The main traffic on the ACL Spring Hope Branch in later steam days was ballast for the ACL from the quarry at Lassiter. The quarry closed before the SCL merger about 1963 after supplying the rip-rap for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Where else did the ACL get ballast? The SAL got ballast from Greystone North of Raleigh.

-- Richard Lasater (Richard.Lasater@ncmail.net), July 02, 2003

Answers

Hey, don't forget the rock quarry at Marlboro, SC. When I worked at Fayetteville, NC there was a "rock train" #541-542 that operated Monday - Saturday down the old Bennettsville Branch to Marlboro. It was not unusual for the crew to be on duty in those days 15 hrs 59 min, mostly Monday-Friday. But on Saturday the crew would make the R/T in much less time. This enabled them to deadhead home to Florence on #375. Most of the ballast hauled from Marlboro went south.

-- Herman Wilkins (railrdn@comcast.net), July 04, 2003.

Doug, Thanks for the info about the Garysburg quarry, I didn't realize it ever had a connection with ACL. I will check it out the next time I'm up there. Eric

-- Eric Corse (acleric@mindspring.com), July 04, 2003.

There was also a quarry on a lead breaking to the west from the southbound ACL main at Garysburg (MP 80) which closed shortly before my time on the SCL (1977). If you happen by there, you can still see the fill on which the track was located.

-- Doug Riddell (railroaddoug@erols.com), July 03, 2003.

Eric is right, Trego is one, Columbia SC,Dan GA, and Somewhere in sweet home Alabama is another place for rock today.Pete, As far as the pinkish rock south of Parkton,your guess is as good as mine...I would assume from somewhere around the coast for it to be pink like it is.

-- Vic Lewis (TrkInsp5F33@aol.com), July 03, 2003.

The Red Springs & Northern (Parkton south) has a great deal of pink rock on it. Anyone know where that came from?

-- Pete Wenk (petewenk@nccoast.com), July 03, 2003.

After the ACL merged the AB&C in 1946, at least, the RR also got ballast from a quarry south of Atlanta, near Tyrone, on the ex-AB&C Atlanta-Manchester line. I suspect this was shipped only to points on the south and west ends of the system while Trego no doubt served the north end.

-- Larry Goolsby (clgoolsby@att.net), July 02, 2003.

From the quarry at Trego, just North of the Vigina town of Skippers (Turners). It is still a major source of ballast today. A rock train runs up the Portsmouth sub about 3 times a week.

-- Eric Corse (acleric@mindspring.com), July 02, 2003.