Eastern Railroad Discussion > Durham and Southern

I have used CSX engine 2559 on my job a handful of times in the last few weeks and I understand it is off the Durham and Southern.Are units 2556-2559 the only ones that are still in existence on CSX? What year did CSX take them over and can anyone provide a brief overview of this railroad for me?
Thanks in advance...
~~JC~~

The units you are talking about are the power that was on the Durham and Southern when it was taken over by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The D&S ran their last train on July 5, 1979.

A couple more interesting tidbits about these units, one of them was a bicentennial
unit, so SCL ended up with two of them when they merged D&S into the system.
They don't have dynamic brakes (which I'm sure you noticed :) The only GP38-2's on
CSX without them. They also have very small (1700 gal) fuel tanks (with the exception
of 2557, which had a full size tank retrofitted during the CSX era)

D&S ran from Durham to Dunn, NC. D&S crossed the SCL's ex SAL main at Apex and connected to SCL's ex ACL at Dunn. I have not been down that way in a few years but some of the track from Dunn to Apex is now gone, if not all. Shortline Aberdeen and Rockfish operated a short section of the line at Dunn in the 80s but I think it is now gone. I suspect after the SAL and ACL merger their was not much traffic moving over the D&S between the two mains of SCL which resulted in that section of track being abandoned. If not by D&S certianly by SCL.

D&S had odd power in the old days, Baldwins maybe, and had the GP-38s in its later years when I knew them. It was a fun, friendly southern shortline in its day.

Any updates or corrections welcome.

Durham-Apex remains in CSX service, although it's 10-20 mph track. The D&S is CSX's only access into Durham; the ex-SAL branch into Durham from the north was severed 25+ years ago.

Headed south from Apex, the D&S was pulled up completely, and in many places the rapid development of Wake County has obliterated the roadbed. When the large plant at Erwin closed, that end of the line was pulled up too. Erwin-Dunn survives as a trail.

Seems like SCL inherited an RS12 or two, but I feel sure they were immediately sold or scrapped. The whole transaction was late enough that the GP38-2's all got Family Lines paint at Waycross. The interesting thing about these units is that they are amoung other small groups of units on CSX with varied heritage, such as the handfuls of Georgia, West Point, RF&P, Susquehanna, Reading, Electro-Motive, etc units. Just when the Monon, NC&StL and Gaineville Midland units departed, something else replaced them in the "31 Flavors of CSX". If one discounts M-K rebuilds (on CSX and UP), CSX has one of, if not the most eclectic rosters, scads of widecab GE's notwithstanding.

Gee--I AM a fount of useless knowledge and pontification...

SCL1517 Wrote:
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> Seems like SCL inherited an RS12 or two, but I
> feel sure they were immediately sold or scrapped.
> The whole transaction was late enough that the
> GP38-2's all got Family Lines paint at Waycross.

They got SCL lettering on bandit D&S paint jobs before Family Lines. SCL 556 (CSX 2556)
was the bicentennial unit. I don't know if 557 did (I'm sure it did) but I have photos
of 556 in patched bicentennial paint, and 558/559 in D&S black with SCL lettering.
They all have a white roof, interestingly enough (that's something CSX does now) although
I don't know if it was just for looks, or to reflect heat.

A Photo I took on the D & S in July 1975, just arriving at the SCL interchange at Apex. The Black & White scheme was very classy, and all the D & S motive power was kept clean in that era. I saw the Bicentennial in the enginehouse having the final touches added before its debut later that year.

Brian

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Two of the Durham and Southern Baldwin RS-12s were sold to the Morehead and Morgan Fork, which operated the remnant of the old Morehead and North Fork out of Morehead, Kentucky. The M&MF had little traffic but its fate was sealed when its only connection, the former C&O main from Lexington to Ashland, Kentucky, was abandoned.

As far as I know the two units are still landlocked in Clearfield, just south of Morehead. Be great to see at least one of them preserved, perhaps at the museum in Spencer, North Carolina.

--Mike