Kinston Branch

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Kinston Branch (A Branch) was a railroad line that at its greatest extent ran from company's main line in Pender, North Carolina south to Kinston, North Carolina. The line south of Parmele, North Carolina is still active today and is now the Parmele Subdivision of CSX Transportation, the Atlantic Coast Line's successor company through various mergers.

Route description
The Kinston Branch began at a junction with the company's main line in Pender, North Carolina (just south of Halifax). From Pender, it ran southeast through Scotland Neck to Hobgood, where it crossed the company's Norfolk—Rocky Mount Line. Beyond Hobgood, it continued southeast to Oak City and then turned south to Parmele, where it crossed the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Plymouth Branch. Beyond Parmele, it continued south through Greenville to its terminus in Kinston.

The Kinston Branch also had a short branch to Washington, North Carolina. This branch, known as the Washington Branch split from the just south of Parmele and ran southeast to Washington.

History
The first segment of the line from Pender to Scotland Neck was chartered as the Halifax & Scotland Neck Railroad in 1872. By 1878, construction had yet to begin and it was then rechartered as the Scotland Neck Railroad. Construction began in 1879 and the line began service from Pender to Scotland Neck on October 1, 1882. In 1883, the Scotland Neck Railroad was acquired by the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad an it became their Scotland Neck Branch. By 1890, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad extended the Scotland Neck Branch south to Kinston. The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad built the Washington Branch in 1892.

By 1900, the entire Wilmington and Weldon Railroad network became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad designated the line as their Kinston Branch.

By 1949, a local freight train was running the branch six days a week.

In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with its rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL), with the merged company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). The company adopted the Seaboard Air Line's method of naming their lines as subdivisions and as a result, the branch was designated as the Kinston Subdivision.

In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation. The northern segment of the line from Pender to Parmele was abandoned in 1984.

Current conditions
Today, the remaining segment of the branch south of Parmele is now CSX's Parmele Subdivision. The Parmele Subdivision now terminates just north of Kinston at a grain elevator in Elmer.