Atlantic Coast Line
Charleston to Hardeeville, SC
Introduction
Historically, if a shipper had freight, and wanted to get it from, say, Miami to New York City, it had to travel on several different railroads. Today, CSX will do the entire job for you. This is the long-sought "seamless service" that CSX and NS used to justify much of the sense behind the break-up of Conrail. We're in the process of putting together a tour that you can use to follow the rails all the way from the Shared Assets Area in northern New Jersey to southern Florida. Several segments are now complete, and the overall tour site is here.
For information about the Other Tours within Frograil, go to the Frograil Tour Guide. If this will be your first tour using data within the Frograil system of tours, you really should explore the Tour Guide thoroughly before venturing forth -- there is a lot of good, basic information contained therein, which could save you some serious grief and time, while increasing the overall enjoyment of your outing.
The tour segment contained on this page is from North Charleston to just south of Hardeeville, and is complete. For lots more info about this piece of railroad, check out the Supplemental Data below.
Contents And Navigation
Other Tours
For information concerning the other Frograil tours which have been put together, go to the Tour Guide. A comprehensive packing list and other advice are also in the Tour Guide -- these will save you time and grief.
Contributors To This Tour
Bob Clouston, the brains behind this tour. He has provided all on-the-ground research for the entire tour. This is his tour.
Peter Furnee, CSX logo
Tony Hill, Webmaster -- the guy who makes it go. Any singular first-person pronouns within this entire Frograil Tour refer to Tony Hill. Plural first-person pronouns ("we" and "us") refer collectively to both Bob Clouston and Tony Hill.
Train Gifs. All train gifs used within this tour are from the Ed Bindler's train gifs site, which is here.
Help
If you'd like to contribute to this, or any other tour, please contact me at webmaster@frograil.com, and let me know what you'd like to do. We'll work together: You supply the data/info, and I'll do the HTML stuff and upload it. You'll get a chance to review the fruits of your efforts before the general public sees the finished product, so you can let me have your corrections, additions and changes.
Supplemental And Back-Up Data.
Life Support. You'll be surrounded by every manner of life support in the North Charleston area, but once you venture west of the Ashley River, you'll need to pay attention to things like your stomach and gas tank, as there are no real towns between the Drayton area and Ridgeland. From Yemassee south, however, you're very close to I-95, so life support is not a problem.
The Railroad -- Background. This entire segment is part of the CSX main line from the northeast to Florida. It was the Atlantic Coast Line's A-Line, and carried many passenger, perishable and time freights in years gone by. It still does. Mile points start at the James River in Richmond, and extend continuously numbered all the way to Florida.
There is an interesting side light contributed by Buddy Hill, who lives in the area: You can tell the locations of many former depots along the line by the presence of palmetto trees. His grandfather told him there was an operator who would plant palmettos beside/across from depots while he was assigned to that location.
The Railroad -- Geography. This tour starts out in a city, goes thru some virtual wilderness, and ends up in a semi-wilderness. There are few real hills, but the rivers posed quite a challenge for the builders. Today, it's a pretty easy stretch to railfan, with the serious exception of North Charleston. Because of the railroad's security concerns, it is difficult to get trackside. Once west of the Ashley River, you're in an area of vast tree plantations. Do your map work and planning ahead of time, or you've got a very good chance of getting lost.
The Railroad -- Traffic. Traffic between Charleston and Yemassee is heavier than that between Yemassee and Savannah. Understand that Charleston - Augusta traffic leaves the A-Line at Yemassee. Between Charleston and Yemassee are 3 sets of Amtrak trains, 4 1/2 sets of intermodal trains, 3 sets of manifest trains, a set of locals, a set of juice trains, and both loaded and empty coal trains. Of this traffic, 1 set of intermodals, 1 set of manifests and the local set, go towards Augusta. Between Charleston and Yemassee, expect 20-30 trains per 24 hour period, and probably 18-20 south of Yemassee.
Another thing you should remember: This railroad is flat, and has relatively few curves. Therefore, expect the trains to be fast and quiet. Be ready and be alert at all times.
Mapwork: Much of the tour is not easy if you have no detailed map for back country roads. I definitely recommend you get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study it before your trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. You can find information here about Railfan Maps that are available. The DeLorme will help you greatly, but....
NOTE WELL: As soon as you leave the Charleston area, you are in an area of huge forest plantations and tree farms, and roads depicted on the maps will sometimes not be public (or even existing) roads on the ground. You should copy the applicable portions of the DeLorme maps, and try to reconcile the on-the-ground reality with those maps. Remember that when 9-1-1 systems went into rural American counties, many nameless roads with just a number in the local highway office suddenly got new names. MapQuest and DeLorme have had a tough time getting those new names on their maps. Additionally, some names on-the-ground will not agree with the names on the maps. Bob Clouston has done on-the-ground research, and we suggest you follow our directions, rather than trying to take a "short-cut" or other alternate route. What looks like a great way to get from point A to point B may simply not exist.
Abbreviations. I try to limit the number of abbreviations to very common terms, such as CSX and NS. However, some terms get used repeatedly and are given here to help you understand them.
AG. "At-grade" -- It may or may not be a railfan location, but you can be assured that the tracks and street/road are on the same level.
NAG. "Not at grade" -- Usually, a NAG crossing is a poor place to take pix, but not always. However, you should be warned if a crossing isn't at grade, and that's why I try to always clue you in.
NARL. "Not a railfan location" -- In my humble opinion, this location is not worth the visit; indeed, it is probably to be avoided. NARL's result from no photo access, dangerous conditions, or personal security considerations.
Photographic Considerations. Unlike most of the Frograil Tours, no attempt has been made to rate the photographic field availability at the various crossings described. Once out of the Charleston area, the rural crossings are drop dead easy for camera toters. Think of several acres of openness in most cases. Unless otherwise noted, therefore, plan on being able to get shots at any of the listed locations.
WEBMASTER'S NOTE: I do not recommend or condone walking along the tracks, as this means trespassing or exposing yourself to danger. You will have to be creative, in some instances, to avoid trespassing while getting to the detailed locations included herein, but you will either have to be creative or not visit those sites. At no point in this tour guide, or any other tour which is part of Frograil, is it recommended that you trespass or expose yourself to danger. If you are a fool and have a leg cut off (or worse), don't come crying to me: You have been warned. Trains are big, powerful, and often surprisingly quiet. Don't end up being a statistic.
Charleston - Hardeeville, SC -- Railfan sites:
The Tour
North Charleston -- Station. We begin where the Florence - Charleston segment of the Frograil East Coast Tour ends, at the ex-ACL passenger station now used by Amtrak.
If you've followed the Florence - Charleston tour south, you're at the front of the Amtrak compound.
If you're just starting the tour here, these directions will get you to the station: From I-26 north of the metro area, go south to exit 213, and go east on East Montague Avenue. You'll go up and over the NS (ex-Sou) tracks, cross US-52/US-78/Rivers Avenue, and then cross over the CSX A-Line at MP A387.29, the starting mile point for this tour. You should then take a right to go south on Gaynor Avenue, which will take you to the station. The station is officially at 4565 Gaynor Avenue. Gaynor is parallel to, and east of, the tracks. At least one report from a fan says that after identifying himself to station personnel, he enjoyed viewing trains from the station's platforms. You must walk thru the station to get to the platforms.
Viewing is good along Gaynor, both north and south of the tracks, and Railroad Avenue parallels them on the west, north of East Montague. Be aware that this is not Beverly Hills, and there are street people and transients in the area.
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North Charleston -- Station South. South of the station, via Gaynor, the street will slop into a few semi-turns, and join Hoch Avenue. This will go under Rivers Avenue. Take a right onto Meeting Street. There is a short stretch wherein the A-Line parallels Meeting, although the roadbed is becoming slightly elevated. This is MP A388, and the overhead signals are quite photogenic. I'm going to include this spot as a separate railfan location, because there is very limited access south or southwest of here. With the exception of SY, the areas close to the tracks are completely off-limits to anyone but railroad personnel.
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North Charleston -- Ashley Junction. Very shortly south of the Meeting Street site, the ex-ACL splits to go south into Charleston and the port areas, or west into Bennett Yard and then west and south to Waycross and Jacksonville, respectively. Immediately south of the junction on the way to Charleston is the CSX Charleston Intermodal Yard. A-Line trains going south to Savannah and Bennett yard take a 90° turn west at Ashley Junction, and trains coming out of the intermodal terminal towards Savannah and Waycross join the A-Line at a point just east of the NS Charleston main. The latter is just south of the NS Seven Mile Yard. Between the A-Line, CSX westbounds from the intermodal yard, and the NS Charleston-bound main, there is probably more traffic thru here than at any other point in the Charleston area. Unfortunately, this area is a high security area, and you cannot see any of the northern parts of the wye.
Continue south on Meeting about a mile and a half to Dorchester Avenue and turn right. Cross the double tracks. This line goes to downtown Charleston and the ports. The electronic tower at the crossing is labeled as "Ashley Junction", and this is the southern leg of the wye. This is as close to the actual junction -- which is really a fairly large wye -- as you can legally get. Note that well to the north, the A-line has turned to go down the northwest leg of the wye to enter the Bennett Yard area.
As a point of curiosity, the center of the wye is directly under I-26, a little west of the crossing at Meeting Street. I suppose you could fake a flat tire and watch trains, but you'd probably end up a guest of the City of North Charleston, or even worse, you could get flattened by a produce truck.
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North Charleston -- SY. This location was contributed by Tim Rich, and is probably as good a location as exists in the North Charleston area. You must be careful not to trespass, however. To get to this location will require us to backtrack, so continue beyond the tracks on Dorchester Avenue to an intersection with US-52/US-78/Rivers Avenue. Take a left to go north, and continue all the way to the point where you go over the tracks. The road then does a bit of an S-curve, and then straightens out to go due north. At the latter point, there is a road heading straight south from the end of the second curve. This is shown as "Daley Avenue" on very old maps, but is today "Piggly Wiggly Drive". Take Piggly Wiggly all the way until it dead ends at the tracks.
At this point SY Tower once stood, but the building is long gone. There is a signal bridge here, and the point is still known by railroaders as "SY". This point is shown in the Steam Powered Video's Southeast volume. There is parking on Piggly Wiggly, so do not park on railroad property, as CSX and NS vehicles drive the area frequently, and you would not only be trespassing, you'd be in the way.
There are 3 CSX tracks, and an added attraction is the crossing of the NS. The latter's Seven Mile Yard is just north of this point, and NS traffic in and out of the ports and industrial customers ventures south from here. All CSX north-south A-Line traffic flows thru this point. This is a fine place to watch the action, and there's plenty of it, but photos are problematic, because you're looking into the sun.
For those of you relying on MapQuest, this area is really botched on its 300 meter maps. The entire NS main and Seven Mile Yard are not shown at all south of Montague Avenue, and the A-Line northwest leg of Ashley Junction is missing completely.
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North Charleston -- Bennett Yard East. Bennett is the major CSX classification facility in the Charleston area. It is a big, industrial facility, and you are as welcome in it as fleas on a sick dog. Forget about railfanning within the confines of the yard. Go back up Piggly Wiggly to Rivers Avenue, and continue north to a left onto Montague Avenue. Go over the NS tracks, and then enter I-26 southbound. Don't relax, as you need to take the first exit, and head west on Dorchester under I-26, and then take a right on Leeds Avenue. Leeds is about 1.7 miles from I-26. There is a Sunoco gas station and Harley Davidson at the corner. Indeed, this is probably a good location to get some food and other necessities, as you'll be heading into the country fairly shortly. Continue to a left onto CSXT Safeway. This is a dead end with a view of the eastern end of Bennett Yard. Half of the entrance to the yard area is blocked, but provides access to railroaders (and trespassers!). Park before the private property and get out your telephoto.
If you have skipped SY in order to save time, the Dorchester I-26 exit is only about 3 blocks west of the Ashley Junction south leg location.
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Drayton -- Ashley River Bridge. From Bennett Yard east, railfan sites are pretty much non-existent until you cross the Ashley River. This far south and close to the ocean, the Ashley has become a rather broad river, and you will have to make a significant detour to get close to the tracks on the west bank.
From the east end of Bennett Yard, go back to Dorchester Road, turn right, and pass Bennett Yard Road. This will lead you directly to the yard tower, and if you want to visit and hang around, you'll have an excellent opportunity to meet the fine folks of the City of Charleston jail department. When you get to the interchange with the I-526/Mark Clark Expressway, head west/south on I-526 towards Savannah. You'll cross the Ashley River, and then should take the exit for Ashley River Road/SC-61/Glenn McConnell Parkway . If you want to see the Ashley River Bridge, go north/west on Glenn McConnell, pass the Frontage Road, and then take a right onto Magwood Road. This will continue to SC-61/Ashley River Road, and you should take a left and take it straight north until you reach the Drayton/Fort Bull area.
[NOTE WELL: This area, from the exit to Ashley River Road/SC-61, is incorrectly depicted on the DeLorme, as Glenn McConnell Parkway is not on the map at all. Bob has been there on the ground and the directions in this part of the tour are correct. If you wish to avoid the Drayton area, you can stay on Glenn McConnell, and it will take you to the railroad on a NAG/NARL, and then T at Bees Ferry Road.]
If you are coming from west of Bennett Yard, get on I-526/Mark Clark Expressway at the Dorchester Road exit, and follow the directions in the previous paragraphs, once you've crossed the Ashley River.
Stay on SC-61/Ashley Road, and go s-l-o-w-l-y up and over the A-Line overpass in the Drayton/Fort Bull area. Look hard to the right for a quick, but impressive, view of the railroad bridge over the Ashley River. Note that this bridge, plus the ones we'll be seeing at the Ashepoo and Savannah rivers are counter-ballast draw bridges. Just tuck this in the back of your mind, along with the information that the bridge over the Stono (just east of Rantowles) is a lift bridge. Finally, the bridge over the Edisto appears to be a regular trestle.
Now, once past the A-Line, take a right into the "Drayton on the Ashley" subdivision; this is North Landers Lane. You'll note an entrance sign with 2 red brick columns. Cross Limestone Boulevard, and then turn right onto Wofford Road. Continue on Wofford until Brevard Road and turn left, and then continue until it dead ends. This is the area of the community's swimming pool and picnic tables. While ostensibly for residents, we feel that if you identify yourself and let folks know what you're there for, you'll not be disturbed. You are on the north side of the tracks, however, so pictures won't be optimal. Also, you're probably a quarter of a mile from the bridge itself, so make sure you really want to visit this location before leaving the Glenn McConnell Parkway.
If you examine your map, the southwest quadrant of the A-Line/Ashley River Road crossing shows a road running quite close to the railroad, but it is heavily treed in, and NARL.
Drayton Area Attractions: There are two major attractions in this area, and each are worthy of a several hour visit. We are going to go up to Bees Ferry Road and head west to follow the A-Line, but if you continue north on SC-61/Ashley River Road, you'll come to 2 plantations, Drayton Hall and Magnolia Plantation. Featuring gardens and homes that are centuries old, both of these are highly recommended attractions.
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Sandy. Drive back out to SC-61/Ashley River Road, and go north to Bees Ferry Road. Take a left onto Bees Ferry Road, and drive about 2.5 miles or so to a left on Sanders Road. [For those of you who opted not to visit the Ashley River Bridge location, you'll be coming up via Glenn McConnell Parkway, and will take a left onto Bees Ferry Road, and will turn left onto Bees Ferry, and then take another left onto Sanders Road.] This will lead to a crossing at a point known as Sandy. This is MP A396.59, and is wide open for photos. Surprisingly, you're at least 9 miles west of the last at-grade crossing on the A-Line!
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Johns Island. Continue southwest on Bees Ferry Road to a left on Main Road, and go south towards the community of Johns Island. Cross US-17/Savannah Highway (there is life support at this crossing), and continue south on Main Road. There is a new overpass of the tracks here. After going over the bridge, take the first right, at a sign that says "Jones Bros.". This will take you back to the tracks. You'll end up under the overpass, which can be a blessing on hot summer days. For photographers, there is a wide, sweeping curve of the right of way from the west to northeast (back towards the overpass and the Sandy crossing. The light can be a real pal or a real bear here, depending upon the time of day and time of year. Getting back onto Main Road is not easy, so be careful.
Note that the location of the former depot is directly under the new overpass (note the palmettos). The building sat between the mainline curving towards the northeast and Bennett Yard/North Charleston and the ACL's Chroghan Branch. This was the ex-Charleston & Savannah mainline into Charleston to the southeast. The branch generated much produce traffic into the 1950's. Buddy Hill provided the information in this paragraph.
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Rantowles. From Johns Island, go back north to the intersection with US-17/Savannah Highway, and take a left to go west. After almost a mile, US-17 will run into the end of Bees Ferry Road, and the highway is referred to as Savannah Highway from there on towards Savannah. You'll be north of the tracks for several miles, but when you get close to them again, SC-162 will peel off to the south, while US-17 bends to go due west. Take SC-162 a very short distance to the tracks. MP A401.25.
Before going across the tracks, you can take a left onto a dirt road named Railroad Avenue. This road goes just over a half mile to a dead end at an abandoned house. This is a quiet area, and there are plenty of good places from both sides of the tracks. Looking to the east, you'll be able to see the Stono/Rantowles Creek bridge. There is a talking defect detector just to the east, at MP A400.2.
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Ravenel -- Salters Hill Road. Go back to US-17/Savannah Highway, and continue due west. After several miles, there will be a Marchants Chevrolet Dealership sign on the right, and a smaller green sign indicating Ellington School. At this point, take a left on Miley Hill Road, and go south to a T at Ellington School Road. Take a right, and there will shortly be a left on Salters Hill Road which crosses the tracks.
At the crossing, the A-Line is double tracked. Cross the tracks and park at St. Mark's AME church on the left, if no services are being held during your visit. South side of tracks are wide open for photos. MP A405.35. While the next location is probably a better photo location, this one is perhaps a little quieter and more reflective.
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Ravenel -- Station Area. On the south side of the tracks at Salter's Hill Road, take your immediate right onto Drayton Street, which hugs the railroad all the way to SC-165 and Ravenel, about 1 mile. You can also get to the station area from north of the tracks from the Salter's Hill crossing. Ellington School Road, if you don't turn on to Salters Hill, will veer towards the tracks and become Martin Street, and will parallel the tracks for over a mile on the north side.
Ravenel was the point where the former ACL Yonges Island branch joined the main line. A 25-mile network of tracks consisting of a five mile spur to the produce wharf at Yonges Island and four spurs totaling 20 miles spread out from the Meggetts-Yonges Island area. This area was renowned for truck farming; indeed, it proclaimed itself to be the "Cabbage Capitol of the World." Between the 1900's and 1940's, this branch generated 150-200 carloads of produce PER DAY. All that remains of the 25 mile network is the south leg of the former wye track to the south of the depot that currently serves a small fertilizer plant. However, the station still stands, and is in the northwest quadrant of the SC-165 crossing. [Frograil thanks Buddy Hill for the historical information about the Ravenel area.]
This is a really nice railfan location -- break out the lawn chairs and coolers. Big oak trees, Spanish moss, the station, and a wide-open area make for a lovely spot. The station is a fine structure. MP A406.66.
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Ravenel -- New Road. From the station, go north on SC-165, which will take you right back up to US-17/Savannah Highway, where there is fast food, gas, and a major super market. Take a left to continue west. After about 1.5 miles, take a left onto New Road, and drive 3/4 mile to the tracks. This is a decent asphalt/dirt road, and is very quiet. There are no cross buck arms, and all quadrants are open for photos. The actual crossing is at MP A408.72.
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Jerico. Backtrack to US-17 and take a left to continue west, although the highway is beginning to bend more southerly by now. Old Jacksonboro Road (variously referred to as just Jacksonboro Road) will come in from the right and cross the highway and a map point called "Jerico". Take the left onto Old Jacksonboro (AKA SR-2150), and a crossing of the A-Line is within about 1/4 mile. You'll need to pay attention, because the street sign for Old Jacksonboro is the only remnant of what once was the community of Jerico. The intersection is about 4 miles from SC-165/US-17 north of Ravenel.
The grade crossing is fairly tight, as the A-Line is now single tracked. Crossing arms add to the tightness, but a little creative positioning will give you a decent shot from the southwest quadrant. This is MP A411.47.
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Osborn. You can continue west on Old Jacksonboro Road, which will somewhat closely parallel the tracks up to an intersection with SC-174. However, it's best to go back to US-17/Savannah Highway, take a left, and continue west. US-17 offers better views of the tracks, and so we recommend this routing. You'll come to an intersection with SC-174 just north of the tracks, while the Old Jacksonboro intersection is just to the south. There is nothing particularly remarkable about the crossing itself, but if you need to get trackside quickly, this will do the job. SC-174 is a busy road, so be careful. MP412.85.
SC-174 is the road to the Edisto Beach and ACE Basin area, a very well-known vacation destination. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of National Wildlife Refuge, hiking and biking areas, birding spots, ocean beaches, etc, etc. If your family is going to be with you while you take this tour, you might want to research the Edisto Beach area as a place to stay for a few days.
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Parkers Ferry. Continue west on Old Jacksonboro Road, and you'll hug the tracks for several miles. You'll pass Mitchell Road going to the left, and then you'll see a short connector that will cross the tracks and join US-17/Savannah Highway. However, we recommend you continue westward on Old Jacksonboro Road until you reach Parkers Ferry Road. Take a right, and go over the crossing to re-join the Savannah Highway.
Between Osborn and Parkers Ferry, the A-Line has once again become double tracked, so photos are better here than at Osborn. MP A415.78. If you continue west on US-17/Savannah Highway, and if you're slowed down and sharp-eyed, you may see a mailbox (PO Box 9485), by a lane that goes down to the tracks. It's very easy to zoom by this spot on US-17. The crossing is double tracked and very quiet. It's wide open. The crossing is MP A416.41.
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Ponpon. Between Parkers Ferry and Ponpon, US-17/Savannah Highway closely parallels the tracks to the north, while Old Jacksonboro Road is a good ways south of the tracks (and, in fact, deteriorating to a mud bog!), so take US-17 west. Look for Minnow Road to the left, as well as some small lakes. If you go by the lakes, you've gone too far. Be aware that, while the Minnow Road crossing is fine and all that, don't expect to see any "Welcome to Ponpon" signs, as it's hard to determine why this place is even listed on a map. Indeed, don't expect to see any "Minnow Road" signs. Just be secure in the knowledge that the crossing itself is 418.03. From US-17, turn left before the guard rails start north and south of highway, prior to the Edisto River crossing.
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Jacksonboro. From here to the Ashepoo area, you'll be somewhat farther from the tracks than we have been, and you'll need to pick and choose which crossings to get to and which to avoid. After about 2 miles on US-17, go south one mile on Hope Plantation Lane. The electronic tower says "North Green Pond".
Depart the crossing area and go back up to Jacksonboro. Take a left on US-17/Savannah Highway to go west. After about 3/4 mile, bear to the left as the highway swings more to the southwest, and SC-64 goes straight northwest. After about 1 mile, there is a road to the left, and it crosses the tracks about a mile south of US-17. I cannot find any name for it. About 2 miles past the intersection of US-17 and this nameless road, there is another nameless road going straight south and over the tracks. This one also has a turn to the right just before the tracks, and that road parallels the tracks for about 1/2 mile, and then T's after another 1/2 mile. If you take a left, you'll come to yet a third crossing, and if you go right, you'll meander north to re-join US-17. Neither Bob nor I vouch for the accuracy of the directions in this paragraph, and we warn that only combat railfans will want to tackle these roads.
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Ashepoo -- East. About 5.4 miles from Jacksonboro via US-17/Savannah Highway, take Balchem Road to the left. You won't find this name on any map, but a fairly new chemical plant built there has justified the name of the road. Just before the tracks, take a right onto a dirt road, and this will take you to the bridge over the Ashepoo River. This is a very unique structure, and is certainly photogenic.
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Ashepoo -- West. About 1 mile on US-17 from the US-17/Balchem Road intersection take a left onto Ashepoo Road. There is a crossing at A425.74, which is single tracked and has crossing arms. There are better locations, but this will get you trackside very rapidly.
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Ashepoo -- Bennett. Another 1.3 miles further west on US-17/Savannah Highway will be Bennett's Point Road. This is a fairly busy road, so you might consider the next location, instead.
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Ashepoo -- Wood's. There is a store west of the previous crossing, on the south side of US-17 (Wood's Store), which offers gas and supplies. When you get to Wood's, take a left onto Wood Drive immediately past the store. Go to the tracks and take a right onto Fire Station Road. This will dead end before the tracks, with the US-17 overpass soaring over your head. The Green Pond Volunteer Fire house is in the area. This is a nice area to kick back with the kids and cool it, with a grassy, open area for relaxing.
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Green Pond -- Overpass. This is very close to the previous location, but is much different from a picture-taking viewpoint. Also, since we're getting farther and farther west of the Ashepoo River, we'll consider this spot as part of the Green Pond area.
From the area of the fire station, go back up to US-17/Savannah Highway, and go over the overpass. Take an almost immediate left turn onto Stalling Drive. This is the other side of the dead end road described in the preceding location. This is not as "user friendly" as the other side of the tracks, but the view of the straight single track is much less restricted to both the east and west. The beginning of the Green Pond double track to the west is visible.
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Green Pond. Go back to US-17/Savannah Highway to the intersection with SC-303, and take a right to go north. When you come to the railroad crossing, you're in Green Pond.
In years past, this was the departure point to a branch to Walterboro (county seat of Colleton County). While there are few reminders of this branch today, there is a slab foundation of what must have been the depot at Green Pond. MP A428.77.
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Green Pond -- Pines Community Road. From Green Pond, continue north on SC-303 to Clover Hill Road/New Covenant Ministries Church, and turn left. Continue to Oregon Road, and turn left. Continue to Pines ("Pynes" on road signs) Community Road and take yet another left. The crossing is wide open and double tracked. MP A431.3
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Green Pond -- South. Continue south on Pines Community Road to White Hall Road. Take a right and continue to Abberly Road. These roads, by the way, are clearly marked with road signs. Abberly Road stops at Jerusalem Road. Take a right to go up Jerusalem Road and it will dead end. (Note that White Hall, Abberly, and Jerusalem roads are shown on MapQuest -- the Pines Community is not, per se.) Walk to the tracks.
This railroad point is the end of double track southbound, and is MP A432.0. Because there is no crossing, and because it's so open, this is a lawn chair and cooler location. Signals give you plenty of warning, but be advised that trains barrel thru at 60mph, so use your scanner and be alert.
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White Hall. Backtrack down to White Hall Road and take a right to head northwest back towards the tracks. You'll come to another wide open crossing at MP A433.29. This area is shown on MapQuest as White Hall.
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White Hall -- Calfpen Creek Road. Next, go back down White Hall Road to the first road on the right, which is Combahee Road. There is a sign pointing to Cuckhold Landing -- a large green sign. A short distance along Combahee will bring you to Calfpen Creek Road. Take this right and drive between tracts leased by hunting clubs on either side of this dirt road. This crossing, at MP A434.87 is single track, and it's very isolated. There are no crossing arms.
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White Hall -- Combahee Road. Drive back to Combahee Road and turn right. Combahee will take you to a crossing, which is single track with crossing arms. You're at MP A436.74, and are about 4.3 miles north of the Salkahatchee defect detector.
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Salkehatchie. When you leave the Combahee area, you'll be driving several miles away from the tracks. Go across the crossing and drive 2.5 miles further to US-17Alternate/Hendersonville Highway. Take a left and head towards the Salkahatchee area. The latter is not even a village, so just look for a large green sign that says "Public Landing". The area of the crossing of Public Landing Road and the ex-ACL A-Line is known as Salkehatchie, AKA Salkahatchie, depending on the map you use. There is a defect detector at MP A440.4, "Salkehatchie".
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Webmaster's Note: It is immediately west of Salkehatchie that you cross the Combahee River, and then the railroad swings sharply to the south-southwest, and heads for Savannah in earnest. Before going there, however, it is worth taking a moment to comment on the countryside we've been driving thru. Called the Low Country, and also referred to more locally as the ACE basin, the entire area is defined by three rivers, and we have crossed over all of them on this tour: From east to west, they have been the Edisto, the Ashepoo, and now, the Combahee. Taking the first letter from each of these gives us the acronym for the ACE basin. If you're a hunter, fisherman, or outdoorsman of almost any kind, this entire vast area is for you. The things to do in this area would fill a pretty good-sized Web site, and there are several such in existence. While I love trains and want to see them all, I also value time spent in an almost pristine wilderness, where the only sounds heard are from the critters that live there. Spend some time and check it out. Like the deep thinkers (Hah!) say: Get in touch with your inner self. And for once, the deep thinkers may have it right.
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Yemassee -- River Road. From Salkehatchie, go north on Public Landing Lane to US-17Alternate (not to be confused with US-17, which is far to the southeast). Take a left and go over the Combahee River into Hampton County. As you make this drive, the A-Line makes about a 45° curve from a west-southwest to south-southwest running railroad. After a couple more miles, you'll be coming into Yemassee. Take a left on Hunt Street, which will take you down to the tracks at Railroad Avenue North. Take a right on Railroad, and you'll soon be at the River Road crossing. While you can catch trains at River Road, you're better off continuing along Railroad Avenue south into the Station Area. This is a very small town, so you're only a minute or two north of the station on River Road.
Yemassee -- Station Area. Because this is the most important railroad point on this segment of the East Coast Tour (other than North Charleston itself), it is worthwhile to do a couple of non-routine things here. First, we'll put Yemassee into its proper railroad perspective, and then we'll provide directions to/from I-95, so those joining or leaving the tour here can get their bearings.
Two of the major cities on the CSX East Coast Tour, Savannah and Charleston, are connected by the CSX ex-ACL A-Line. Joining this busy main line at Yemassee is the secondary main line coming southeast from Augusta, Greenwood, Spartanburg, and (most importantly) Atlanta. The small town of Yemassee, therefore, can see a lot of action. The shortline Port Royal Railroad (owned by the South Carolina Public Railroads authority) also connected here, and served (primarily) the military concentration around Beaufort and Port Royal. The Port Royal ceased operations on this line late in 2003.
For those joining the tour here: From I-95, exit 38, go east on SC-68 (the Augusta line will be on your left along here) about 2 miles to the A-Line. There are a couple of odd intersections in town, and sight lines are poor, so be very careful. Cross the tracks and turn left. There will be a rather quaint general store on your right. Park across the road from the store, facing the tracks. Note the rather ugly (sorry, but it really is) ex-ACL station to your northwest. On the other side of the station, you'll see the Augusta line joining the A-Line. Further to the south, maybe 200', you'll see a small interchange yard/tracks. This was the Port Royal line's connection.
Note that Charleston to Augusta and Savannah traffic splits here, but there is no Augusta - Savannah traffic here. That traffic turns at Fairfax, SC, to head down the ex-SAL S-Line to Savannah.
There are very few crossings north and south of the junction, so you'll want to use a scanner, if possible. There is a defect detector at Salkehatchie, about 4 miles to the north, and southbounds approaching River Road blow for the crossing, so you'll receive warning of southbounds, but northbounds from Savannah can be on you in a hurry. You should have plenty of warning of trains coming from Augusta. The station itself is unmanned but open, and has rest rooms. This is a good place to see plenty of action, but be aware that the A-Line trains tend to smoke thru town, and the trains coming off the Augusta branch can be by you pretty fast, too. Be alert and be safe.
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Yemassee -- McPhersonville Road. From the station, go west on SC-68 the short distance to US-17Alternate, and turn left to head south. You'll shortly go up and over the A-Line, and will shortly thereafter swing almost due south. When you get to the intersection of US-17 and US-17Alternate (about 4 miles from the crossing of the A-Line) at the eastern edge of the Pocotaligo area, take a right and continue on what is now US-17/Trask Parkway, and shortly take a right onto McPhersonville Road and back towards Yemassee. This dirt road is a couple of miles to the tracks and the crossing at MP A444.91. The A-Line is the division between Beaufort and Hampton counties, and when you go over the tracks, you're in Hampton County, and the name of the road changes to Tulifinny (sp?) Road.
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Kress. Backtrack to US-17 and take a right to continue towards Savannah. You'll shortly enter the Pocotaligo area -- this is a short distance, altogether. Indeed, the first paved road to the right past the McPhersonville Road intersection should be taken to head up to the Kress area. The road must have a name, but we can only find it indicated as SR 27-37. The area has some interesting history. Back in the early 20th Century, Mr. S. S. Kresge built up a string of "5 and dime" stores along the line of Woolworths. The flower plants sold in the stores were grown in the Kress area. As time went by, the company morphed to change with the times, eventually becoming K-Mart. If anyone has additional info on this area, please contact the Webmaster, because I'd like to have more knowledge about this.
The crossing itself is about 1.2 miles up SR 27-37, at MP A446.88. The double tracks that began back in Green Pond ends just north of the road. The electronic tower controlling the interlocking is "Kress". This is a pretty decent location. However, keep your wits about you, because I-95 crosses over the railroad a couple of hundred feet away, and the area of the crossing can be pretty noisy. Keep alert, as trains can flat out fly thru here. The I-95 is mile point SC 34, so we're getting pretty close to the Savannah River!
If you stay on US-17Alternate south of Pocotaligo, it shortly merges into I-95, and at 75 miles an hour in traffic, it's real hard to do any railfanning!
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Gilmania. Go back town to Pocotaligo via SR 27-37, and continue south on US-17/Trask Parkway. It will shortly merge with I-95, in an area known as Point South. As you approach the actual merger point, you'll go up and over the interstate, and should watch carefully for a small green sign indicating the Frontage Road. Turn right here, or you're on the interstate. Take the Frontage Road south, and when you come to Gilmania Road, take a right and head back up to the tracks. Gilmania Road is a dirt road to the right, and you should take it to get up to a NAG dead end.
There's plenty of room to turn around, and even though you're only a mile from I-95, this is an isolated and relatively quiet area. Even though NAG, the tangent trackage both north and south offer good visibility.
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Coosawhatchie. Go back down to the Frontage Road, take a right, and continue on to the crossroads of Coosawhatchie. SC-462 goes due west over the tracks at MP A451.3. Be aware the SC-462 is quite a bit busier than many of the roads we've seen in this area of the tour.
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Ricetown. From the crossing at Coosawhatchie, backtrack to the crossroads, and SC-462 will take a hard right turn. Go south on SC-462, but stay straight to stay on the frontage road, which will be sandwiched between the tracks and the interstate. If you take a left to stay on SC-462, there is access to I-95 (exit 28). You'll be in the center of this sandwich for quite a few miles, so enjoy the ride. It was quite nice of the highway engineers to put us on the east side of the tracks. That said, the railroad is treed in considerably, and won't yield much in the way of decent photo ops. However, you're driving along next to a major railroad and you're not on the I-95 rat race express. The first intersection, 5.5 miles beyond Coosawhatchie, is the Ricetown community, and there is a crossing via Taylor Mill Road.
Take a right on Taylor Mill and the tracks are just a few feet north of the Frontage Road (which is locally signed as Nunna Rock Road). The crossing is at MP A456.57, and has double track and crossing arms. However, photo ops are rather limited. If a train is not imminent, you'll probably want to continue on to Ridgeland, our next site.
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Ridgeland. As you approach Ridgeland, with 2,500 souls the largest town on this tour segment past the Charleston area, I-95 will leave the Frontage Road and the railroad to go around the town to the east. You'll stay straight to approach US-17, which has separated from I-95. Take a right to join US-17s you enter Ridgeland, bear to the right onto North Green Street, which will take you parallel to the tracks all the way to downtown. Surprisingly, there are only 2 grade crossings in town. Let's do them this way: Take a right on US-278/3rd Avenue and go up to the tracks on a NAG/NARL.
Take the first street to the left -- there will probably be no street sign. Take your first left from this very short street onto Brabham Street. Continue on to West Main Street and again turn left. You'll cross the double tracks at MP A459.33. This is double track with crossing arms.
Once south of the tracks, take a right onto South Railroad Avenue in front of the Fire Department. Take a right onto West Adams, and cross the tracks at MP A459.41. Again, this is double track with crossing arms, and there are several spots within this general area from which excellent photo fields are available.
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Ridgeland -- SR-29. From West Adams Street, go back south of the tracks and turn right to get back onto what is now South Green Street. Continuing south, you'll merge with US-17, which will hug the rails for the rest of this tour segment, all the way to Hardeeville. From the crossing at West Adams Street in Ridgeland at MP A459.41 to the defect detector at Okatee (you will not find this point on any map) is 2.6 miles, so be sure your scanner is fired up. There are very few crossings south of Ridgeland, so the defect detector will be your best warning that a train is coming. The first intersection on US-17 is with secondary SR-29, and is only .3 miles from where you re-entered US-17. The A-Line crosses SR-29 immediately west of this intersection, at MP A460.3.
While this is AG, it is not recommended as a railfan location. The road has minimal shoulder access, the quadrants are tight, and there is a lot of traffic. OK if you have to get trackside in a hurry, but we really don't recommend trying to park, get out of your car, and take a picture.
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Switzerland -- North. A few miles south of SR-29 is access to I-95 (exit 18). Somewhere between the road over to the interstate and Switzerland is the Okatee defect detector. Stay on US-17 and follow the tracks all the way to Switzerland. You are almost close enough to reach out and touch the tracks, but they are heavily treed in, and access is quite limited. Therefore, just enjoy this very scenic road. Just under 2.5 miles south of SR-29, there is a no name rural crossing off to the right at MP A462.69. Back on US-17, you'll pass the Switzerland town sign in very short order, and just a tenth of a mile further down US-17 off to the right is another no name rural crossing, at 462.96. The latter features 2 red brick columns and a video surveillance camera pointed at the tracks! It would be interesting to know what that's all about.
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Switzerland -- SR 27-169. The major crossing in the Switzerland area is shown as SC-143 by MapQuest. Such a road number does not exist. This is, on the ground, a crossing at MP A463.29. The view up and down the line is excellent.
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Switzerland -- South. The next distinct crossing south of the Switzerland area is with SR-27-205. You'll go over the Great Swamp bridge, and then after .2 miles, take a right onto 27-205. This is single track with no crossing arms, and the view of the tangent is excellent, with a slight uphill grade to the north. The mile point is MP A465.1.
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Bagshaw Swamp. From 27-205 on US-17, you'll cross the Bagshaw Swamp bridge after 2.1 miles. Turn right into a clearing Immediately after crossing the bridge. This is a wide open area at MP A467.
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Bagshaw -- South. From the clearing at the Bagshaw Swamp bridge, continue .9 mile to a right that will dead end at the tracks, with a gate on the other side of them. This is single track territory, and there are obviously no arms at the "crossing". There is an intermediate signal at MP A467.9 just to the south. The east side is OK for photos, but the west side is no good at all.
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Bananna Swamp. This may or may not be a proper name for the area, but it will have to do. From the previous location, you'll cross Bananna Swamp .8 miles further south. After another 2.1 miles, you can take a right onto another no name road. The crossing itself is at MP A470.70, and ostensibly gives lousy photo ops, but the views are great. If you're a photographer, rather than a picture taker (like me), you can work around the limitations of the crossing to yield excellent photographs -- but be prepared, because the trains tend to fly thru here.
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Hardeeville -- US-278. 1.2 miles further south via US-17 will bring you to the northern outskirts of Hardeeville, and the intersection of US-17 and US-278. If you take a left here, US-278 will enter I-95 at exit 8. To continue the tour, just about 100 feet south of the intersection of the 2 US routes, there is another no-name road to the right going up to the tracks and a dead end. There is a gate on the other side of the tracks. You'll see the MP A472 marker just to the south, and while there is a south-facing signal just to the north, you'll have to hoof it to see the aspects -- but stay off railroad property to do so.
The west side of the tracks is not good for photos, but the east side is "great", according to Bob.
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Hardeeville. As you come into town, just stay on US-17, which will be parallel to, and just one block south(east) of, the A-Line. You'll come to the Hardeeville Industrial Park (marked with a large green sign that also says "Health Clinic"), and there is a crossing here at MP A473.37, but everything that can be wrong with a crossing is wrong here, so it is NARL.
When you get to SC-46/Church Road (there is a "To US-278" sign here), you're at the logical place to end this tour segment, but we're not finished yet. This is the center of town, and the point at which, years ago, the Southern Railway came down from the north, and joined the ACL to go over the Savannah River and enter the Savannah Terminal.
The SC-46/Church Road crossing has it all: To the north, there are track signals, work sheds, railroad antennas, the ex-Sou connection still in place to serve business in the area, and a third track for local storage/work. To the south, there is a crossover and the US-321 overpass. Just to the south of the overpass is a southbound facing overhead signal. There are photo ops all over and off railroad property, a great parking area in the southeast quadrant, and food and other life support available nearby. As Bob Clouston says, this is "A model railroaders dream layout." And it's pretty nice for us 1:1 fans, too. There is a talking defect detector at MP A474.6, just south of this area.
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Hardeeville -- Purrysburg Road. As mentioned in the previous location, we're not quite finished with the North Charleston -- Hardeeville segment of the Frograil East Coast Tour while we're still in downtown Hardeeville. We're about to head a little further southwest to the border of the vast Savannah River flood plain, beyond which railfanning is impossible, unless you have a helicopter or you're an alligator.
From the crossing in Hardeeville, go back out to US-17 and continue south until you go over I-95. About 4 miles south of this overpass, take a right onto Purrysburgh Road, which is easily identified by the large Pintail Creek Golf Club sign. After about 3.5 miles on a good dirt road, you'll be at a crossing at MP A476.3. This is double track, has no crossing arms, and is pretty much wide open.
About 1/4 mile before the crossing is reached, I-95 kind of pops out of nowhere and zooms overhead. This is about at MP 3 on I-95 in South Carolina, and the crossing itself is about at MP 2.5. Aren't you glad you're down here in the semi-wilderness, enjoying the CSX on the A-Line? There is another defect detector, probably protecting the north end of the Savannah River crossing at MP A478.5, just another 2 miles south of here.
You are now 476.3 miles south of the James River in Richmond, Virginia.
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Our next segment will begin on the west side of the broad Savannah River and encompass not just the A-Line thru Savannah, but will include some alternate routes that will give the railfan tourist plenty of opportunity to enjoy the action in the Savannah Terminal. The Savannah Terminal segment will end at approximately Chevis Road in Burroughs.
Again, thanks to Bob Clouston for the on-the-ground information and research that made this tour segment possible.