The South Carolina Western Railway was a Southeastern railroad that operated in the early 20th century.
History
The South Carolina Western Railway was chartered by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1910. It built a 38-mile line from the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's Main Line in McBee, South Carolina east to Florence, South Carolina in 1911. The South Carolina Western Railway Station at Darlington was completed the same year. The following year, it built lines from Hartsville, South Carolina, to Sumter, South Carolina, and from Lydia, South Carolina, to Timmonsville, South Carolina.Through the Heart of the South, The Seaboard Air Line Railroad Story, Robert Wayne Johnson, page 104 In 1914, track was extended from Florence southeast to Poston, where it connected with the Georgetown and Western Railroad.
The South Carolina Western was merged with the Georgetown and Western Railroad, the South Carolina Western Extension Railway, and other nearly railroad in 1914 to form the Carolina, Atlantic and Western Railway.Virginia State Corporation Commission, 1917, page 314
The Carolina, Atlantic and Western Railway became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1915. Track from McBee to Poston became their Hartsville Subdivision while track from Hartsville to Sumter became their Sumter Subdivision and the branch to Timmonsville became their Timmonsville Subdivision.Seaboard Air Line Railroad South Carolina Division Timetable (1936)Seaboard Air Line Railroad Carolina Division Timetable (1955) The Timmonsville Subdivision was abandoned in the 1950s.
In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line (SAL) merged with the Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). The Atlantic Coast Line operated a nearby line from Florence to Wadesboro with a branch to Hartsville. In an effort to differentiate the lines in the combined network, the SCL added the letter S to the milepost prefixes of former SAL, making the line's prefix SJ. This was particularly important for this line considering the nearly parallel ACL route also had the milepost prefix J (which became AJ post-merger).Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Florence Division Timetable (1971)
After the merger, the company abandoned the original South Carolina Western Railway track from Hartsville to Florence in favor of the ex-ACL route. The Seaboard Coast Line designated the former Sumter branch as part of the Hartsville Subdivision. Further south, the Seaboard Coast Line also abandoned the line from Pamplico to Poston, with the remaining line from Florence to Pamplico becoming the Pamplico Subdivision.
The Pamplico Subdivision was abandoned in the 1980s. A short stretch of track from Robinson to Hartsville was also abandoned in the 1980s. Track from Bishopville to Sumter was abandoned in 1982.
In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation. CSX sold the remaining track from Hartsville to Bishopville to the South Carolina Central Railroad on December 1, 1987.
Track is still in place from McBee to the H. B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station, which is now CSX's Robinson Spur.CSX Florence Division Timetable
Historic stations + McBee to PostonMilepostCity/LocationStationConnections and notesSJ 299.9McBeeMcBeejunction with Seaboard Air Line Railroad Main LineSJ 305.2LelandSJ 306.2RobinsonSJ 307.9HicksonSJ 309.3SegarsSJ 314.5HartsvilleHartsvillejunction with:SJ 319.8LunnSJ 326.2DarlingtonDarlingtonjunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Parkton—Sumter LineSJ 335.5FlorenceFlorencejunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Main LineSJ 338.5FendallSJ 341.9PoynerSJ 350.8PerrotSJ 354.0PamplicoPamplicoSJ 364.5KingsburgSJ 365.7Postonjunction with Seaboard Air Line Railroad Andrews Subdivision
+ Sumter BranchMilepostCity/LocationStationConnections and notesSJA 314.5HartsvilleHartsvillejunction with McBee to Poston lineSJA 320.9Lydiajunction with Timmonsville BranchSJA 322.8UnaSJA 325.8AlcotSJA 330.3BishopvilleBishopvillejunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Bishopville BranchSJA 335.3ManvilleSJA 337.3AshwoodSJA 342.7DuboseSJA 345.8BrentSJA 350.6BordeauxSJA 352.4SumterSumterjunction with:
+ Timmonsville BranchMilepostCity/LocationStationConnections and notesSJAB 320.9Lydiajunction with Sumter BranchSJAB 329.7LamarLamarjunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Parkton—Sumter LineSJAB 338.0TimmonsvilleTimmonsvillejunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Florence—Robbins Line
References