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Posted by
Jon Bell
on Sun May 27 13:00:23 2012
edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d Patriot Rail recently inaugurated freight service on a section of the former Piedmont & Northern interurban between Mt. Holly and Gastonia, NC. The old P&N dieselized this line in 1954. It eventually ended up as part of CSX, which discontinued service in the late 1980s and sold the line to the state of North Carolina. (CSX still operates the section from Charlotte to Mt. Holly.) The state rehabilitated the line and contracted Patriot Rail to operate it. Yesterday I drove along that section and found their two freshly-painted locos on a siding at Ranlo:
Here's the former P&N station building at Mt. Holly, which has been renovated for commercial use. A hair salon is at one end. I couldn't tell what's at the other end with the steps.
A three-mile branch runs from Mt. Holly to Belmont. I saw fresh ballast and repaved crossings along about the first mile, so I guess there are prospects for service along that section. I don't expect service the rest of the way into Belmont any time soon, if ever. Unlike the rest of the P&N, which was built to "steam road" standards, the line into Belmont looks very much like a simple side-of-the-road interurban:
In the distance in the second picture above, the line veers off to the left (east) and swings around downtown Belmont before coming into the station at the far edge of downtown. Amazingly (considering that passenger service on this branch ran only from 1916 to 1932) the station in downtown Belmont has been preserved and restored. It was a P&N museum until 2004, when the group lost their lease. It apparently was a flower shop for a while but is now unused. Across the street is the NS (ex Southern) mainline from Charlotte to Atlanta. Apparently there was once a connection, but there's no trace of it now.
The train on the station track is a mystery to me. I don't think any of the equipment has to do with the P&N. I guess nobody wants to take up the expense of removing it!
Here's the rear of the station, and the view in the opposite direction. It will take a bit of work if they ever do restore service here!
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