Welcome to all the new members! I hope to start
putting photos up here and spending more time on my home
page. Feel free to post photos and information of your
own. I have finally updated my home page. There is now
a Pennsylvania page with links to 2 pages on
specific abandoned lines. I hope to add more to South
Carolina soon, and to create a page for Texas. If you have
any info and/or pictures for your favorite abandoned
rail lines, please consider sharing them!

I added a page on Texas on my home page... check it out!

I am looking for information regarding branched
lines used to transport farm products. Lines that are
currently active in IL and may be abondened. <br>I am doing
a comparative study of RR against Trucking. Please
guide me to find relevant information. I am completely
new to this field <br><br>Thank you

I would suggest looking at the SPV atlas for IL
(link is on my home page) for the rail lines, existing
and abandoned, in that state. As for use in
transporting farm products, I think you would have to take
that on a line-for-line basis. Of course you could
focus on rural lines, many of which may belong to small
local rail companies now. You may want to call the home
offices of the rail lines and ask them how much of this
business they do... The small local companies will
probably be more helpful that the big Class I
roads.<br><br>Hope this helps.<br><br>Jimmy

if you like this perhaps you will like mine also, :)<br><a
href=http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/abandonedhouses
target=new>http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/abandonedhouses</a>

I've been exploring and looking up info on the
rail line which once ran through Wagener and Sievern,
SC, in eastern Aiken Co. It was abandoned some 70
years ago, yet many traces of it are still there to be
seen for those motivated to look. <br><br>This was
originally part of the old G.A.&W. road built in c. 1886 b/t
Allendale and Batesburg, re-org'd c. 1896 as the S & K. The
Wagnener family of Charleston, immigrants from Sievern,
Germany, were instrumental in that project. <br><br>The
Carolina Midland RR extended the line south to Hardeeville
(joining the Charleston-Savannah RR) and built a branch
b/t Perry and Cayce, connecting with the RR junctions
of Columbia. The whole system came under the control
of Southern Railways around 1900.<br><br>The
Perry-Batesburg branch which included Wagener, Sievern, Steedman,
Samaria, and Kneece, seems to have been abandoned around
1933. I have so far been looking for remnants of this
line visible from public roads. I'll be posting
pictures soon, some of which just illustrate the
difficulty of getting good pix of embankments screened by
foliage! :D<br><br>I'm only just getting to the point of
looking up docs available from libraries, museums, etc. I
made contact with a lady professor, a Wagener
descendant, who says she actually met some local historians
who showed her old bldgs ruins in the woods, old
track plans, old photos,etc. Apparently, (?)late in its
life, the line was devoted mainly to hauling turpentine
from the woods to market in Wagener.<br><br>This might
turn out to be an interesting case study of the rise
and decline of a rural Southern railroad.<br><br>I'm
also working on other sections of the former S&K /
C.M. , which was abandoned piecemeal by Southern /
Norfolk-Southern from c. 1970 to 1990 until only a spur out of
Cayce to the sand mines of Edmund remains in
service.<br><br>I'll be posting as developments warrant.

Just posted one of my pix from an "expedition"
last yr. This is very classic grade-level roadbed, bed
between two berms, very obvious, looks like others I've
seen abandoned in the 1980's. You'd think the tracks
were pulled up last year.<br><br>Two of my new friends
from the Wagener family sent me some interesting
stuff. I'm reducing the size and color depth of the
digi-pix w/ photo software before I post to save space,
that's why I'm slow posting them. And 256 color Gif
rather than JPEG turns out to be a smaller format, but
colors still look good.

I got a copy of Microsoft's Train Simulator when
it came out. Only played with it a bit, but it has
tools for creating new simulations of track and rolling
stock & scenery. Kind of clumsy tools, unfort, but they
exist. I found that there is a quite active MSTS
forum,with members solving all sorts of problems.<br><br>Of
course, it occurred to me quite soon: why not create
simulations of abandoned lines? <br><br>Puff-puff between
Wagener and Sievern behind a little Baldwin 2-4-0 hauling
turpentine out of the pine-woods! <br><br>See the
spectacular (simulated) Tallulah Gorge in northeast Georgia
from the Tallulah Falls line's narrow little
ledge-grade on the south rim just outside town, for the first
time since 1961 (1940's for passengers). <br><br>Ride
the first common-carrier line connecting distant
>100 mi cities, the SC Canal & Railroad Company's
Charleston-Hamburg line behind the vertical-boiler _Phoenix_ (the
_Best Friend of Charleston_ having exploded before the
line was finished) (part of line abndd early 1980's).
<br><br>Or the old ACL from Savannah thru the swamps and
estuaries to the outskirts of east
Charleston.<br><br>Incredible possibilities. As soon as I hit the lottery &
don't hafta work anymore, I'll jump right on it, heh,
heh.<br><br>Any other MSTS fans visit this site?

Great pic and very interesting information on
this line. Does it look like the former ROW way was
used for farm roads or something else and this is the
reason they are in such good shape after 70 years? If
not, I guess things like old ROWs are well preserved
in the Sandhill region. It would interesting to have
a contest to see who can find the oldest abandoned
railroad that can still be seen. And of course - it is now
Abandoned Railroad season! The leaves are off and this is
the best time of the year to get photos of former
railroad lines, except when they are covered with snow.
Thanks for your contributions - I look forward to
more...

"Does it look like the former ROW way was used
for farm roads or something else and this is the
reason they are in such good shape after 70
years?"<br><br>No, as a matter of fact, the best-preserved sections
tend to parallel a highway (as did this one) and lie
within the highway's ROW, therefore in many places
nothing was built on it (though nearer to Wagener there
is a stretch in which the power co. used it for
routing a roadside distribution line). <br><br>E.g., the
old Branchville-Augusta (Hamburg) Sou RR line weaving
back and forth across US 78, the Sou RR line N from
Camden to Westville beside US 601, which look very
similar in many places though abndd in the early
80's.<br><br>I should think building an auto road would
generally obliterate the old RR ROW, since it is almost
always too narrow itself. I've considered that
possibility at times, but it seldom seems actually to happen.
Most existing roads were built when the RR existed and
accomodate them (as in another picture I'll
post).<br><br>OTOH, old railroad bed which leaves the vicinity of
highways, and crosses fields or housing developments often
has been obliterated, esp near towns. I'm still
unsure where the line wound up in Batesburg, though I've
found an intriguing possible trace or two.<br><br>"The
leaves are off and this is the best time<br> of the year
to get photos of former railroad
lines..."<br><br>Yes, it's time for another "expedition" with my trusty
FD91 and convertible. There's some good raised S&K
roadbed further north around Samaria, but summer foliage
camouflages it pretty effectively from 2D photography, I
found, even though it's obvious to the eyes.

As I wait for Homestead to transfer and activate the Abandoned Railroads home
page...

Having "processed" some of my collection, I've
posted some new S&K pix, incl some passed to me by
correspondents.<br><br>I also started a new album for pix from the rest of
the Cayce-Allendale-Hardeeville line.<br><br>enjoy

Do any of you know where I can go to find out about abandoned railroad stations
for sale?

I just got MSTS for Christmas...   I am very interested in seeing how
difficult/easy it is to recreate abandoned lines.  Have you created any
simulated lines yet?

I don't know of any particular site where this
information is located. I guess this site would be as good as
any for this type of information to be posted and
discussed. You may have to do a search of communities and
areas where railroads have been abandoned, checking
with realty companies. I have seen several interesting
old stations that appear to need an owner... ones
that come to mind are Whiteville, NC on the old ACL
between Florence, SC and Wilmington, NC, a freight depot
in Kernersville, NC, for which a restoration has
been on the drawing board for a long time... I'm sure
there are many others. You might want to try a search
on "railroad stations" - seems that I have seen some
sites - try the link section of www.railroaddata.com
.<br><br>Anybody else have any help?

Added more pics to the default folder today.  Still waiting on Homestead
Personal to activate web site...

Thanks for the input! I have been doing a little
bit of research - apparently the Dept. of
Transportation has some information according to the research
librarian. Would anyone be interested in what I find out? If
so, I'll post it.

Cynthiana3 -<br>        Yes please, post whatever you find out...  I think that
would be a nice addition to the abandoned railroad theme.<br><br>Thanks!

From Dec. 8, 2001 thru July 28, 2002 there will
be an exhibition at the art institute of Chicago of:
Moden Trains and Splendid Stations: Architecture and
Design for the 21st Century. Its worth the trip if you
can make it. Also you can access information on it
through the Art Institute of Chicago on the web.
<br><br>Trainlady

Now that the leaves are fallen, I went back to
the Lexington County sections of the line to get pix
of the ROW and old bridge timbers that were hidden
by foliage before. <br><br>Also posted pic of
downtown Wagener, showing the 65+ yr old "railroad park"
(my term, not their name for it) which the town has
put to good use over the yrs, site for a park,
pavilion (site of "Wagons to Wagener" fest), library,
police station. Typical dead giveaway of narrow straight
strip of land between 2 parallel streets, too close for
lg commercial bldgs, though all signs of the actual
line and bed are obliterated.

".. I am very interested in seeing how
difficult/easy it is to recreate abandoned lines. Have you
created any simulated lines yet? "<br><br>So far, no. For
practice, I'm now trying to simulate the small "dark
territory" (unsignalled) spur & yard that serves my place of
employment & some other industry. Unfortunately, MSTS has
been very prone to "lock up" on my machine when I try
to run any simulations, which I'm trying to
diagnose.<br><br>The S&K c. 1900 - 1920 would be an interesting little
line to recreate, if I get enough info to decently
reproduce it. Go rattling thru the swamp with loads of
turpentine, wood, cotton, & asparagus (a crop for which
Wagener, SC, is said once to have been famous).<br><br>I'd
ultimately like to recreate the Tallulah Falls line in NE
Georgia / SW NC, a scenic mountain line abandoned in
1961. My mother's family remembers it, one of the most
beloved and infamous southeastern shortlines; a.k.a. the
"Total Failure" Line, mainly because of spectacular
collapses of some of the numerous wooden trestles. I also
intend to do a page on it sometime.

Hi all, I've talked to Jimmy Summers about this
once before and he didn't have much information at the
time. But, I'm hoping someone else might.<br><br>I'm
looking for any information on the ACL\SCL line that ran
though Jacksonville, NC. I was stationed there while in
the Marine Corps and I'd like to model the area
someday. Any old pictures or maps would be VERY helpfull
and appreciated. I'd esp. like to get a picture of
the wye just north of downtown and the brige crossing
the New River, as well as the station and
yard.<br><br>Thanks,<br>Jason Rose

This is a probably a long shot, but does anyone
happen to have a map of the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity, &
Sabine Railroad? The line ran from Trinity, Texas
through Livingston, to Colmesneil, Texas. It was
abandoned and the tracks pulled up sometime in the 60's.
I've had almost no luck finding information on exactly
where the line ran. The area is too remote to get
satellite pictures off of the web. <br><br>If anyone
happens to have any information I'd be very
grateful.<br><br>Thanks,<br>Jason Rose

We are putting together a trip to Chicago on the
weekend of April 20th & 21st to go to the Art Institute
of Chicago to see the train depot exhibit. We plan
on visiting other train/railroad related things in
greater Chicago area. We invite everyone that would be
interested to meet us there that weekend. We are trying to
put together a package that would include hotel for
all of us and possibly a tour bus to take us to our
destination. Everything will be train/railroad related and
hopefully we will find a nice restaurant to all eat and
talk our heads off about trains and what we saw.
Nothing will be stressful or to hurried. If it works well
we will put together another package for Fall going
to Union Railroad Museum and other places for two
days. If you are interested, please email me and I will
put you on the list and keep you updated as to the
progress of the trip and package. Everyone is on their own
in getting to Chicago since we all come from
different directions. Hope to see you in
April.<br><br>Trainlady<br><br>Sha_Dec@...

does anyone happen to have a map of the Waco,
Beaumont, Trinity, & Sabine Railroad? <br><br>Not a map,
but a search at Google for "Waco, Beaumont, Trinity,
& Sabine Railroad"
got:<br><br><a
href=http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/WW/eqw3.html
target=new>http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/WW/eqw3.html\
</a><br><br><a href=http://donross.railspot.com/dr024.htm
target=new>http://donross.railspot.com/dr024.htm</a><br><br><a
href=http://www.geocities.com/lokomac8/
target=new>http://www.geocities.com/lokomac8/</a>

is back up.  The URL is:<br><a href=http://abandonedrailroads.homestead.com
target=new>http://abandonedrailroads.homestead.com</a><br><br>Jimmy Summers

Jason, I lived at MCAS as a kid in the early 60's
and know the bridge well (fished around it many
times). Unfortunately, don't think I got any pictures of
it. I'll check some old slides next time I'm at my
parents. Is the bridge still there or has it been
demolished? If it's gone I could give you a description to
the best of my memory. Good luck. Jim

Try the Real Estate Dept of CSX and NS. I talked
to CSX (Jacksonville, Fla) about 8 years ago and
they provided me an 8 page list of stations for sale
at the time organized by state. The address at th
etime was: CSX - Real Properties; 6737 Southpoint Dr.,
So.; Suite 100; Jacksonville, FL 32216; 1-800-631-7867
(Steve Seth). try this first...the real estate dept may
have moved up to Philadelphia when CSX took over part
of Conrail. Jim

Looking for anything related to the NCR from
Baltimore - Harrisburg - Elmira, NY - Sodus Pt, NY (Lake
Ontario). Have the book about NCR but looking for more
detailed info especially around the Watkins Glen area.
Reply to: sectionmaster@...

Thank you so much for the information!  I'll look into it right away!