What was the farthest point north of Raleigh that the S-line had double track?

-- Chuck Till (ctill@nc.rr.com), January 20, 2001

Answers

Actually, the line between Brown Street and Hermitage was "triple" tracked until the early 1980s. There was what we called [logically] the "Third Track", on the east side of the right of way which was used primarily by transfer and industrial jobs to keep yard movements off the two adjacent signaled main line tracks. Part of this track still remains from Hermitage to just south of the Lombardy Street overpass and is called the "Bottled Gas" lead, serving a single industrial customer. Also, two tracks extended from the south end of South Yard to the south end of Bellwood, about eight miles. (The track from Rocketts to the south end of South Yard was considered a signaled siding--not double track.)

-- Doug Riddell (railroaddoug@erols.com), January 23, 2001.

From the north end of Raleigh Yard, there was an 0.9 mile segment of single track (across the NS and Crabtree Creek), then from M.P. 154.0 north ward to Neuse (M.P. 147.70), SAL was double track. Before CTC, Neuse had round-the-clock operators to clear northward trains into single track. The most northerly installation of double track on the SAL was from M.P. 0.2 N(orth) {Brown Street} and M.P.3.5 N(orth) at Hermitage.

-- Harry Bundy (Y6B@aol.com), January 22, 2001.

According to the 1966 ETT, two tracks extended north to milepost 147.7 , which is between Raleigh and Wake Forest. Tha place probably has a name, maybe some one else remembers it. (Neuse maybe)? Also between MP 98.7 and 103.6 which is Norlina to Middleburg.

-- Vern Hobbs (Vernh911@aol.com), January 21, 2001.