Passed through Chester, SC today and snapped these photos of two former SAL stations. The passenger station in the first picture below is a common SAL design. It remains dormant, but otherwise fairly sound. The other depot was built in 1888 and has been renovated into the Chester County Transportation Museum. Chester is located on CSX's line between Hamlet, NC and Atlanta, GA. Chester is actually served by three railroads - CSX, NS and the Lancaster & Chester shortline.
Spotted this um, locomotive thing, on NS north of Winnsboro, SC today working a tie replacement train. Cloaked under that featureless Plastruct/X-ACTO sheet body shell is unadulterated EMD. I sounded great. I wonder if those fattened sides contain thousands of gallons of extra diesel fuel so that the train can continue to work in remote locations without need for replenishment? I wouldn't think water reserves would be needed for fire control as would be required on a rail grinding train. If anyone is looking for a prototype for a model railroad track cleaning car, you've found it.
Top photo- Is it just my perception, or does it seem to be at a slight angle to the track? if so, has the track alignment been changed? Second photo would actually have been a freight house, rather than a depot.
According to the Wikipedia entry, "It remains an active freight rail line, owned by Pan Am Railways and operating without a schedule." Interesting read, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosac_Tunnel
Yes it is. It runs from Boston and/or Portland, ME west to the yard at Mechanicsburg, NY, interchanging with CSX at Rotterdam Jct, NY. It was the B&M Fitchburg Division running the length of northern Massachusetts. I rode it many times between North Adams, MA and Hoosick, NY between 1947 and 1953.
I think too that the mainline has been realigned, but it's hard to figure how it once was because the old depot looks to be smack dab in the way of where the track might have been. When I return someday, I'll ask about this at the museum. The older 1888 depot (built by the Georgia, Carolina & Northern Railroad) predates the other by ~ 30 years and my guess is that the 1888 depot was the only depot in town at one time. Then when the new passenger station was built, the 1888 depot was probably demoted to freight. Really neat they both survived. In the 70s, SOU wiped out many depots on its SC lines, but the SCL wasn't quite so ruthless.
Unfortunately, I really don't know anything about this operation. It was one of those stumbled upon finds between places. Here is a link to their website. Looks like an interesting little operation. https://www.eastpennrr.com/
Couldn't there have just been another track switched off what is now the mainline that went right past the depot and then the 1888 depot? That's what it looks like to me. A track that went by the station and parallel to the other track and rejoining up line. Where what looks like a road now. Doug
Makes you wonder if possibly a realignment or maybe a siding that ran along this path that has been removed? (Hopefully you will overlook my drawing skills )
