SOU trackage rights on ACL

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Did Southern ever have trackage rights to Portsmouth VA over ACL's Rocky Mount/Suffolk/Portsmouth route to Pinners Point Yard?

-- Andrew Callo (acallo@dcf.net), July 28, 2001

Answers

Southern acquired trackage rights over the Norfolk & Carolina (later ACL)to Pinners Point-Portsmouth around 1895 and I believe kept them until after they took over the old Norfolk Southern ca. 1971. Although Southern also had access to Portsmouth through its lease of the Atlantic & Danville from 1899-1949.

-- Bill Nelson (gnspouselaw@erols.com), July 29, 2001.

In the latter years of ACL's Rocky Mount-Tarboro-Portsmouth route, the Southern train was the only through freight operating over that line. Southern Trains # 253 and 254 entered the Coast Line main at Selma, NC thru to Rocky Mount, NC where it diverged onto the ACL Portsmouth Subdivision. Southern bought the Norfolk Southern in 1974 perhaps soley on having it's own route to Norfolk. SCL of course objected to the merger and was given trackage rights to the ex-NS phosphate branch for compensation. The Portmouth Sub was devoid of local traffic except between Ahoskie and Kelford,NC and was removed in 1980 between Tarboro-Kelford, NC and Ahoskie, NC - Tunis, VA. The rest is now the North Carolina & Virginia Railroad. The Southern also routed Norfolk traffic on the Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway( former Atlantic and Danville ) via Danville,VA. This ended with the NS merger in 1982 as a result of Norfolk and Western ownership of the NF&D.

-- richard lea (grandsound@hotmail.com), October 02, 2004.

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