Caldwell County Railroad

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Caldwell County Railroad
300px
Caldwell County Railroad #1811, EMD GP-16, photographed July 20, 2004.
Reporting mark CWCY
Locale North Carolina
Dates of operation 1994–Present
Predecessor Southern Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway, Carolina & North-Western Railway
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gauge , originally 3 ft (914 mm)
Length 17 miles (27 kilometers)
Headquarters Morganton, North Carolina

The Caldwell County Railroad (reporting mark CWCY) is a Class III shortline railroad operating over 17 miles (27 kilometers) between Hickory and Lenoir, North Carolina. The CWCY is operated by Southeast Shortlines, Inc., which also operates the Thermal Belt Railway.[1]

History

The Caldwell County Railroad was formed in 1994 when Norfolk Southern sold the 22-mile (35 km) line from Hickory to Lenoir to the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission (CCEDC). The CCEDC subsequently leased the line to the Caldwell County Railroad Company, a subsidiary of Southeast Shortlines Inc.[2]

The line was originally constructed as 3 ft (914 mm) gauge in 1874, under the charter of the Chester & Lenoir.[3] The line was part of the subsequent reorganization into the Carolina & North-Western Railway in 1897, which was absorbed into the Southern Railway around 1940.[4] As part of the Thoroughbred Shortline Program, the line was spun off to the Carolina and Northwestern Railroad, which operated the line from 1990 to 1994.[5]

On March 21, 2007, the CWCY filed a request with the Surface Transportation Board to abandon 5 miles (8 km) of its line near Lenoir to near Valmead. The request was approved on July 9, 2007.[6]

Operations

File:CWCY 1747.JPG
Caldwell County Railroad #1747, EMD GP-16, photographed July 20, 2004.

The railroad serves 4 customers, handling approximately 425 carloads (Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).) per year.[2] Commodities carried by the railroad are plastics and building materials. The CWCY interchagnes with Norfolk Southern at Hickory.

The CWCY uses radio freqency 161.17500, under license WPGG862, for all of their operations.[7][8]

The Caldwell County Railroad operates 2 locomotives, numbers 1747 and 1811. Both units are EMD GP-16's and were purchased from CSX.[9] They are still in the Family Lines System livery.

Towns served

See also

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Caldwell County Railroad, Railway Association of North Carolina (retrieved 16 June 2014)
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. South Carolina Railroads/ Carolina & Northwestern Railway, Carolana.com (retrieved 16 June 2014)
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Surface Transportation Board Decision Document, Surface Transportation Board (retrieved June 16, 2014)
  7. Railroads Scanner Frequencies, RadioReference.com (retrieved 18 June 2014)
  8. ULS License, Industrial/Business Pool, Conventional License - WPGG862 - CALDWELL COUNTY RAILROAD COMPANY, Federal Communications Commission (retrieved 12 August 2014)
  9. Caldwell County Railroad, The Diesel Shop (retrieved 18 June 2014)

External links