Greenville and Western Railway

Greenville and Western Railway

Reporting mark	GRLW
Locale	Upstate South Carolina
Dates of operation	2006–
Predecessor	CSX Transportation
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length	12.74 miles (20.50 km)
Headquarters	Greenville, South Carolina

Greenville and Western Railway
Legend CSX to Greenville AKL 39.0 Pelzer AKL 38.4 Williamston AKL 38.3 Southern (Abandoned) AKL 33.1 Cheddar AKL 31.2 To Anderson (Abandoned) AKL 30.9 Belton Pickens to Anderson AKL 29.0 Belton Junction Yard Pickens to Honea Path AKL 26.2 End of Line (Abandoned)

The Greenville and Western Railway (reporting mark GRLW) is a Class III railroad that operates 12.74 miles (20.50 km) from a point south of Belton to Pelzer, South Carolina. Connections are made with Pickens Railway at Belton and CSX at Pelzer. The railroad is a subsidiary of Western Carolina Railway Service Corporation.^[1]

History

The Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson Railway was formed in 1910 to build an interurban railroad between its namesake cities. The Pelzer-Belton segment was built as part of its mainline from Greenwood to Greenville between 1910-1912. This line became part of the Piedmont and Northern Railway in 1914. The P&N was merged into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1969. Additional mergers occurred in 1983 with the Seaboard System and CSX Transportation in 1986.

On April 26, 2006 CSX sought to abandon the line from Belton to Pelzer.^[2] The abandonment was rejected by the Surface Transportation Board in August 2006 as the line was still profitable. 87 carloads had originated from or terminated at two online industries in 2005 in addition to overhead traffic from 10 customers on the Pickens Railway.^[3] On October 20, 2006 CSX sold the line to the current operator.^[4]

Traffic surged to 1,872 carloads by 2009, primarily fueled by growth in ethanol traffic. Other commodities include scrap metal, limestone, fertilizer, feed products, plastics, and paper.^[5]

Motive power

GRLW currently operates two EMD GP9 locomotives numbered 3751 and 3752. Unit 3751 was formerly ECBR 6513 (2003–2007), formerly PTR 6513 (1987–2003) and originally B&O 6513 (1957–1987) - EMD frame no. 5519-3, serial no. 22987, built May 1957. Unit 3752 was formerly ECBR 6554 (2004–2008), formerly PTR 6554 (1987–2004) and originally B&O 6554 (1957–1987) - EMD frame no. 5519-44, serial no. 23028, built July 1957.^[6]

References

1. "Greenville & Western Railway". 2 April 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
2. "STB Docket No. AB-55 (Sub. No. 644 X)". 18 May 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
3. "STB Docket No. AB-55 (Sub. No. 644 X)". 15 August 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
4. "STB Finance Docket No. 34926". 20 October 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
5. Judge, Tom (2010). "Infrastructure Work Helps GRLW". Railway Track & Structures. Simmons-Boardman Publishing. 106 (4): 33–42.
6. Steven C. Hawkins, President, Greenville & Western Railway. 26 February 2008.