Eastern Railroad Discussion > Suffolk, Va - ACL line?

In Suffolk, VA there is what appears to be an abandoned ACL line that crosses over CSX and a main State highway along with a stream. One of the bridges still has good ACL RR markings. My questions... what line was this? Is any of it still in place or just the bridges? Any potential future use for commuters?

It would be the Norfolk to Tarboro (nc), just north of rocky mount branch.  I believe, but not sure, CSX uses the ex SAL line from Ronoak Rapids to Norfolk.
john

Correct, SCL chose to use the ex-SAL instead of the ex-ACL to reach Portsmouth. The ACL Rocky Mount-Portsmouth line had a B milepost prefix under ACL and an AB prefix under SCL. The line was abandoned between Tarboro and Suffolk, except for a segment in the middle between Kelford and Cofield operated by NCVA to serve the Nucor steel mill. At one time Southern had trackage rights over the ACL Selma-Rocky Mount-Portsmouth. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/20 16:00 by ctillnc.

I couldn't tell from my vantage point, but is the track removed from the ACL B line through Suffolk?

ctillnc Wrote:
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(snip)
> At one time Southern had trackage rights
> over the ACL Selma-Rocky Mount-Portsmouth. 

Were the trackage rights relinquished after Southern acquired the old Norfolk Southern or after the N&W merger in 1982?  Either way gave access to Norfolk.

What I believe happened: SCL complained to the ICC about Southern's acquisition of the original NS. In the end, SCL got rights over the ex-original NS to the phosphate field in eastern North Carolina and Southern relinquished its rights over SCL Selma-Rocky Mount-Portsmouth. Southern had also been interchanging Norfolk traffic with the NF&D at Danville. Prior to 1949, Southern had leased the A&D. N&W bought the A&D/NF&D in 1962. 

My late father used to ride the local passenger train on this ACL branch, from Portsmouth, VA to Rocky Mount to visit family there every year in the steam era in the 40s -usually always a 4-6-2 Pacific.

Rich

One line where the SAL won out over ACL trackage !

Didn't happen often. Another counterexample: the ex-SAL between Atlanta and Hamlet won out over the Augusta-Florence routing for ACL, using the Georgia between Atlanta and Augusta. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/20 07:58 by ctillnc.

ctillnc Wrote:
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> Didn't happen often. Another counterexample: the
> ex-SAL between Atlanta and Hamlet won out over the
> Augusta-Florence routing for ACL, using the
> Georgia between Atlanta and Augusta. 

In the end the ACL won out though. The SAL Hamlet - Atlanta line is now dead with most of the traffic moved to the ACL A-Line.

The Atlanta-Charleston intermodal runs via Augusta and Yemassee. I assume any other traffic runs via Waycross.