Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad

The Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad (reporting mark AR) is a short-line railroad operating in North Carolina, United States. At one time the AR was a Class 2 railroad. The railroad has 47 miles (76 km) of track that runs from Aberdeen to Fayetteville, North Carolina.

This article is about the North Carolina Railroad from Aberdeen to Fayetteville. For the North Carolina railroad from Aberdeen to Star, see Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway. For other uses of Aberdeen, see Aberdeen (disambiguation).
Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad
Aberdeen and Rockfish EMD GP7 No. 205 in the company's yard
Overview
HeadquartersAberdeen, North Carolina
Reporting markAR
LocaleNorth Carolina
Dates of operation1892 (1892)–
Technical
Length47 miles (76 km)
Other
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The AR was incorporated in 1892 by businessman John Blue. He built the railroad to get his timber and turpentine products to market. On June 30, 1895, the first stretch of road was opened from Aberdeen to Endon. In 1898 the company added a line from Ashley Heights to Raeford which soon became the main line with the Endon line as a branch. Shortly thereafter, the Endon branch was extended to Juniper. The main line was extended to Dundarrach in 1900, Rockfish in 1902, Fenix in 1904 and a branch from Rockfish to Hope Mills was added in 1905. For a while, Aberdeen–Hope Mills became the main line, with branches to Juniper and Fenix.

On November 14, 1909, another branch from Raeford to Wagram was opened. In 1912, the company abandoned the Endon branch and used the rails to construct an extension from Fenix to Fayetteville which opened on December 23 that year. At the same time the line to Hope Mills was abandoned, as it became unnecessary with the new link to the main line of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Fayetteville. Over the years the railroad's traffic has shifted from lumber to agriculture products.[1] The AR is still owned by the Blue family and operates freight trains from Aberdeen to Fayetteville. The Wagram branch was sold to the Laurinburg and Southern Railroad in 1921. Passenger service ended in 1949.[2]

Traffic
  • Chemicals
  • Animal Feed
  • Grain
  • Animal By-Products
  • Building Supplies
  • Fertilizer Solution

Route
The station building in Aberdeen, one of the line's namesake towns.

Fleet

The Aberdeen and Rockfish fleet, as of July 2011, consists of 6 locomotives, all originally built by EMD:[3]

Number Type Built Notes
205 EMD GP7 1951
300 EMD GP18 1963
400, 405 EMD GP38 1967-1968
2486, 2594 Santa Fe CF7 1949-1951 Originally EMD F7s, almost completely rebuilt by AT&SF between 1972 and 1975.

See also

Notes
  1. Wrinn, Jim and Lewis, Edward. "The Road of Personal Service: A Centennial History" (1992, Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad Co.).
  2. Lewis 1991, p. 9
  3. "Aberdeen & Rockfish". www.thedieselshop.us. 11 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2004-07-26. Retrieved 2021-01-31.

References

Further reading
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