Wadesboro—Florence Line

The Wadesboro—Florence Line began at a junction with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's main line in Florence. From there it headed north and notably passed through Darlington, Society Hill, Cheraw (where it crossed the main line of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line's primary competitor). From Cheraw, it continued north into North Carolina and terminated at Wadesboro.

The line's Hartsville Branch ran from the line at Floyd (just north of Darlington) west to Hartsville.

The Wadesboro—Florence Line was built in segments by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's predecessors. From Florence to Cheraw, it was built by the Cheraw and Darlington Railroad in 1853.[1] In 1868, the Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad was built from Cheraw north to Wadesboro.[2]

The Hartsville Branch was built in 1884 by the Hartsville Railroad.[3]

In 1892, the Cheraw and Darlington Railroad acquired the Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad and then acquired the Hartsville Railroad in 1895. The Cheraw and Darlington Railroad was then fully merged into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1898.[4]

In 1910, the Wadesboro—Florence Line would also connect with the newly built Winston-Salem Southbound Railway in Wadesboro. The Winston-Salem Southbound Railway was jointly built by the Atlantic Coast Line and the Norfolk and Western Railway.[5]

Passenger service operated on the Wadesboro—Florence Line until the 1940s.[6] By 1949, one through freight train ran the line daily from Florence to Wadesboro and a separate local freight train ran six days a week. A local freight train also ran from Florence to Hartsville six days a week.[7]

The Atlantic Coast Line became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL) in 1967 after merging with their rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL). The line was designated as the Wadesboro Subdivision and the Hartsville Branch became the Floyd Subdivision. In an effort to further differentiate the lines, the company also added the letter A to the prefix of former Atlantic Coast Line lines, making the line's prefix AJ. This was particularly important for this line considering the nearly parallel Hartsville Subdivision (a former Seaboard Air Line track) also had the prefix J (which became SJ post-merger).[8]

In the mid-1970s, the Seaboard Coast Line abandoned the northern segment of the Wadesboro Subdivision from Wadesboro to Cheraw.[5]

In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation. In the mid-1980s, the line was abandoned between Floyd and Society Hill, making two discontinuous segments.[9]

The Wadesboro—Florence Line from Florence to Floyd, the Hartsville Branch, and former Seaboard Air Line trackage beyond Hartsville are still operated by the South Carolina Central Railroad. The South Carolina Central Railroad also operated the discontinuous segment from Society Hill to Cheraw, but that segment was abandoned in 2012.[9][10]