View source for Carolina and Northwestern Railway

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The '''Carolina & Northwestern Railway''' (Ca&NW) was a railroad that served South Carolina and North Carolina from 1897 until January 1, 1974. The original line was operated by the Ca&NW as a separate railroad controlled by the [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]] until 1974 when the name was changed to the [[Norfolk Southern Railway (1942–1982)|Norfolk Southern Railway]].<ref name=hilton>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7POj8GvF4sIC&dq=norfolk+southern+hickory+lenoir+abandonment&pg=PA512 Pg. 512; American Narrow Gauge Railroads by George Woodman Hilton; Stanford University Press, 1990]</ref> On June 1, 1982, Southern Railway and [[Norfolk and Western Railroad]] merged to form [[Norfolk Southern Railway]]. Choosing to use the name 'Norfolk Southern Railway' for the merger, in 1981, the original Ca&NW line along with original Norfolk Southern Railway was renamed Carolina and Northwestern once again. In the early 1950s several shortline subsidiaries of the Southern Railway were leased to the Ca&NW for operation, with these lines remaining a part of the Ca&NW into the 1980s.

==History==

The carrier traces its beginnings back to the [[Kings Mountain Railroad]] that ran from [[Chester, South Carolina]], to [[York, South Carolina]], before the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name=tarheelpress>[http://www.tarheelpress.com/CNW1.html Tar Heel Press, The Legacy of the Carolina and Northwestern Railway]</ref> The Kings Mountain Railroad was begun in 1855 but was destroyed by the Union Army during the [[American Civil War]] and was not rebuilt after the conflict.<ref>[http://www.carolana.com/SC/Transportation/railroads/sc_rrs_kings_mountain.html South Carolina Railroads, Kings Mountain Railroad]</ref>

The route lay abandoned for almost eight years until the creation of the [[Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad]] in 1873.<ref>[http://www.carolana.com/SC/Transportation/railroads/sc_rrs_chester_lenoir.html South Carolina Railroads, Chester & Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad]</ref> Within a decade the Chester & Lenoir had extended the line to [[Lenoir, North Carolina]]. At over {{convert|120|mi}}, the Chester & Lenoir was the largest [[narrow gauge railroad]] in the Carolinas.<ref name=tarheelpress/>
 
Over the next decade, the railroad operated under the umbrella of the [[Richmond and Danville Railroad]].<ref name=tarheelpress/>
 
When the Richmond and Danville was re-organized as the Southern Railway in 1894, the Chester & Lenoir operated on its own for a short while. By 1896, it went into receivership, and the following year was re-organized as the Carolina & Northwestern Railway.<ref name=carolana>[http://www.carolana.com/SC/Transportation/railroads/sc_rrs_carolina_north_western.html South Carolina Railroads/ Carolina & Northwestern Railway]</ref> Though technically controlled by the Southern, this shortline carrier, more than any other in the Southern Railway family, was allowed to operate almost autonomously.<ref name=tarheelpress/>
 
By 1902, the Carolina & Northwestern Railway was [[Track gauge conversion|converted]] to {{track gauge|56.5in|allk=on}} track, and it purchased a controlling interest in a logging railroad, the [[Caldwell and Northern Railroad|Caldwell and Northern]], that ran from Lenoir to [[Collettsville, North Carolina]].<ref name=tarheelpress/> By 1906, the railroad had been expanded to [[Edgemont, North Carolina]], making the line nearly {{convert|150|mi}} long, further increasing access to the timber in the mountains north and west of Hickory, North Carolina.<ref>''Charlotte Observer'', Keeping Them on Track, December 29, 2002</ref>
 
In 1912, new shops were built in Hickory and within 10 years a locomotive was even built within the railroad’s shops.<ref name=tarheelpress/>
 
By the mid 1930s, the Carolina and Northwestern was only operating one freight train a day except Sundays between Chester and Lenoir. By 1938, the railroad abandoned the line from west Lenoir to Edgemont. The Carolina and Northwestern was absorbed into the Southern Railway system around 1940.<ref name=carolana/>

In 1943, the Carolina and Northwestern was only operating one passenger train a day between Chester and Edgemont. Passenger service was soon discontinued in 1947. In March 1948, the carrier had completely dropped steam (with Southern Railway 2-8-0 #544 having the honor of being the last steam locomotive on the line) and replaced it with diesel locomotives. The Carolina & Northwestern was one of the first completely dieselized railroads in the southeast.<ref name=tarheelpress/>

The section of the line between Chester and York was abandoned around 1972. The section from York to Clover was abandoned in 1981. By the late 1980s, the line had been abandoned all the way to just north of the North Carolina state line, near [[Bowling Green, South Carolina]].

Around 1990, the track from Newton to [[Lincolnton, North Carolina]] was abandoned by the [[Norfolk Southern]].<ref name=toosie>[http://www.ncrailtrails.org/littletoot/SPRING90.PDF North Carolina Rail Trails, Vol.2 No. 1; Spring 1990]</ref> The [[North Carolina Department of Transportation]] has railbanked the line from South [[Newton, NC]] to an area South of [[Maiden, NC]] where the end of the line stops at U.S. Highway 321.<ref name=toosie2>[http://www.ncrailtrails.org/littletoot/WINTER04.PDF North Carolina Rail Trails, Vol.13 No. 3; Winter 2004]</ref>

In 1994, Norfolk Southern sold the original {{convert|22|mi|adj=on}} line from [[Hickory, NC]] to [[Lenoir, NC]] to the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission (CCEDC). The CCEDC subsequently leased the line to the [[Caldwell County Railroad|Caldwell County Railroad Company]], a subsidiary of Southeast Shortlines Inc.<ref name=ccrc>[http://www.ncrailways.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=18 Railway Association of North Carolina: Caldwell County Railroad]</ref>

The {{convert|5|mi|0|spell=in|adj=on}} stretch of railroad track between Gastonia and Dallas was abandoned on or about August 20, 2003.<ref name=lincoln>[http://lincolneda.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&id_news=79&Itemid=131 Clearing the Way by Michael Henry; The Gaston Gazette, Friday July 25, 2003]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Railways}}
*[http://www.tarheelpress.com/ Tar Heel Press, The Legacy of the Carolina and North-Western Railway]
*[http://www.r2parks.net/CaNW.html Carolina & Nortthwestern Railway]

{{North Carolina railroads}}
{{North America Class I}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carolina and Northwestern Railway}}
[[Category:Defunct North Carolina railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct South Carolina railroads]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1897]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1940]]
[[Category:Predecessors of the Southern Railway (U.S.)]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1940]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1897]]