Atlantic and Western Railway

Atlantic and Western Railway
Overview
Headquarters	Jacksonville, Florida
Reporting mark	ATW
Locale	North Carolina
Dates of operation	1896–present
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Atlantic and Western Railway (reporting mark ATW) is a Class III short-line railroad operating about 10 miles (16 km) of track in Lee County, North Carolina. Atlantic and Western is part of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and formerly part of Rail Management and Consulting. It was reorganized in 1927 from the Atlantic and Western Railroad.

History

Originally the A&W ran between Sanford and Lillington, 25 miles.^[1] In 1961, the line was abandoned except for 3 miles from Sanford eastward. In the 1970s, the ATW's fleet of modernized 40-foot boxcars in food lading service were some of the last 40-foot boxcars in revenue service in the United States.^{[citation needed]} The railroad company was reorganized in 1988, following it's sale to Rail Management Corporation.^[2]

In 2001 the A&W began operating between Sanford and Cumnock over a line that was originally a segment of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway and subsequently Southern Railway and Norfolk Southern. The railway was sold in 2005 to the Gennessee and Wyoming Corporation.^[3] In 2011, Norfolk Southern granted the A&W additional rights to serve customers between Cumnock and Brickhaven over the original Norfolk Southern Railway.

Interchanges

Sanford, North Carolina
- CSX Transportation (CSXT)
- Norfolk Southern (NS)

References

^ Lewis, Edward A. (1996). Drury, George (ed.). American Shortline Railway Guide (5th ed.). Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. p. 35 – via Google Books.
^ Coleman, Alan (2008). Railroads of North Carolina. Images of Rail. Arcadia Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7385-5336-8 – via Google Books.
^ Coleman 2008, p. 21.