Aberdeen & Rockfish

Company History: This venerable 47 mile line in North Carolina has been around since 1892. It was founded by the Blue family who were seeking rail service for their timber interests. 126 years later and the Blue family still own it. They also own the nearby Pee Dee River Railway and the Dunn-Erwin Railway (prior to its closure.)

The A&R runs from Fayetteville southwest to Rockfish and Dundarrach before swinging northwest toward Aberdeen. This area is just south of Fort Bragg Military Reservation. Connections on the west end are with the original Norfolk Southern and Seaboard Air Line (now CSX) and on the east end with the old Atlantic Coast Line (now CSX) and NS again. A&R also connects with shortlines Laurinburg & Southern and Cape Fear Railways. Traffic over the years has included pulpwood, sand, fertilizer, textiles, meat, oil, cement, and feed. One of the old local landmarks was a tuberculosis hospital that received coal for heating via the A&R. They run the line with a half dozen various EMD road switchers. The classy paint scheme for their diesels was introduced with their first diesel, a new EMD F3A, in 1947 and has been used ever since.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.