Eastern Railroad Discussion > Eastern North Carolina questions

Spent a very short time in eastern North Carolina....didn't see many trains. Have several questions.

Raleigh, NC
-What's moving on CSX north of Raleigh on the ex-SAL S-line?
-Any word on when the ex-SAL S-line might be restored north to Richmond, VA?
-Is there any freight on the NC Railroad (NS) moving west to Charlotte, NC?
-How do CSX freights move east of Raleigh to join the ex-ACL A-line?

Goldsboro, NC
-Is there anything moving on CSX and/or NS in Goldsboro, NC?
-It looked like track ran right down the street in downtown at one-time.
-The old passenger station looks like it hasn't seen a train in a long, long time.

Selma, NC
-Does NS send much traffic through here?
-What about CSX on the ex-ACL?

Rocky Mount, NC
-How busy is the ex-ACL A-line here, it seems PSR and Amtrak cuts curtailed volume?
-What's the best time of day to catch CSX traffic at the Amtrak station on the ex-ACL main?
-Do freight trains move at restricted speed through here?
-Why aren't there "quad" style gates in the no-horn/quiet zone rather than one pair of gates on the same side of the tracks paired with what seem to be electronic bells?
-Has the new CSX intermodal facilty opened?

Thank you in advance!!

Cheers,

SP/Espee

SouthernPacific Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Spent a very short time in eastern North
> Carolina....didn't see many trains. Have several
> questions.
>
> Raleigh, NC
> -What's moving on CSX north of Raleigh on the
> ex-SAL S-line?

A local. Can’t recall the symbol off hand, but it’s based in Henderson if I recall correctly.

> -Any word on when the ex-SAL S-line might be
> restored north to Richmond, VA?

Who knows. But considering when I was graduating high school in 1997 it was “going to be running by the mid 2000s” and I’m 41 now with kids of my own in middle school (and not one shovel of dirt has been turned, I’m not holding my breath.

> -Is there any freight on the NC Railroad (NS)
> moving west to Charlotte, NC?

Depends on what you mean as the “NC Railroad”.

The North Carolina RR runs Morehead City, New Bern, Selma, Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte (NS leases the entire line and their Piedmont main is the section from Greensboro to CLT).

Aberdeen Carolina & Western operates the majority of the original NS line to Charlotte (From Raleigh) Specifically the section from Charlotte East towards Gulf (via Norwood/Star)

> -How do CSX freights move east of Raleigh to join
> the ex-ACL A-line?

They don’t really. CSXs only access to Raleigh is via Hamlet. So cars for the local north out of Raleigh come via Hamlet/Southern Pines (via locals).

>
> Goldsboro, NC
> -Is there anything moving on CSX and/or NS in
> Goldsboro, NC?

Yes, CSX serves several grain facilities around Clinton/Wallace etc. Trains come from Rocky Mount/Wilson (Contentnea) Goldsboro....

> -It looked like track ran right down the street in
> downtown at one-time.
> -The old passenger station looks like it hasn't
> seen a train in a long, long time.
>
> Selma, NC
> -Does NS send much traffic through here?

NS runs a pair of freights (349/350 IIRC). They also run grain to Kinston (Sanderson Farms) and ethanol to a facility just west of Selma. And all cars bound for Morehead, New Bern, Chocowinity, Aurora (PCS) all go via this route to get East.

> -What about CSX on the ex-ACL?

Busiest line in the state. Even with PSR cuts, it’s the best line for action.
>
> Rocky Mount, NC
> -How busy is the ex-ACL A-line here, it seems PSR
> and Amtrak cuts curtailed volume?

See above. Same line. Busy.

> -What's the best time of day to catch CSX traffic
> at the Amtrak station on the ex-ACL main?

From my experience it’s spread throughout the day. Although I haven’t spent several hours by the depot in awhile.

> -Do freight trains move at restricted speed
> through here?

Yes

> -Why aren't there "quad" style gates in the
> no-horn/quiet zone rather than one pair of gates
> on the same side of the tracks paired with what
> seem to be electronic bells?

Not sure.

> -Has the new CSX intermodal facilty opened?

Not yet. It’s under construction.
>
> Thank you in advance!!
>
> Cheers,
>
> SP/Espee

Posted from iPhone

I took my fall roadtrip to the Rocky Mount area last week.  Trains were spread out through the day.

When I planned the trip, I came up with 27 freights per day (intermodal/manifest/local) and 8 passenger trains per day for Rocky Mount.  The freight count includes trains on both the North End and South End.  I didn't see that many, but I was not out during the night.

Neil



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/20 06:45 by SOUCF25.

F711 and F735 work between Raleigh and the north end of the truncated S-line. You didn't ask, but F741/F742 run between Raleigh and Hamlet; they feed F711/F735 as well as the switcher that works the ex-DS Apex-Durham. There is enough traffic on these lines for CSX to have retained them. At the onset of PSR there was speculation that CSX would unload one or both of them, but it hasn't happened. Yet.

Restoring the S-line will cost half a billion to two billion dollars, depending on how they do it. The only recent progress is that VDOT and NCDOT now own the right of way Thinking realistically, I believe restoration is 25+ years away. 

NS freight Raleigh-Greensboro is daily 195/350 with occasional extras. There are also switch jobs based in Raleigh and in Durham.

Yes, tracks once ran down the center of Goldsboro. There's quite a story about how they came to be removed.
https://cromulentmanifesto.com/blog/the-night-the-tracks-came-up-after-two-decades-of-fighting/

Last passenger train to serve Goldsboro was 1969, the Wilmington train that connected with main line at Contentnea just south of Wilson. NCDOT and the City of Goldsboro have rescued the station. Potential commuter trains Raleigh-Goldsboro is one reason, potential intrastate service Raleigh-Selma-Goldsboro-Wilmington is another.

NS does good business from Selma east.

Trains run through downtown Rocky Mount at up to 40 mph.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/20 08:36 by ctillnc.

The ACL on CSX is good, but i also like seeing Norfolk Southern on their busy Danville Division, it's also pretty busy

nick