I only know that the Fairmont, N.C. to Chadbourn, N.C. segment of the Elrod-Myrtle Beach line was abandoned prior to 1960. Can anyone provide some fairly close dates as to when the Chadbourn to Conway,S.C.segment, and the Conway, S.C. to Myrtle Beach segments were abandoned, or sold off to the regional Carolina Southern and the Waccamaw Coastline. Also the time period when the Fairmont to Chadbourn segment was actually abandoned and taken up? I can still see those ACL 4-6-0 Copperhead locomotives tied up at Elrod and used to ply the light rail between Elrod and Myrtle Beach. The Chadbourn area used to generate considerable produce traffic such as strawberries, potatoes, and watermelons which went either to Elrod and were picked up by northbound trains for Rocky Mount and points north, while some of it went to Wilmington on the WC&A thence north to Rocky Mount on the W&W. Bill Sellers

-- Bill Sellers (was2nd@charter.net), October 04, 2003

Answers

Bill - These are the best dates I have. The first abandonment in this area was the branch from Conway northwest to Avnor, SC, which was abandoned between Nov 1940 and Oct 1941. The next abandonment was the section from Fairmont to Chadburn, abandoned between Dec 1949 and Sept 1950. Prior to that time, the ACL was running a mixed train from Elrod to Myrtle Beach, daily except Sunday. After the abandonment, the mixed trains continued Elrod-Fairmont and Chadburn-Myrtle Beach. Much later, in 1984, the Chadburn-Myrtle Beach segment was sold by Seaboard System, successor to SCL, to Horry County, SC, who leased the segment to the Horry County RR.

-- Tom Underwood (tlunder@attglobal.net), October 05, 2003.