Greenville & Western Railway

Western Carolina Railway Service Corporation is a new company with a true vision toward changing how the rail industry is managed and operated. The corporation is committed to serving God, our Families, our Customers, and our Communities. Albeit on a local level ... as Carolinians committed to serving our Carolinas ... the company is committed to propagating such change through the very belief that we can and will lead by example. I am committed to making a difference in this industry and am proud to call the Carolinas home.

Steven C. Hawkins - Western Carolina Railway Service Corporation

Armed with a core belief that rail management and operational practices could be better for the customer, the employee, and the rail industry as a whole, I organized Western Carolina Railway Service Corporation in 2003 to build a new foundation for rail service in my native South Carolina and neighboring North Carolina. By focusing the company’s energies on a clearly defined region while reinvesting significant revenue back into the lines and assets that constitute the company’s key product: service; it is the conviction of Western Carolina Railway Service Corporation that an un-benchmarked level of rail service can be attained and sustained in the western Carolinas.

Steven C. Hawkins - Western Carolina Railway Service Corporation

On the Greenville & Western, most of the work goes to the two GP9s, numbered 3751 and 3752. Hawkins purchased the units from the East Cooper & Berkeley Railroad, a small industrial switching line serving the Charleston naval complex. Although now wearing the smart green-and-white paint scheme of the Greenville & Western, inside they're about as close to Baltimore & Ohio in 1957 as you can get, right down to their 1,750-hp 567 prime movers and 24RL brake stands. Other than replacement power assemblies, the Geeps are nearly original.

Kevin P. Kreefe, A Tale of Two South Carolina Shortlines - TRAINS magazine - April 2019

The Aiken Railway and its sister railroad the Greenville & Western, are a rarity in this era of shortline holding companies: a pair of locally owned, homegrown railroads that don't paint their diesels yellow, black, and orange; or don't send their revenues to companies headquartered in Pittsburg, Kans., or on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Here, the money stays at home. The emphasis is on keeping it simple, safe, and, with a little luck, comfortably solvent.

Kevin P. Kreefe, A Tale of Two South Carolina Shortlines - TRAINS magazine - April 2019

In the Town of Pelzer, we are defined less by boundaries on a map than by the sense of shared values our residents hold dear. Small town values, guided growth, preservation of historical, cultural, and natural heritage are just a few of the core principles that make Town of Pelzer a wonderful place to call home.

Town of Pelzer

Nestled in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the scenic Upstate, the town of Williamston SC is a thriving area with industrial, commercial, and tourist activity. Its proximity to the I-85 business corridor and metropolitan areas make it a great place to live, work and play. Williamston is only 15 minutes from Greenville or Anderson, two hours to Atlanta or Charlotte, and four hours to sun at the beach or snow in the mountains. Fun is always in season with a climate that boasts 248 days of sunshine, 49 inches of precipitation, and a comfortable average of 64 degrees. Indeed, the Town of Williamston SC is a pleasant place to spend a day, a week, or a lifetime.

Railroads continued to serve the area until the 1950s. The Piedmont & Northern was designed to operate through the heart of the Piedmont textile industry and is remembered by its motto "A Mill to the Mile" and by its rate of a penny a mile. With today's dominance of auto transportation, Williamston is blessed with highways 8, 20, and 29 leading its citizens to upstate corridors including nearby Interstate 85.

Town of Williamston

Welcome to Belton, South Carolina, home of the Palmetto Tennis Championships, the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame, the Belton Center for the Arts, and the Standpipe Festival. Belton was chartered in 1855 soon after the Columbia & Greenville Railroad was built. It soon became a junction point of the C & G, the Piedmont & Northern, and the Blue Ridge (Southern Railway) with 36 passenger trains serving the town. The city is still served today by 2 railroads: The Greenville & Western Railway and the Pickens Railway.

Belton is a small town that leaves a big impact. From our train station to our tennis championships, Belton is full of history. It is full of beautiful historic homes and neighborhoods. Around every nook and cranny you will see our southern charm!

City of Belton

If anything, Greenville & Western's history might be even more compelling [than the Aiken Railway] because of its traction heritage. Today's entire G&W operates on what once was the Piedmont & Northern, an electric railroad developed by utility magnate James B. Duke of Duke Power fame. The P&N actually operated two separate railroads, a 24-mile segment in North Carolina, and the more substantial South Carolina division with its 89-mile Spartanburg-Greenville-Greenwood main line, plus a short branch to Anderson. In its heyday, the P&N was a rarity in the Southeast, a heavy-duty electric railroad reminiscent of Chicago's Insull lines. It carried passengers and hauled coal and coke as well as other commodities, including cotton, with a fleet of big Baldwin-Westinghouse and GE box motors. The P&N was dieselized in 1954 and CSX predecessor Seaboard Coast Line bought the property in 1969. Today's Greenville & Western pays tribute to that heritage by incorporating lightning bolts from the old P&N herald in its current logo.

Kevin P. Kreefe, A Tale of Two South Carolina Shortlines - TRAINS magazine - April 2019