Wilmington until 1960.

North Carolina railroading has its beginnings dating back to 1833 when the Wilmington & Weldon was charted to connect its namesake cities, which it completed on March 7th, 1840. By doing so the railroad became the longest railroad operated in the world at that time, spanning some 161 miles! By the turn of the century the W&W would become part of the ever-growing Atlantic Coast Line system. Following the W&W’s opening, North Carolina quickly became an important traffic generating and terminating state as it not only grew much tobacco and cotton but also became heavily industrialized, particularly in textiles. In time the Tar Heel State would become home to four of the South’s best-remembered railroads. Including the ACL there was the Southern Railway, Seaboard Coast Line and to the west, the coal-hauling Clinchfield Railroad which churned out profits blasting its way through the southern Appalachian Mountain range known as the Smoky Mountains.

Because all four carriers were important to North Carolina’s growth it would be unfair not to briefly mention them all here.

The Southern Railway, forever remembered by its famous slogan, “The Southern Serves the South – Look Ahead, Look South,” was created from a number of smaller railroads, which merged over the years to form the Southern Railway. Perhaps the railroad’s famous green paint scheme was fitting for the railroad as it became the most respected and arguably the best managed railroad of its day before it disappeared into a merger with the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W) in 1982 to form today’s Norfolk Southern.

Much of what made the Southern Railway such a highly profitable railroad was its many fine business leaders. It began with Samuel Spencer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which expanded the company to much of how it looked when it merged with the N&W in 1982. Later Ernest Norris began dieselizing the company’s fleet of motive power and Harry deButts was able to understand the future economic growth of the South, and prepared the railroad accordingly.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, also known as the ACL or Coast Line, was synonymous with the South and served points from Richmond, Virginia to Florida and east to Birmingham, Alabama. The railroad was also very profitable being that it served direct north-south routes from Florida to Richmond. It also held one of the most unique paint schemes of any Class I of both its day, having a beautiful purple and silver livery with yellow trim. Remembered in the likes of the Southern Railway in later years the ACL was highly respected throughout most of its existence and like the Southern was blessed with excellent management and never faced any serious bankruptcy (and only entered receivership once during the Depression years of the early 1930s) threat up until its merger with the Seaboard Air Line in the late 1960s to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.

The Seaboard Air Line is perhaps best remembered for being a somewhat smaller version of the Atlantic Coast Line as everywhere the ACL went so too did the SAL (and thus it is not surprising that the two would decide to merge in the late 1960s). This is not to say, however, that the SAL was an inferior road to the ACL, quite the contrary. The Seaboard held its own with its fiercest competitor and after managing to pull through troubled waters during the early years of its life, the railroad provided quality freight transportation to the Southeast.

And lastly, the Clinchfield Railroad is one of the less notable fallen flags, most likely due to its very small size, only a tad over 300 miles at its peak! However, the railroad does hold an important place in railroading history and is best remembered as another of the Appalachian coal haulers, lugging millions of tons of black diamonds from the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Along with the railroad’s association with coal it also served as a very effective north-south bridge line for traffic of railroads such as the Southern and Chesapeake & Ohio. Today, it remains an important link in the CSX system, still deriving millions of tons of coal over its main line annually (it also is home to the annual CSX Christmas Train).

Today, North Carolina railroading is mostly the realm of CSX and Norfolk Southern with NS’s ex-Southern main line running through Charlotte and Greensboro (along with numerous other secondary lines) and CSX’s ex-Clinchfield in the mountains and SAL and ACL main lines near the coast. The rest of the Tar Heel State’s rails are operated by numerous shortlines and include the historic Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad, Adrian & Blissfield Rail Road, Atlantic & Western railway, Carolina Coastal Railway, Carolina Southern Railroad, Laurinburg & Southern Railroad, Pee Dee River Railway, Wilmington Terminal Railroad, and the Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad.

Having visited North Carolina on countless occasions throughout my life I must say that its railroading is very unique and interesting as it really does offer a little of everything from an operational standpoint. I have seen both the Laurinburg & Southern and Chesapeake & Ablemarble Railroads in operation and enjoyed every bit of it. I also was lucky enough to have a friend give me a quick tour of Raleigh’s rail operations (which includes both NS and CSX) and was as fascinated by the scenes of history still present, as the trains themselves.

Today, these shortlines and Class Is operate over 3,000 miles of trackage although at one time the state was home to nearly twice that. For more information on North Carolina railroading in terms of route mileage over the years please take a look at the chart below.

Passenger and commuter rail in North Carolina are, to put it bluntly, a step above the rest of the country. The Tar Heel State is being proactive in recognizing the benefits of rail and has planned accordingly. Not only does the state own the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR), which owns a rail corridor running between Charlotte and Morehead City but also owns significant abandoned rights-of-way in the state that it deems important for possible future rail service.

Today, the NCRR is leased to Norfolk Southern, which handles freight service over much of the route (between Charlotte and Raleigh) and oversees the ongoing upgrades being paid for by the State of North Carolina. The state also subsidizes its own passenger trains over the line. With the help of Amtrak, North Carolina operates the Charlotte-New York Carolinian and Raleigh-Charlotte Piedmont (in addition Amtrak also operates its own Crescent and Silver Service through the state).

The future of North Carolina’s commuter rail operations looks very bright. The state has paid for the restoration of numerous historic depots along its route to be used for daily passenger service and is currently planning operational extensions as far east as Wilmington and as far west as Asheville. And, what's more, North Carolina plans to develop all of this trackage into a high-speed corridor.

North Carolina railroading also features several museums and tourist railroads such as the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer which is home to the largest still-standing roundhouse at 37 stalls. Others include the Great Smoky Mountain Railway in Dillsboro and Bryson City that offers spectacular views of the Smokies.

All in all, North Carolina railroading offers some fantastic and unique operations, with spectacular scenery that only a Southern state could provide. If you are planning a trip you may want to focus on one specific area that interests you most, such as the mountains, piedmont region or coastal plains as there is far too much to see unless you have lots of time to visit all three parts of the state.

And on that note, here are few final recommendations you may want to visit; first, although it no longer sees trains NS's torturous Saluda Grade (the steepest main line in America at 4.7%) is a marvel to see; second, CSX's main line to Wilmington features the longest stretch of straight, tangent track in the country at nearly 79 continuous miles; and lastly, both CSX and NS have winding loops to gain elevation in the western mountains at Old Fort (NS) and Spruce Pine (CSX). Whatever you decide, have fun as there is plenty to see in NC!