The Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway was a Southeastern railroad that operated in the Carolinas immediately after Reconstruction. It ran from Mount Airy, North Carolina, southeast through Greensboro and Fayetteville to the Atlantic port of Wilmington, North Carolina. A significant branch also ran from Fayetteville south to Bennettsville, South Carolina.
History
The Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway was created in 1879 with the consolidation of the Western Railroad and the Mount Airy Railroad.The Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway: its Origin, Construction, and Extensions, 1889, page 10
By 1899, the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway was debt-ridden and bankrupt and was sold to the Southern Railway, where it was reorganized as a new company under the name Atlantic and Yadkin Railway, which remained a wholly owned subsidiary of the Southern Railway.
The newly created Atlantic and Yadkin then sold back the southern half of the line from Sanford, North Carolina, to Wilmington to the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, which was later reorganized as the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) in 1899. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad operated their segment of the line as their Sanford Branch (E Branch west of Fayetteville and F Branch east of there). The Atlantic Coast Line also took over the Bennettsville Branch. Though, since the northern part of the Bennettsville Branch paralleled the ACL's main line, they abandoned the branch between Fayetteville and Parkton and connected the remaining branch to the main line at Parkton. The Atlantic Coast Line incorporated the remaining Bennettsville Branch into their Parkton—Sumter Line.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1967, and their segment of the line from Manchester to Wilington became their Fayetteville Subdivision.Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Florence Division Timetable (1971) The Seaboard Coast Line became CSX Transportation in the 1980s.
The Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway Passenger Depot at Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the Rural Hall Depot at Rural Hall, North Carolina, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Current conditions Today, parts of the original Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway are still in service. From Mount Airy to Rural Hall, the line is now operated by the Yadkin Valley Railroad, a shortline that also operates the former Southern Railway line from Rural Hall to North Wilkesboro.
The line is largely abandoned from Rural Hall to just northwest of Greensboro. The Atlantic and Yadkin Greenway now runs on the former right of way northwest of Greensboro.
From Greensboro to Gulf, the line is still operated by Norfolk Southern Railway.
The segment from Cumnock to Sanford is now operated by the Atlantic and Western Railway.
CSX still operates the line from Spring Lake to just southeast of Fayetteville as well as a short discontinuous segment near Wilmington.
The Bennettsville Branch is still in service from Parkton to Red Springs and is now operated by the Red Springs & Northern Railroad. The line was abandoned between Red Springs and McColl in 1973.
Stations
+Main LineMiles fromWilmingtonSystemMilepostCity/LocationStationConnections and notes0.0AC 244.5WilmingtonWilmingtonlocated on Wilmington and Manchester Railroad2.1AC 246.6AF 290.7Yadkin Junctionjunction with Wilmington and Manchester Railroad (ACL)9.1AF 283.7Richards15.9AF 276.9Montague18.7AF 274.1Currie25.0AF 267.8AtkinsonAtkinson32.1AF 260.7Ivanhoe36.5AF 256.3Kerr41.1AF 251.7Tomahawk47.4AF 245.4GarlandGarland52.0AF 240.9Parkersburg56.6AF 236.3Mintz60.9AF 232.0RoseboroRoseboro65.9AF 227.0Hayne69.1AF 223.8AutryvilleAutryville72.3AF 220.7StedmanStedman76.6AF 215.0Vander81.3AF 209.2AE 209.2FayettevilleFayettevillejunction with:81.7 AE 209.1Norfolk Southern Junctionjunction with Raleigh and Southport Railroad (NS)88.7AE 204.3Shaw91.8AE 201.5Fort Junction95.2AE 197.7Manchester97.7AE 195.2Overhills101.7AE 97.7Spout Springs109.0AE 90.4Rock Branchlater renamed Olivia110.4AE 89.0Swann116.3AE 83.1Jonesboro118.5AE 80.9CF 130.1SanfordSanfordjunction with:124.9CF 123.6Cumnockoriginally known as Egypt127.9Gulfjunction with Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway (NS)131.3CF 117.2GoldstonGoldston134.5Bear Creek137.7Bonleejunction with Bonlee and Western Railway139.3Mount Vernon Springs143.8Siler City151.3CF 97.2StaleyStaley155.8LibertyLiberty132.9Julian165.5Climax171.2Pleasant GardenPleasant Garden174.8Vandalia179.1CF 69.4GreensboroGreensborojunction with North Carolina Railroad (SOU)185.3Battle Ground191.0SummerfieldSummerfield194.0Guil Quarry197.2CF 51.3StokesdaleStokesdale202.4Belews Creek205.3Mitchell208.4Walnut Grovejunction with Norfolk and Western Railway214.0Germanton218.6CF 29.8Rural HallRural Halljunction with Southern Railway223.5KingKing226.6Dalton228.5Pinnacle234.1CF 14.4Pilot MountainPilot Mountain236.8Dodson's Bridge Crossing240.1Ararat245.5McKenney's Cut248.5CF 0.0Mount AiryMount Airy
+Bennettsville BranchStateMiles fromFayettevilleSystemMilepostCity/LocationStationConnections and notesNC0.0FayettevilleFayettevillejunction with:6.7Hope MillsHope Millsjunction with Fayetteville Cutoff (ACL)13.1ParktonParktonjunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Main Line(via connection track built in 1899 after the line north was abandoned)14.8AG 224.9McNatt's17.5AG 227.6Lumber BridgeLumber Bridge22.1AG 232.2Shannon25.4AG 235.5Red SpringsRed Springs30.0AG 240.1WakullaWakulla34.0AG 244.1Floral College37.0AG 247.1MaxtonMaxtonjunction with Carolina Central Railroad (SAL)39.0AG 249.1Patterson41.1AG 251.2Stuart43.1AG 253.2John'sjunction with Laurinburg and Southern Railroad45.2AG 255.3HastySC49.4AG 259.5McCollMcColljunction with North and South Carolina Railway (SAL)52.1AG 262.2TatumTatum58.1AG 268.2BennettsvilleBennettsvillecontinues as Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad (ACL)junction with Bennettsville and Cheraw Railroad
Notes
References