Pickens Railway
Encyclopedia
Pickens Railway is a shortline railroad
operating on two separate divisions in the Upstate Region
of South Carolina
:
Connections are made with the Norfolk Southern at Easley & Anderson and with the Greenville and Western Railway
at Belton. Rail is 85-100 pounds on the Easley-Pickens segment and 85 pounds on the Anderson-Honea Path segment.
Traffic includes transportation equipment on the original Pickens line (in the form of locomotive remanufacture CLCX, Inc. located in Pickens), while the Anderson-Belton handles kaolin, limestone
, synthetic rubber, rubber processing oil, plastics, silica, scrap metal, paper, scrap paper, bird feed ingredients, farm supplies, and electrical equipment.
) and was completed in 1898.
On the railroad's first revenue run, the Pickens Railroad suffered a serious derailment that was caused by a local group of boys that had placed spikes on the rails, in their words, "to see what would happen." No one was seriously injured, but caused the fledgling company a serious financial setback, which operated in the red until 1905.
In its early years, it was nicknamed the "Pickens Doodle" because the train would run backwards to Easley and forward to Pickens, which "looked like a doodlebug," according to area residents. The Pickens Railroad, at the time did not have turning facilities until the line built two wye
sections of track at each end of the line years later.
The Southern Railway briefly acquired control of the Pickens around 1910, however, it was reverted to local interests several years later.
In the 1920s, Singer Manufacturing located a sewing machine cabinet plant on the Pickens Railroad. The plant eventually became the railroad's biggest customer and the line was purchased outright in 1939 by Singer. In 1927, the Appalachian Lumber Company built a network of logging lines in the upper portion of Pickens County. By 1939, it too was also acquired by Singer and organized under the Poinsett Lumber and Manufacturing Company. Passenger service was discontinued in 1928 as better roads were built in the region.
In 1959, The Singer Company consolidated its sawmill and cabinet operations with the woodworking operations from Arkansas and the Craftsman power tools from New Jersey to the Pickens location. Several years later (in 1963), Poinsett Lumber and Manufacturing Company had announced that the Pickens Railroad was for sale. James F. Jones of North Carolina purchased the line for approximately $50,000. Jones built a new enginehouse and established a carshop for rebuilding and renovating railroad cars. Jones sold the Pickens in 1973 to Philadelphia
-based National Railway Utilization Company (NRUC), which expanded the carshop to build new freight cars.
In the early 1990s NRUC became Emergent Group and sold the railroad to CLC-Chattahoochee Locomotive Corp., which renamed the railroad Pickens Railway Company, according to the Federal Register, 1 May 1996.
leased the Belton-Honea Path line to the Pickens under the "Thoroughbred Shortline Program." This line was built in the 1840s by the Greenville & Columbia, eventually becoming part of the Southern.
in 1994, the Pickens expanded further by leasing the Belton-Anderson line from Norfolk Southern. This line was built in the 1840s as part of the Blue Ridge Railway. Included was former Anderson trackage that had belonged to CSX previously owned by the Piedmont & Northern and Charleston & Western Carolina.
and was numbered 1.
The line dieselized in 1947 with a Baldwin VO-660
(built as Singer Manufacturing #2), It was numbered 2 and was later named T. Grady Welborn. The 2-6-2 steam engine was sidelined until 1955 when it was sold for scrap. Number 2 is still on the property on the original Pickens trackage but has been out of service for some time as a switcher for CLCX, Inc. as of 2009.
In 1963, after the line was acquired by James F. Jones, the Pickens acquired a EMC SW locomotive. It was built for the Union Terminal Railroad Of St. Joseph as their #5, it later served as Missouri Pacific Railroad
#6005 before it became Pickens #3. It was sold to Duke Power in the mid-1970s, which used it to haul construction materials for the building of the Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant
near Gaffney, South Carolina
. When the plant was sidelined in the early 80s, the unit, as well as the unfinished power plant, was sold to a movie company before being acquired by the Thermal Belt Railway
in 1989, becoming their #1.
In the early 1970s a Baldwin S-8
was purchased by Pickens. It was built as Youngstown Sheet and Tube
#701 in 1951. It became Pickens #5 (which named it Allan M. Baum) and was used as a backup locomotive. Pickens sold off #5 to SMS Rail Service in 2001.
When the Pickens expanded in the early 1990s, it acquired a pair of ALCO S1s numbered 6 and 7. These were repowered with Caterpillar
prime movers. Number 6 remained on the property, stored inoperable, until 2010 when it was scrapped onsite.
In 2000, the Pickens acquired a fleet of former CSX GE U18B
s numbered 9500-9508. Three (9501, 9503, 9507) are used for parts.
Shortline railroad
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the USA and Canada...
operating on two separate divisions in the Upstate Region
The Upstate
The Upstate is the region in northwestern South Carolina, United States, also known as The Upcountry, which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerce-rich I-85 corridor in the northwest corner of South Carolina. ...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
:
- EasleyEasley, South CarolinaEasley is a city in Pickens County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is a principal city of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with only a very small portion of the city in Anderson County...
to PickensPickens, South CarolinaPickens, formerly called Pickens Courthouse, is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,012 at the 2000 census, at which time it was listed as a town; the change to a city was made in 1998, but not reported to the Census Bureau until 2001. It is the county seat...
: 9.9 miles (15.9 km) - AndersonAnderson, South CarolinaAnderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was estimated at 26,242 in 2006, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...
, through BeltonBelton, South CarolinaBelton is a city in eastern Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,461 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Belton is located at ....
to Honea PathHonea Path, South CarolinaHonea Path is a town in Abbeville and Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 3,504 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Honea Path is located at ....
: 28.5 miles (45.9 km)
Connections are made with the Norfolk Southern at Easley & Anderson and with the Greenville and Western Railway
Greenville and Western Railway
The Greenville and Western Railway is a Class III railroad that operates from a point south of Belton to Pelzer, South Carolina. Connections are made with Pickens Railway at Belton and CSX at Pelzer...
at Belton. Rail is 85-100 pounds on the Easley-Pickens segment and 85 pounds on the Anderson-Honea Path segment.
Traffic includes transportation equipment on the original Pickens line (in the form of locomotive remanufacture CLCX, Inc. located in Pickens), while the Anderson-Belton handles kaolin, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, synthetic rubber, rubber processing oil, plastics, silica, scrap metal, paper, scrap paper, bird feed ingredients, farm supplies, and electrical equipment.
Pickens Railroad History
The Easley-Pickens line was chartered on December 24, 1890, by the South Carolina General Assembly after two failed attempts to build a railroad through Pickens from Easley. The line connected with the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railroad (later the Southern RailwaySouthern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
) and was completed in 1898.
On the railroad's first revenue run, the Pickens Railroad suffered a serious derailment that was caused by a local group of boys that had placed spikes on the rails, in their words, "to see what would happen." No one was seriously injured, but caused the fledgling company a serious financial setback, which operated in the red until 1905.
In its early years, it was nicknamed the "Pickens Doodle" because the train would run backwards to Easley and forward to Pickens, which "looked like a doodlebug," according to area residents. The Pickens Railroad, at the time did not have turning facilities until the line built two wye
Wye (railroad)
A wye or triangular junction, in rail terminology, is a triangular shaped arrangement of rail tracks with a switch or set of points at each corner. In mainline railroads, this can be used at a rail junction, where three rail lines join, in order to allow trains to pass from any line to any other...
sections of track at each end of the line years later.
The Southern Railway briefly acquired control of the Pickens around 1910, however, it was reverted to local interests several years later.
In the 1920s, Singer Manufacturing located a sewing machine cabinet plant on the Pickens Railroad. The plant eventually became the railroad's biggest customer and the line was purchased outright in 1939 by Singer. In 1927, the Appalachian Lumber Company built a network of logging lines in the upper portion of Pickens County. By 1939, it too was also acquired by Singer and organized under the Poinsett Lumber and Manufacturing Company. Passenger service was discontinued in 1928 as better roads were built in the region.
In 1959, The Singer Company consolidated its sawmill and cabinet operations with the woodworking operations from Arkansas and the Craftsman power tools from New Jersey to the Pickens location. Several years later (in 1963), Poinsett Lumber and Manufacturing Company had announced that the Pickens Railroad was for sale. James F. Jones of North Carolina purchased the line for approximately $50,000. Jones built a new enginehouse and established a carshop for rebuilding and renovating railroad cars. Jones sold the Pickens in 1973 to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
-based National Railway Utilization Company (NRUC), which expanded the carshop to build new freight cars.
In the early 1990s NRUC became Emergent Group and sold the railroad to CLC-Chattahoochee Locomotive Corp., which renamed the railroad Pickens Railway Company, according to the Federal Register, 1 May 1996.
Pickens Expands
In 1991, Norfolk Southern RailwayNorfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
leased the Belton-Honea Path line to the Pickens under the "Thoroughbred Shortline Program." This line was built in the 1840s by the Greenville & Columbia, eventually becoming part of the Southern.
in 1994, the Pickens expanded further by leasing the Belton-Anderson line from Norfolk Southern. This line was built in the 1840s as part of the Blue Ridge Railway. Included was former Anderson trackage that had belonged to CSX previously owned by the Piedmont & Northern and Charleston & Western Carolina.
Pickens locomotive history
The first Pickens locomotive was a secondhand 4-4-0 that was damaged in a derailment on its first trip. It was replaced in 1909 with a new 2-6-2 from Baldwin Locomotive WorksBaldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
and was numbered 1.
The line dieselized in 1947 with a Baldwin VO-660
Baldwin VO-660
The Baldwin VO-660 was a diesel-electric locomotive switcher built by Baldwin Locomotive Works between April, 1939 and May, 1946. The 197,520–203,980 lb units were powered by a six-cylinder diesel engine rated at 660 horsepower , and rode on two-axle AAR Type-A switcher trucks in a B-B wheel...
(built as Singer Manufacturing #2), It was numbered 2 and was later named T. Grady Welborn. The 2-6-2 steam engine was sidelined until 1955 when it was sold for scrap. Number 2 is still on the property on the original Pickens trackage but has been out of service for some time as a switcher for CLCX, Inc. as of 2009.
In 1963, after the line was acquired by James F. Jones, the Pickens acquired a EMC SW locomotive. It was built for the Union Terminal Railroad Of St. Joseph as their #5, it later served as Missouri Pacific Railroad
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
#6005 before it became Pickens #3. It was sold to Duke Power in the mid-1970s, which used it to haul construction materials for the building of the Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant
Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant
The Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant is an uncompleted energy project outside of Gaffney, South Carolina, United States. In the early 1970s, Duke Power started construction on a three-reactor nuclear power plant at the site. However, the project stalled due to economic problems by the early 1980s,...
near Gaffney, South Carolina
Gaffney, South Carolina
Gaffney is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is also sometimes referred to as the Peach capital of South Carolina. The population was 12,414 at the 2010 census...
. When the plant was sidelined in the early 80s, the unit, as well as the unfinished power plant, was sold to a movie company before being acquired by the Thermal Belt Railway
Thermal Belt Railway
The Thermal Belt Railway is a Class III shortline railroad that operates for freight service on a 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 . Connections are made...
in 1989, becoming their #1.
In the early 1970s a Baldwin S-8
Baldwin S-8
The Baldwin S-8 was an 800-horsepower diesel-electric locomotive intended for use in yard switching. The Baldwin Locomotive Works produced a total of 54 units between 1951 and 1953. In addition, nine "calf" units were built for Oliver Iron Mining Company in Minnesota...
was purchased by Pickens. It was built as Youngstown Sheet and Tube
Youngstown Sheet and Tube
The Youngstown Iron Sheet and Tube Company, based in Youngstown, Ohio, was one of the largest steel manufacturers in the world. Officially, the company was created on November 23, 1900, when Articles of Incorporation of the Youngstown Iron Sheet and Tube Company were filed with the Ohio Secretary...
#701 in 1951. It became Pickens #5 (which named it Allan M. Baum) and was used as a backup locomotive. Pickens sold off #5 to SMS Rail Service in 2001.
When the Pickens expanded in the early 1990s, it acquired a pair of ALCO S1s numbered 6 and 7. These were repowered with Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
prime movers. Number 6 remained on the property, stored inoperable, until 2010 when it was scrapped onsite.
In 2000, the Pickens acquired a fleet of former CSX GE U18B
GE U18B
The GE U18B Diesel-electric locomotive was introduced by GE Transportation as a branch line roadswitcher in 1973.Easy to spot due to its relatively short length — 54 ft 8 in — it was the only North American locomotive powered by the 8-cylinder 7FDL engine.The Seaboard Coast...
s numbered 9500-9508. Three (9501, 9503, 9507) are used for parts.