Camp Lejeune Railroad

Camp Lejeune Railroad
Reporting mark CPLJ
Locale Eastern North Carolina
Dates of operation 1941–2001
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometres)
Headquarters Jacksonville, North Carolina

Camp Lejeune Railroad, (reporting mark CPLJ), was a shortline railroad that was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Railway. The railroad original operated over 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometres) of track that was owned by the U.S. Government and leased to the Norfolk Southern Railway for operations. The line was abandoned in 1999. However the rail line from Havelock to Camp Lejune is still active and owned by the US Army leased to Camp Lejeune Railroad.

History

Camp Lejeune Railroad began operations in 1941 to meet the needs for a track connecting the Marine Corp base with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Jacksonville. An eight-mile section between the base and Jacksonville was hauling materials for the facility's construction and supplies for the marines. The line served as a point of access to the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point and the port at Wilmington.[1]

In October 1999, the railroad filed for abandonment.[2] The abandonment was approved in December, which officially ended the railroad and operations from Marine Junction in Jacksonville to Camp Lejeune.[3] After abandonment, the railroad was converted to a rail-trail.[4]

A GE 65-ton switcher that served on the line at one time is preserved at the New Hope Valley Railway. The locomotive was acquired as surplus from the Department of Defense.[5]

Towns served

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Camp Lejeune". NCpedia.org. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Camp Lejeune Railroad Company-Discontinuance of Service Exemption". Federal Register. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Surface Transportation Board Decision Document". Surface Transportation Board. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Equipment". New Hope Valley Railway. Archived from the original on April 9, 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2014.

Further reading

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