Pickens Railway
| Reporting mark | PICK, PKHP |
|---|---|
| Locale | Upstate South Carolina |
| Dates of operation | 1898– |
| Predecessor | Norfolk Southern (PKHP) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Length | 37 miles (60 km) |
| Headquarters | Cornelia, Georgia |
Pickens Railway (reporting marks PICK, PKHP) is a shortline railroad that has operated on two separate divisions in the Upstate Region of South Carolina:
Connections are made with the Norfolk Southern at Easley and Anderson, and with the Greenville and Western Railway at Belton. Rail was 85-100 pounds on the Easley-Pickens segment and 85 pounds on the Anderson-Honea Path segment.
Traffic included transportation equipment on the original Pickens line (in the form of locomotive remanufacture CLCX, Inc. located in Pickens until 2013), while the Anderson-Belton handles kaolin, limestone, synthetic rubber, rubber processing oil, plastics, silica, scrap metal, paper, scrap paper, bird feed ingredients, farm supplies, and electrical equipment.
The Easley-Pickens line was chartered on December 24, 1890, by the South Carolina General Assembly after two failed attempts to build a railroad through Pickens from Easley. The line connected with the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railroad (later the Southern Railway) and was completed in 1898.
On the railroad's first revenue run, the Pickens Railroad suffered a serious derailment that was caused by a local group of boys that had placed spikes on the rails, in their words, "to see what would happen." No one was seriously injured, but caused the fledgling company a serious financial setback, which operated in the red until 1905.
In its early years, it was nicknamed the "Pickens Doodle" because the train would run backwards to Easley and forward to Pickens, which "looked like a doodlebug," according to area residents. The Pickens Railroad, at the time did not have turning facilities until the line built two wye sections of track at each end of the line years later.
...
Wikipedia