I have three questions I was wondering if you could help me with. I am a member of the Cherryville Model Railroaders in Cherryville, NC. We are doing some historical research on the railroad. We are located in the ex-Seaboard Air Line Depot in Cherryville, NC on the line between Charlotte and Rutheford. My first question is this, can you tell me when this depot was built? Second-When did the SAL derailment and train wreck occur in Cherryville? (I think it was in the '60s) Third-Do you know when the Wilmington, Charlotte & Rutheford Railroad was incorporated and when it reached Cherryville? When was the Carolina Central incorporated? If you could help me out with these I would appreciate it very much. Thank you, Thomas Raper

-- Thomas David Raper (firemanhs2126@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002

Answers

about the collission , gg stutts was engr on east bound [in the right] and lives in hamlet, nc and would be glad to answer any questions.

-- greg warnock (gregwarnock@hotmail.com), January 19, 2005.

There was a head-end collision at Cherryville on July 13, 1966. No. 45 Engs 1963-4027-1979 passed the east switch of the Cherryville passing siding and collided with No. 46 Engs 1911- 1927-1971.

-- Harry Bundy (Y6B@aol.com), January 21, 2002.

The “Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad Company” was incorporated on February 3, 1855, to construct a railroad between Wilmington, N.C., and Rutherfordton, N.C. The company did no construction and its name was changed to “Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad Company” on November 14, 1855.

Construction was commenced at both Navassa, N.C. and Charlotte, N.C. on January 1, 1857, and two sections, Navassa, N.C., to Rockingham, N.C, (112 miles) and Charlotte, N.C., to Lincolnton, N.C., (31 miles), were completed on April 1, 1861. Nine miles between Rockingham, N.C., and Pee Dee, N.C., was completed on December 1, 1870.

“The Wilmington Railway Bridge Company” was incorporated on June 23, 1866, (The WC&R owned 50% of the company, and the Wilmington & Weldon and Wilmington & Manchester railroads both 25% each.) and completed the 2.5 miles between Hilton, N.C., and Navassa, N.C., over the Cape Fear River on August 28, 1869.

The WC&R was in receivership from February 1, 1873, to April 26, 1873, and its property and franchises were sold at a public auction on April 10, 1873, and the property was conveyed to The Carolina Central Railway on May 17, 1873.

“The Carolina Central Railway Company” had been incorporated on February 20, 1873, to build a railroad from Wilmington to the Virginia or Tennessee state line and had also been authorized to purchase the property and franchises of the WC&R and complete that company’s line between Wilmington and Rutherfordton. The company was formally organized on April 28, 1873, and commenced construction on May 3, 1873. This company completed three sections: Wilmington, N.C., to Hilton, N.C., (1.7 miles); Pee Dee, N.C., to Charlotte, N.C., (63 miles); and Lincolnton, N.C., to Shelby, N.C., (22 miles) on December 15, 1874. From April 1, 1876, to June 25, 1880, the railway was in receivership and its property and franchises were sold at another public auction on May 31, 1880.

“The Carolina Central Railroad Company” was incorporated on June 25, 1880, and took formal possession of the previous railway on that same day. Construction between Shelby, N.C., and Rutherfordton, N.C., was commenced in 1886 and the company completed this 27-mile line on March 1, 1887.

The Carolina Central Railroad was merged into the Seaboard Air Line Railway on November 7, 1901.

-- Stephen Dale (stephendale@lycos.co.uk), January 16, 2002.

According to Richard Prince's book on the SAL, the Wilmington, Charlotte & Rutherford RR began construction in 1857 and had completed the line as far as Rockingham in 1861. Another segment of the WC&R, Charlotte to Lincolnton was opened in April 1861. The WC&R was sold to the Carolina Central Ry in April 1873 and the line through Cherryville was opened by the CC in 1874. You might be able to obtain an exact date by doing some newspaper research in a city library such as in Charlotte.

-- Tom Underwood (tlunder@attglobal.net), January 15, 2002.