Caldwell County Railroad

The Caldwell County Railroad is a Class III shortline railroad operating over 17 mi between Hickory and Lenoir, North Carolina. The CWCY is operated by Southeast Shortlines, Inc., which also operates the Thermal Belt Railway.

History
The Caldwell County Railroad was formed in 1994 when Norfolk Southern sold the 22 mi line from Hickory to Lenoir to the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission (CCEDC). The CCEDC subsequently leased the line to the Caldwell County Railroad Company, a subsidiary of Southeast Shortlines Inc.

The line was originally constructed as gauge in 1874, under the charter of the Chester & Lenoir. The line was part of the subsequent reorganization into the Carolina & North-Western Railway in 1897, which was absorbed into the Southern Railway around 1940. As part of the Thoroughbred Shortline Program, the line was spun off to the Carolina and Northwestern Railroad, which operated the line from 1990 to 1994.

On March 21, 2007, the CWCY filed a request with the Surface Transportation Board to abandon 5 mi of its line near Lenoir to near Valmead. The request was approved on July 9, 2007.

Operations
The railroad serves 5 customers, handling approximately 425 carloads (38,000 ST) per year. Commodities carried by the railroad are plastics and building materials. The CWCY interchanges with Norfolk Southern at Hickory.

The CWCY uses radio frequency 161.17500, under license WPGG862, for all of their operations.

The Caldwell County Railroad operates 2 locomotives, numbers 1747 and 1811. Both units are EMD GP-16's and were purchased from CSX. They are still in the Family Lines System livery.

Cities/Towns served

 * Hickory
 * Rhodhiss
 * Granite Falls
 * Hudson
 * Lenoir