Seaboard Air Line
Hamlet Terminal
Introduction
There are lots of important places on what was the Seaboard Air Line. In the hearts of most SAL vets and serious railfans, however, none reverberate like Hamlet. Virtually everything which went from the north to the south funneled thru Hamlet. This is a railroad town like Galesburg, Grafton and Temple. The town's annual fest is "Seaboard Festival", the baseball team was the Railers, and everywhere you look, the railroad and it's effects are omnipresent.
The terminal itself includes much more than just the yard. Terminal trackage includes the east-west line between East Junction at the end of the Wilmington Subdivision, across Hamlet, and on thru the Richmond County countryside to Rockingham, thru Rockingham, and back out in the country, over the Pee Dee River, and into and thru the Siding at Pee Dee, where the Monroe Subdivision begins. This is approximately 16 miles. Trackage also includes north and south trackage, including the main along the yard itself, of approximately 12 miles. All connecting tracks and interlockings, as well as the massive yard trackage itself, are also part of the terminal. This is a big, big place.
Essentially, Hamlet was the place where cars were sorted: Trains from the north came south off the RF&P from Richmond. Trains came from the deepwater port of Wilmington. Trains, mostly coal trains, came from the Clinchfield, via Bostic and Charlotte. Trains came from Atlanta and Greenwood and the southwest. Trains came from Columbia, Florence, Charleston and Jacksonville and the southeast. All these trains met in Hamlet, and it was the job of the Terminal Superintendent to receive their cars, sort them, and send them on their way via other trains.
The Terminal Superintendent has the same job today, but he's under some handicaps:
1. The northbound line to Petersburg is cut beyond Norlina. Ever increasing volumes of north - south freight has to go via Pembroke and the A-Line. Because the Wilmington Subdivision between Hamlet and Pembroke is pretty much at capacity, the 'super can't throw those trains out as soon as they're built. Each train held decreases the flexibility and efficiency of the terminal operations.
2. The line directly south from Hamlet to Columbia is not up to freight main line status, and has but a few sidings, most of which are very short.
3. The traffic off the Clinchfield via Bostic and Monroe is growing rapidly, and the trains are very, very long, and often very, very late, as the Bostic - Monroe segment is essentially over capacity now.
4. Because of the uncertainty of service levels in the former Conrail territory, southbounds can arrive severely delayed. [When I originally wrote this tour during 2000, Conrail congestion was monumental, and difficulties from it were rippling throughout the entire system. Hamlet was often plugged. As of May, 2001, this appeared to have been corrected.]
5. On a car-for-car or train-for-train basis, Terminal manpower levels are down significantly from historic levels.
There are a few things working in his favor:
1. More and more run-thrus, including unit coal, unit grain, unit aggregates, are by-passing the yard, but still must go thru the terminal.
2. Hamlet is too far away from major metropolitan areas to worry about having to put up with, God forbid, commuter traffic, and most Amtrak traffic.
3. Thanks to information processing advances, MUCH more timely data is available to everyone up to, and including, the 'super.
Contents And Navigation
Contributors To This Tour
Peter Furnee, CSX logo
Tony Hill, Webmaster and data provider
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
Print this material out before beginning your tour.
There is a Facebook group, "HUB Of The CSX" dedicated to CSX Operations in Hamlet, NC.
Mapwork: Much of the tour is made easier if you have a detailed map for back country roads. You can find information about Railfan Maps that are available.
Wilmington, NC to Hamlet, NC Hamlet Terminal -- Site Listing
| Alphabetical Sequence | Sequential Order: North (East) to South (West) |
|---|---|
| ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| Hamlet -- Alley | Hamlet -- East Junction |
| Hamlet -- Bridges Junction | Hamlet -- Bridges Junction |
| Hamlet -- Church | Hamlet -- Station Area |
| Hamlet -- East Junction | Hamlet -- Hamlet Avenue |
| Hamlet -- Hamlet Avenue | Hamlet -- Alley |
| Hamlet -- Laurel Avenue | Hamlet -- Church |
| Hamlet -- Rice Street | Hamlet Yard -- Diesel Area |
| Hamlet -- Station Area | Hamlet Yard -- Hump Area |
| Hamlet Yard -- Diesel Area | Hamlet Yard -- North Area |
| Hamlet Yard -- Hump Area | Hamlet -- Rice Street |
| Hamlet Yard -- North Area | Hamlet -- Laurel Avenue |
| Marston | Marston |
| Rockingham | Rockingham |
The Tour
We'll enter the terminal from the east, and go west directly thru it all the way to the western end at Pee Dee. Then, we'll go south to north. Along the way, we'll detail sites for railfans to enjoy themselves. We'll also mention some amenities and an additional attraction or two. Plan on spending some time here, as the terminal is not small, and there is beaucoup action.
Hamlet -- East Junction. You will enter town on US-74 from the east. With Hamlet City Lake on your right (north), turn left (south) on NC-38. This will take you under the tracks. Immediately under the tracks, take your first left (east) and parallel the tracks east. You will not see the tracks, as they are on a rather high embankment, and there are mature trees along the way. In a half mile or so, look for tall signal masts thru the trees. You will not see them if you're not looking for them. They're hard to see. Just past the signal masts, there is a commercial lot which has been bulldozed flat -- the surface is white coastal plain sand. Park in an unobtrusive place, and walk to the tracks. The last 10 yards or so is very rough, but persevere. Don't try this in good clothes and shoes.
Once trackside, you'll see three tracks in front of you. The first two are the main track to Dillon and Florence, and a siding track. The siding is 4718 feet long, and is therefore somewhat limited in capacity, but is frequently used to hold trains before they're accepted into the yard. The far track, arcing to the northeast is the Wilmington Subdivision. The signal masts to the west, the ones you saw thru the trees, guard the actual junction, MP254.0. The entrance to the siding on the Dillon line is at MP 255.
Note that all mileages in the terminal are from the Diesel Shop interlocking in the yard. Remember that the line from Richmond south thru Hamlet was historically THE mainline on the SAL system, and all mileages on other routes begin from the original north-south mainline. Here's how it works. Diesel Shop is 250.5 miles from Richmond. East Junction is 3.5 miles from there, so the mile point at East Junction is 254.0. Continuing all the way to Wilmington, the mileposts are calculated as a distance from Richmond via Diesel Shop. To keep everything straight, these branches off the north-south main are given an identification, e.g., the Wilmington Sub is "SE". Therefore, when you're at the crossing in Pembroke, the correct mile point is SH285.7, not just 285.7. The same system is applied in all directions, so the defect detector "Harmony" west of Catawba, South Carolina, is SF333.2, as the Monroe Subdivision west of Hamlet has an SF prefix. Again, Harmony is 333.2 miles from Richmond via Diesel Shop interlocking.
The East Junction area is very tight, and it is difficult not to trespass. It's worth a visit once, because it's a great railroad site, but it's not a good railfan site, and is not recommended to be such.
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Hamlet -- Bridges Junction. Get back to your car, turn around, and drive west into the town. The street will be East Main Street. As you get into the city itself, the trees will end, and visibility will be much greater; however, the tracks are still somewhat elevated. Here, just before Bridgers (note spelling disagreement between map and station list. I've never noticed the name of the street on a street sign, and it's not really important.), is the junction which trains entering the yard will take northward. Thru trains will continue west. Because of the elevation of the tracks, and the fact that there is a lot of traffic on both Bridgers and Main streets, this is not a particularly good place to watch trains.
Note that the actual crossing is not a true north-south/east-west affair. Actually, on a north-oriented map, the crossing is more of an "X" than a "+". This is good for photos, actually.
When you get close to the crossing, the magnificently restored station will appear before you. It will knock your socks off. More on the station is presented in the following sections.
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Hamlet -- Station Area. [Webmaster's Note: The commentary concerning this area has been re-done in late 2003 and early 2005, in order to bring the contents in line with the new location of the depot. As other things in the project get completed, the text will continue to change.] Continue west on Main Street and cross the tracks. This is the mostly passenger mainline to Columbia. The Silver Star goes thru here at oh-dark thirty in the AM in both directions, so you'll probably not see it. Other than that, there are a few freights, maybe 1-2 road freights and a daily local, during daylight. The track is light, and the passing sidings are too short for most modern freights. Upgrading this track to mainline status would make operational and economical sense only if the line from Norlina to Petersburg were to be re-built.
Continue past the station and take your first right, which is really just a veer to the right. This will end at Raleigh Street, which we'll talk about later. Go right on Raleigh and cross only the first set of tracks and take a right on the obvious road between them, pass the brick crew room building, and stay on the road until you get to the temporary Amtrak station area. Park north of that structure. Note that in February of 2005, the stairs, handicapped ramp, and utilities had all been disconnected from the portable building. It may not be there when you visit.
Staying on the platform, walk south towards the crossing. The station is right in front of you, across the tracks. Up until April 4, 2003, the station was on the northwest quadrant, but it was lifted, rotated 90°, and moved across the tracks. The same crew that moved the Cape Hatteras light house moved the station. It was an amazing sight to see. Standing northwest of the crossing, right is the mainline to Monroe, and to the left, the crossing and the Wilmington/Dillon main. This has been a crew change point for thru trains, but that point has now been moved beyond the station area to the west of Raleigh Street. Because of the expected visitors to the station area in years to come, it is probable that the crew change point will not return to the station area.
This is an excellent place to bring small children for their first view of a real train. Their faces really light up when those monsters pour on the power, hit the horn and move out. They hold their hands over their ears and shriek and beg for more when it's all over!
Upon completion of the station renovation, there will be a much upgraded museum area, community meeting rooms, and some outdoor displays, which include an SAL SD35 and a caboose.
Now for some real time railroading: Set up your cooler, lawn chairs, scanner, etc, well north of the station, as all four tracks (Wilmington/Dillon lead, 2 Monroe leads, and the Columbia line) are coming together north of the station. At the far north end of the platform, a very mild telephoto will get you most of the action, although the sun will be against you for some trains. If you want to walk closer to the lead tracks, you can get quite close to the Monroe leads without crossing the tracks, but the Wilmington/Dillon trains require you to cross the Columbia main, which is not recommended.
This is an excellent place for a family or group of friends to gather.
Immediately west of the Raleigh Street crossing of the Monroe Subdivision tracks, the railroad enters a rather slight cut. Please note that something very important to railfans is happening here. At this point, you are leaving the coastal plain and entering the Piedmont. The hills are very gentle here, but make no mistake about it: Railfanning to the west is much more difficult than to the east. This becomes obvious immediately, because the number of good places to railfan to the west is close to zero all the way out of the terminal. There are several roads in Hamlet which come close to the tracks, but there is not a single grade crossing from here all the way west out of the city of Hamlet. Between Hamlet and Rockingham, the railroad is inaccessible, as there are no grade crossings all the way into the city limits of Rockingham.
While the Hamlet Terminal Subdivision is part of our over-all tour of Wilmington - Atlanta, we will continue west, but because there is so much to see here, and so many locations, we'll explore the entire terminal area before getting started to the west.
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Hamlet -- Hamlet Avenue. From the Raleigh Street crossing, go north to Front Street, and take a right towards the tracks. There is a nice family restaurant in a restored home on Front, and I recommend it for weekday lunches. Front Street curves around with the Monroe lead tracks, and will end at Hamlet Avenue. Find a place to park. Here, the Wilmington/Dillon lead, the Columbia line, and the two Monroe leads come very close together. Since this is a public street, you can walk from east to west without trespassing. You can get all of the action in and out of the yard here, but thru traffic goes by the station which is south of you. However, most thru traffic stops for a crew change, so you'll have time to drive back to the station.
[NOTE WELL: Hamlet Avenue is busy with local traffic. It is also noisy. Make few trips across the tracks, and be constantly alert.]
Hamlet -- Alley. For morning shots, here's an excellent spot. Get back in your car and go east across the tracks. There is an alley going north between the tracks and a block of old commercial buildings. Do NOT turn here. Continue past the buildings, and take your first left, and then, at the northern end of the buildings, turn left to go behind them. You will be on an execrable alley. Go very, very slowly (in fact, if you've got a nice sedan, don't go to this site), and you'll come to the end of the buildings. Take a left and stop. Here you're on the first alley you saw after you crossed the tracks, but you're facing south rather than north. Back up the alley for about 50-70 feet, and park well back from the tracks, as close as you can to the trees. You should walk this area before you back up there, as there is a steep drop off by the trees, and there are also some nasty obstacles to avoid. Note that in November 2003, the portion where you will back up was very overgrown. It's recommended that you have someone with you, and help you avoid problems backing up here. I think a weed whacker would do wonders for this area.
After the early morning shadows recede, you'll get excellent pictures of all Wilmington/Dillon activity, good pictures of the Columbia line, and so-so pictures of the Monroe action. With a mild telephoto, you'll get good pix of everything. If you stay well back from the tracks, and close to your car, you'll not be bothered here. As an important bonus, the spot is in shade almost half the day.
There are, however, three disadvantages to this place. It's noisy, as US-74Business goes under the tracks virtually in back of your car. However, the opening of the new US-74 by-pass has greatly reduced (by something like 80-90%) the truck traffic thru here. During cold weather, the short days and morning shadows from the trees reduce the photography value of the site. Finally, of course, thru trains are down at Raleigh Street, but again, you'll have time to drive there and get your pix. While we're at it, let me issue a fourth concern: There is a seemingly never ending stream of bums/thugs/wierdoes (you name it) walking along the tracks from the yard north of you. I recommend you always have a buddy with you when you railfan.
Hamlet -- Church. Depart the alley and turn left to go behind the commercial buildings. Take a left at the street and you'll arrive at US-74Business. There is a church across US-74Business, and a house is to the west of it. Drive to the house (be careful here, as US-74Business is very busy) and ask for permission to either walk or drive to the tracks. If there is no one at the house, park sensibly, and carry your cooler and lawn chairs thru the church property to the tracks. You can sit well back from the tracks and not be bothered by morning shadows. This is a good place to see the Hamlet action, but you do need to make an effort to get permission to go across church property. As a practical matter, you'll be unable to get to the station for thru trains from here, because you'll have to repeatedly go across church property, which is a no-no.
We will now continue the tour westward, but not by very much.
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Go west on US-74 and follow it thru town.After several blocks, you'll come to the intersection with NC-177. There is a Hardees on the southwest corner of the intersection, and a fairly new Burger King on the northeast corner. These are the only fast food joints around.
At this point, we will once again digress from our westward trek, and take in the northern part of the Hamlet Terminal, which will skirt the yard and go all the way to Marston.
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Hamlet Yard -- Diesel Area. Go right (north) on NC-177, and stay on it for several miles. You'll note the tracks getting closer and closer to you. Eventually, you'll be paralleling Williams Yard, which was the Hamlet yard before the new one was built. Continuing north, there are several storage tracks here, and eventually, you'll see the sanding towers of the diesel area. Take a right towards this area. Turn left and park in the parking lot. Back into your parking slot, as that is requested by CSX. While the sun will be in your face most of the time, there are always some growlers within range of a telephoto here, and you'll see some activity which is often enjoyable. Do not, under any circumstances go more than a few feet from your car, and don't even think about crossing the tracks. Indeed, I never get out of my car here.
You'll see, just to the south, a trackside sign/marker saying "Diesel Shop". From that point all mile markers south, west and east are measured.
Hamlet Yard -- Hump Area. Get back on NC-177 and go further north. In about a mile, maybe less, there will be another entrance to the yard, take it and drive towards the office building, and park as close to the hump as you can. Stay in your car and watch the wealth of a nation flow over the hump. This is an excellent place to bring a friend who has never been close to a real railroad before. Without fail, this place really impresses folks. You might even convert a friend to a railfan here. Unfortunately, the sun will be in your face here, also.
Hamlet Yard -- North End. Continue north on NC-177 until you get to the first public road since the south end of the yard, and take a right (east) onto Marks Creek Church Road. This is pretty much the north end of the yard, and you can sit and watch the action. However, it's all railroad property on either side of the road, so finding an OK place to park is a problem. There is a bigger problem, however. The fleet of traffic which used to come down from Raleigh is now a sum total of 2-4 trains per 24-hour period, so this once hotspot is now a cold spot. Also, the yard action is mostly well to your south, and is not worth a hoot. This is not a recommended spot.
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Marston. Continue north on NC-177, and you'll see a truly sad sight. You're paralleling an obviously superior piece of railroad, and it sees almost no traffic. One has to imagine, when watching the congestion on the Wilmington Sub between Pembroke and Hamlet, that CSX made a huge mistake in closing this line north of Norlina. Not only did they close it, they ripped up the rails and even removed the ties.
As you approach the intersection with US-1, the huge North Carolina Motor Speedway, home of a NASCAR Winston Cup race, and many lesser races, is on your left. You don't want to be driving around here before or after a major event. Blend into US-1 and continue north into the village of Marston. At approximately Mercer Street is MP 241.6, and the northern end of the Hamlet Terminal Subdivision. To continue our tour of Wilmington to Atlanta, you'll turn around here and drive all the way back to the US-74/NC-177 intersection in Hamlet.
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Hamlet -- Rice Street. We'll now head back south to continue the tour to the west. The bridge over the tracks on Rice Street was a narrow, dangerous bridge, up until just recently. It has been torn down and re-built, and is now a pretty nice railfan location. There is a nice, wide sidewalk on both sides, and with the building of a new hospital out on US-74Business, the local traffic on Rice has gone down considerably. Like all bridges over a cut, you'll have to contend with shadows, but there is an excellent viewing scene to the east, and the west is so-so.
From the US-74Business/NC-177 intersection, cross US-74Business, and take a left on Charlotte Street, the last street before the overpass. After a couple of rather long blocks, you'll come to Rice Street on the right. Park anywhere and walk to the overpass, which is one block north of Charlotte.
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Hamlet -- Laurel Avenue. Here's a place I found, just by using the map. On the ground, it's probably the only decent photo location in Hamlet that's west of the station area, with the exception of the Rice Street bridge, which some will love and others ignore. Continue southeast on Rice and cross over the bridge, and then after 2 short blocks, take a right on Jefferson Street. Go back to NC-177, and go straight across to remain on Jefferson. Drive almost to its end, and take a right on Laurel Avenue. Parking is kind of iffy near the tracks, so park either on Jefferson or close to it. The tracks are less than a block from Jefferson. This is a quiet, peaceful area, and photo ops are OK, if not super duper. Recommended as a location when you know something is coming, and don't have time to get to the station area.
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Rockingham. Between Hamlet and Rockingham, US-74 is pretty much one long city street, and there is plenty of shopping, adequate motels, restaurants, etc. As you come into Rockingham on the east, you can turn left (south) on Biltmore Drive and go over the tracks at grade. From here west, you can weave your way up and down and along streets which get quite close to the tracks. However, the neighborhood is not good, the viewing is rather poor, and I recommend you simply stay on US-74 all the way to the intersection with US-220. Just before getting to US-220, take a left (south) on Caroline Street. As you cross the tracks, the Rockingham SAL station was to the east, on the north side of the tracks. It was in poor shape, but was moved about 1 block further east on US-74 -- you probably saw in when you were nearing US-220. Renovation is apparently underway. As far as fanning here, it's a poor place, but if you know something's coming, you can get a rather tight shot.
Between the station and the Pee Dee River, the railroad is far from US-74. There are several roads and crossings, but most are poor, and they are not worth the amount of time necessary to get to them. Continue west on US-74. As you leave the city on a broad curve to the north, you'll see the skeletal remains of what must have been a very impressive, multi-story mill. It's all covered with kudzu now, but if you look closely, you'll see the elevation of the CSX behind it. I've always felt a real photographer could get an eerie picture of a modern train behind the ruins. It's quite a scene.
The railroad crosses the Pee Dee River well south of US-74, and the end of the Hamlet Terminal Subdivision is at the east end of the Pee Dee siding which begins just west of the river. It is inaccessible without trespassing, so we will end our tour of the terminal here, and pick up the westbound journey on the Monroe sub here.