Carolina Piedmont Railroad

Infobox SG rail
railroad_name = Carolina Piedmont Railroad
hq_city = Laurens, South Carolina
locale = South Carolina
marks = CPDR
start_year = 1997
end_year = presentThe Carolina Piedmont Railroad reporting mark|CPDR is a class III railroad operating in South Carolina.

The CPDR provides freight service on a convert|34|mi|adj=on route from an interchange with CSX Transportation in Laurens to East Greenville, South Carolina. Its track is considered a branchline with 80 pound rails. It hauls approximately 6,000 cars annually with lumber, minerals, plastics, chemicals and food products being the predominant traffic.

Radio frequencies: 160.770, 161.085

Location of engine house: Laurens, South Carolina

History

The line was built by the Charleston and Western Carolina Railroad in the 1890s. C&WC became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) in 1897 and was merged into the ACL in 1959.

In 1990, CSX Transportation sold the line to the South Carolina Central Railroad, a subsidiary of RailTex, now RailAmerica. In April 1997, the Carolina Piedmont purchased the Greenville and Northern Railway and merged GNR operations into CPDR. The last train ran over the GNR in January 1998, and there are no plans to reopen this line.

The former G&N was sold by RailTex to the Greenville County Economic Development Corporation. In 2007 GCEDC began improving the abandoned right of way for a rail trail running from Furman University and Travelers Rest to downtown Greenville. [cite web| url=http://media.www.thefurmanpaladin.com/media/storage/paper1002/news/2006/09/29/Diversions/Coming.Soon.A.New.Greenville-2312005.shtml| title=Coming Soon: A new Greenville| author=Morgan, Adam| work=Paladin| publisher=College Publisher| date=2006-09-20| accessdate=2008-07-31| ]

References