Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad

The Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad was a South Carolina railroad that operated at the end of the 19th century.

The line was originally chartered in 1885 by the South Carolina General Assembly as the Eutawville Railroad.[1]

The name was changed to the Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad in 1890 and the line from Bennettsville, South Carolina, to Charleston, South Carolina, was completed in 1891.[2]

This route was suggested by an ad for an excursion train. As built the line ran east from Harlin City on the Atlantic Coast Line Sumter to Orangeburg mainline 11 miles to Vance, the on to Eutawville where it ran south to Pregnalls on the South Carolina Railroad Charleston to Columbia mainline. Excursions from North Carolina ran south to Pregnalls and the proceeded over the South Carolina RR to reach Charleston.

A branch line ran from Eutawville east 6 miles to Ferguson, the home of Santee River Cypress Lumber Company's sawmill.

The mainline ran north from Vance across the Santee River to Saint Paul, Sumter Bennettsville to Gibson, NC. Some trains veered northeast over the South Carolina Pacific to connect with a second line to reach Fayetteville, NC.

One excursion trip was well documented from Fayetteville to Sumter, to Vance, Eutawville and Pregnalls to continue on to Charleston on the Atlantic Coast. One round trip did NOT represent the Charleston, Sumter & Northern, which was clever at using connections to form a through route across northern South Carolina.

The wooden trestle across the Santee River was burned down isolating the Harlin City to Ferguson line along with the Eutawville to Pregnalls line; from the Saint Paul to Gibson line.

Atlantic Coast Line purchased the Harlin City/Ferguson/Pregnalls line; but the Saint Paul-Gibson line went to a number of owners such as Tom Wilson's Northewestern Railroad of South Carolina from ST. Paul to Sumter, later to include a branch line northwest to Camden on the Seaboard Air Line.

The extension north from Sumter to Gibson was purchased by ACL under the name Charleston & Northern as the ACL owned the Central Railroad of South Carolina from the junction at Lanes on the major mainline, up to Manning to terminate at Sumter.

The track south from St. Paul to the Santee River was used by several large lumber companies of Sumter to reach the forest swamps on the north bank of the Santee River.

The line went into receivership in 1892.[3]

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad bought the Charleston, Sumter and Northern in October 1894,[4] and the following year reorganized the line as the Charleston and Northern Railroad to prevent it from being used by a competitor.[5]

The line was absorbed into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, apparently in 1895. AS stated above, the track from the Santee River north to Sumter was sold to Tom Wilson's Northwestern Railroad of South Car0lina.

References

1. Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, Henry Poor, 1894, Volume 27, page 171
2. First Excursions, Bennettsville Items, July 7, 1891
3. Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, Henry Poor, 1894, Volume 27, page 171
4. Railroad Men and Matters, October 14, 1894
5. Wikipedia, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

Logging Railroads of South Carolina, Tom Fetters