Greenwood, South Carolina:
Piedmont & Northern Railway

Description

The Piedmont & Northern Railway was one of the few electric interurban railroads in the United States to operate passenger service after World War II. It was built during 1910-16 by tobacco and utilites magnate James B. Duke. He envisioned a system extending from Durham NC to Greenwood SC, about 320 miles, but was only able to complete two disconnected sections:

• North Carolina division: Charlotte - Gastonia (24 miles), with a 3-mile branch from North Belmont to Belmont.
• South Carolina division: Spartanburg - Greenville - Greenwood (89 miles), with a 12-mile branch from Belton to Anderson.

The P&N was built to steam-railroad standards, had very little street running, and used 1500-volt DC power. Freight was the backbone of its business, which enabled it to survive when other interurbans closed during the Great Depression.

The P&N abandoned passenger service in 1951, and almost immediately converted the South Carolina division to diesel operation. Most of the North Carolina division was converted in 1954, except for a short switching operation section along Mint Street in Charlotte, near the terminal, which continued until 1958.

The P&N survived as an independent freight carrier until 1969, when it merged with the Seaboard Coast Line. Most of the trackage still exists between Charlotte and Gastonia, and between Spartanburg and Greenville, and is now part of CSX Transportation. Most of the trackage south and west of Greenville, to Anderson and Greenwood, has been abandoned and removed.

The Railroad Historical Center in Greenwood, South Carolina (now part of The Museum in Greenwood) owns two ex-P&N passenger cars and a caboose on static display.