Another SD70ACU leader on a CP train, this time on the Davenport to Bensenville manifest, train 472. Also a NS C44-9W trailed third(9458). Bettendorf, IA. June 19, 2020 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Three Baldwins here, Pickens VO-660 #2 at Pickens, SC [Nov. 1989], NS AS-416 #1616 and SAL VO-1000 #1415 at Spencer, NC [Aug. 1991].
The Pickens is healthy and moves 4,000 cars a year on about 30 Miles of line between Anderson, SC and Honea Path, SC. This line is about 30 miles away from their original ~10 Mile line that I took my Baldwin photo on. The original line was torn up in 2013 and is now a walking trail. I need to do some Pickens railfanning sometime. I remember their per diem cars too. They seemed to be everywhere.
So this is the exact same company? But using a line completely unaffiliated with their original operation?
The railroad has had a number of different owners over the years, including the Singer sewing machine company. Pickens expanded its operation in the 1990s by leasing the Belton-Honea Path and Belton-Anderson lines from NS. Traffic dropped off on the original Pickens-Easley line to the extent that operations on it were discontinued a few years ago.
