(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on May 17, 2010.)
North Carolina and local officials recently selected Patriot Rail Corp. from among five proposals to restore and operate a former Piedmont and Northern Railway line in Gaston County.
Reactivating the line — which was built in 1911 and last operated in 1990 — calls for installing new ties and grade crossing signals, and completing other infrastructure improvements. Running from Mt. Holly to Gastonia, with a branch to Belmont, the line is owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), which purchased the right of way in December 1991.
A review committee including NCDOT and Gason County representatives selected Patriot Rail’s proposal as the “most responsive,” according to a prepared statement. Patriot Rail now will negotiate the terms and conditions of a lease to return the line to service.
Meanwhile, the Stillwater Central Railroad (SLWC) last month began operating a newly leased line between Duke and Altus, Okla. SLWC assumed the operations of the Hollis & Eastern Railroad, which formerly operated the line.
The 13-mile line was built in 1912 and throughout the years, various sections were abandoned. In 1971, Republic Gypsum Co. purchased the line, then sold it to American Gypsum Co. in 1998. The line interchanges with BNSF Railway Co. and Wichita, Tillman & Jackson Railway Co. lines in Altus.
A Watco Cos. Inc. subsidiary, SLWC operates 275 miles of track between Tulsa and Duke, and Pawnee and Stillwater, Okla.