Piedmont & Northern Railroad

[kermit]

Solid news story on the successful repurposing of some of the old Modena Mill in Gastonia to serve as a transload facility for the P&N. Sounds like it will generate nearly 1,000 carloads per year (a bunch for the P&N) with some additional (but not yet identified) potential for an industrial mill reuse in the future.

This might be a bigger deal than it first appears, these sorts of facilities are disappearing from Class 1 carrier lines as they transition to PSR, so it could potentially attract some new manufacturers to the region. The only other successful  traffic generator on the P&N was a liquids transload facility over by the South Fork. 

The P&N has been struggling since the state reopened it, but its connection to both CSX and NS means that a couple more facilities of this size could turn the P&N into a fantastic engine for industrial development in a forgotten part of Gaston County (similar to Westinghouse blvd, but those businesses are beholden to NS alone)

https://www.wral.com/carload-connection-campus-shapes-up-along-gastonia-railway/18801322/

 

Edited December 4, 2019 by kermit

[kermit]

Not technically P&N related but there was some excitement for CSX over at Hovis Yard today (right at intersection of Hovis and Rozzelles Ferry)  It appeared that about 5 intermodal cars had derailed (none, tipped). Looked to be a split switch situation. They were working on it about 1pm today.

Edit: And the Observer has it too

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article256582516.html

Edited December 15, 2021 by kermit

[videtur quam contuor]

2 years later! What a good board member! Something extra in your check this week!

[Third Strike]

What would be the best use for this corridor, especially since it’s owned by the state?  Would passenger rail be feasible, especially since it connects Charlotte to Gastonia? More freight business? Or maybe dismantle it for a rail trail?

Seems like an important line that is currently underutilized. 

[kermit]

11 hours ago, Third Strike said:

What would be the best use for this corridor, especially since it’s owned by the state?  Would passenger rail be feasible, especially since it connects Charlotte to Gastonia? More freight business? Or maybe dismantle it for a rail trail?

Seems like an important line that is currently underutilized. 

The state only owns Mt Holly to Gastonia, CSX owns the Mecklenbirg trackage except for the portion from Blue Max to center city.  Despite ownership issues I can see a long-term potential for commuter rail between Cedar St (Gateway adjacent) and Mt Holley (on the old P&N) and extending to Stanley and Lincolnton on the CSX (I don't get a sense that CSX is very committed to its tracks west of Paw Creek). However I think trolley service from Cedar Street to Hoskins is a better use of the Charlotte portion of the tracks. 

I have ridden on the P&N between Mt Holley and Gastonia, the track is a good bit curvier than a good commuter route should be (particularly where is goes under 85 headed into Gastonia). The required detour through Mt Holly would also make Charlotte to Gastonia trips super slow, and the routing makes it really difficult to speed up, so Charlotte to Gastonia commuter rail on the P&N is very unlikely IMO. 

I do think the P&N's connections to CSX and NS and its proximity to I-85 and 77, plus state ownership (which will prevent abandonment) means the tracks have great potential for rail-dependent industry and freight transloading. Class 1 railroads are no longer very interested in carload freight so the P&N could develop into a strong economic development niche (see the first post in this thread).  The ADM facility at Graham and 277 would be a good fit for the P&N for instance.

Unfortunately none of the three short line leaseholders have had any success at business development along the line and the tracks do not appear to be on the state's ED radar so the tracks remain underused.

Edited December 15, 2021 by kermit

[kermit]

The Piedmont and Northern is getting its 4th operator over the past 12 years it has been leased out by NCDOT (the current owners). The Charlotte Western Railroad began operations yesterday. It sounds like the operator acquired a warehouse on the route to augment the liquids transload facility in Lowell (not much more than a gravel lot where liquids are pumped from trucks to railcars). While the P&N has access to both CSX and NS interchanges, the state and the various operators have really struggled to find new tenants that would generate local carload traffic. I do think there are some opportunities for large industrial users along the core P&N line (particularly as the Class 1 RR's move away from local freight -- looking at you ADM in uptown Charlotte), but the history here suggests that the state is not marketing those opportunities effectively.

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/short_lines_regionals/news/Charlotte-Western-Railroad-begins-operations-in-North-Carolina--66481

Edited May 3, 2022 by kermit

[kermit]

The P&N (now called the Charlotte Western Railroad by its current leaseholder) received a $222,042 grant for mainline track upgrades from NCDOT. Its nice to see James B. Duke’s pet railroad get some attention, but  as development continues to encircle the P&N, its ability to stimulate industrial development is diminished. Given that four different shortlines have recently tried and failed to generate carloads from the tracks, I am not optimistic about future prospects.

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/north-carolina-awards-10-2-million-for-short-line-port-rail-projects/