Oneida & Western

Company History: This Oneida & Western was established in 1979 by the Shamrock Coal Company to secure discounts for the movement of their coal from mines in Southeastern Virginia to a pair of SCE&G power plants in the Columbia, South Carolina area. This was during the energy crisis and Louisville & Nashville was having a hard time supplying enough hopper cars and locomotives and offered discounts if customers supplied their own. Shamrock bought two 72-car trains, two cabooses built to Union Pacific’s CA-11 design, and eight SD40-2’s built to L&N specifications. Two routes were used initially. The eastern most started on the L&N, then over N&W trackage rights to St. Paul, Virginia, then down the Clinchfield to Spartanburg, South Carolina, then on Seaboard Coast Line to the power plants, a distance of 508 miles. The western route ran down the L&N to Atlanta, then east to the power plants on SCL, a distance of 581 miles. The eastern route was later discontinued. This Oneida & Western owned no track. The president of Shamrock Coal had grown up along the original Oneida & Western (Oneida to Jamestown, Tennessee) which was abandoned in the mid-50s and he named this new operation after that shortline. By 1987, Shamrock Coal had been purchased by Sun Energy and CSX had consolidated its railroads into CSX Transportation. With railroad deregulation now firmly in place, Sun was able to come to an agreement with CSX and the special trains became unnecessary. The locomotives were sold to BC Rail and the hoppers were sold to Pacific Rail Leasing.

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