Nash County Railroad

Nash County Railroad
Reporting mark	NCYR
Locale	Eastern North Carolina
Dates of operation	1985–
Predecessor	Seaboard System Railroad
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length	14.7 miles (23.7 km)
Headquarters	Rocky Mount, NC

The Nash County Railroad (reporting mark NCYR) is 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, but is now owned by the Carolina Coastal Railway.^[1]

Commodities include poultry feed ingredients, steel, scrap metal, fertilizer, concrete, and railcar storage, which accounts for around 3,500 annual carloads.^[1]

The railroad rosters three EMD GP38s, numbered 345, 2068, and 9657.

History

Originally built by the Wilmington & Weldon in 1887, the railroad was later absorbed by the Atlantic Coast Line in 1900. Ownership changed through a pair of mergers, first into the Seaboard Coast Line in 1967 and the Seaboard System in 1983. On November 4, 1985 shortline service began as the Nash County railroad by parent company Laurinburg & Southern.^[2]

In the 1990s Gulf & Ohio Railways gained control of a number of Laurinburg & Southern subsidiaries, including the Nash County railroad on February 28, 1994.^[3] Initially traffic consisted of grain, fertilizer, scrap metal, and forest products, amounting to 4,000 annual carloads.^[2]

On April 8, 2005 the railroad planned to abandon 4.7 miles (7.6 km) of tracks between Momeyer and Spring Hope, North Carolina. However, the North Carolina Department of Transportation sought to purchase the segment before it was abandoned, which it did on April 3, 2006 after reaching an agreement with the Nash County railroad.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Nash County Railroad". 5 August 2010. http://www.gulfandohio.com/railroads_northcarolina_ncrr.htm. Retrieved 10 September 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Lewis, Edward A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide (5 ed.). Kalmbach Publishing Company. pp. 212. ISBN 0890242909. 
3. ^ Coleman, Alan (2008). Railroads of North Carolina. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 66, 122. ISBN 0738553360. 
4. ^ "STB Docket No. AB-883 (Sub No. 1X)". 14 April 2006. http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/8fd5532a0c425c5c8525740f005f36d4/fa6bd80f7066cc648525714f0072dfaf?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,Rocky,Mount. Retrieved 10 September 2010.