| Sun
City Central Railroad - - - - History - - - -
Today, the Sun City Central runs from Middleton in the west to East Port & Newport in the east, but it wasn’t always that way.
In 1898, the original single track line was built to haul coal from the new Black Diamond Mine to the fledgling city of Middleton. Some coal was consumed to fuel the city and the rest was shipped further inland via an interchange with the Middleton & Springfield Railroad.
Soon, the small town of Westside was developed in support of the mining activity and later as a jumping-off point for city vacationers anxious to spend time in the mountains. In 1905, Middleton suffered a catastrophe that destroyed most of the aging wooden structures, but the City Fathers vowed to rebuild.
A large granite deposit was discovered well to the east of the coal mine and the line was extended around the Peak of Grandview Mountain to the upper rim of the new quarry. By mid-1906, trainloads of granite were chugging to Middleton for the massive reconstruction effort.
As the granite was removed and the working level at the quarry became lower and lower, it became necessary to once again extend the line on a long downgrade, then spiraling back to the right to service operations at the lower rim. This spawned the town of Woodville where the railroad constructed yards and service facilities for its growing equipment roster.
The last granite removed from the quarry, before its demise in 1925, was used to build the magnificent Union Station, shared with the M. & S. R.R.
In the ensuing years, as unrest continued in Europe, and our military preparedness began to take priority, the Federal Government recognized that the peninsula of land now known as Newport, adjacent to East Port, was ideally suited as a deep water port of embarkation for supplies (and later, soldiers) being shipped overseas, and our railroad was seen as a vital link in the flow of men and material.
A massive effort was mounted to double-track the line and extend it all the way to the coast. This required the construction of the curved trestle over the defunct quarry and tunneling through Grandview Mountain to accommodate the second track In the wake of WWII, as military priorities began to change, the Naval Pier was decommissioned and turned into an industrial park. In order to better serve the new industries, the railroad built a causeway across the bay connecting Newport with Eastport. The deep water status of the port allowed continued peacetime shipment of coal, lumber and finished goods and the receipt of automobiles from overseas. In later years, occasional departures and arrivals of overseas passenger liners at the old pier have provided new business for the railroad. - - - - Ownership - - - -
Over the years there have been several owners and road names associated with the railroad. Recently, however, a new group has taken over and has named it the Sun City Central Railroad, a name derived from the retirement community in which they reside. The entire Board of Directors is made up of former railroad people from all over the country. They each bring something unique to the enterprise with interests in many varying aspects of railroading; all blending seamlessly into a congenial and efficient management team.
The railroad owns very little motive power and rolling stock of its own. The many Board members still have strong ties to their former lines and have successfully negotiated leases of excess equipment from around the country; equipment of all types, all vintages and all road names. In a spirit of nostalgia and respect for the rich history of railroading, the Board has chosen to maintain this motive power and rolling stock in its original condition and livery. As a result, the operations viewed on any given day could be representative of many regions of the country over the last several decades.
Therefore, although 1956 is the official timeline, there is no restriction on generations of motive power & rolling stock running at Open Houses or any given day of operatio - - - - Rail Excursion - - - -
The city of Middleton is at the western end of the railroad. Here, with the city towering in the background, the SCC operates a four track yard consisting of a freight interchange track with the Middleton & Springfield RR, a locomotive escape track and two passenger tracks with platforms at Union Station. Behind the passenger tracks are facilities to support long distance passenger trains including a laundry; a commissary; baggage, express freight and post office buildings.
As we leave Middleton on our east bound journey, the four tracks merge to one before we spiral up a 2% grade around High Point Mountain and its Logging Operation to reach the double track main. We are high, still climbing, and the views are spectacular as we streak through Milford Crossing, a whistle stop, before approaching Westside.
Westside is a small town with a shopping district for the local people as well as the increased population in the summer months due to the vacationers and second home owners. Westside is the gateway to The “Appalachian Mountains”. Here is where the famous “Castle in the Clouds” resort is located. At certain times of the year it is a busy place. There are three roads leading into and out of town and a fourth road is being considered that will further increase the auto traffic at least to and from the surrounding area. Most people that come to this area as vacationers travel quite a distance. And the best way to arrive is by Train. The town has many businesses that rely on the railroad for the goods they sell since the roads servicing this town are narrow, windy, steep and not good for trucks to travel on. There is a freight station near the heart of town that merchants can have their merchandise shipped too. Adjacent to the freight station is a Railway Express Office as part of the railroad service. Both of these facilities are at a convenient location and serviceable by double track to accommodate increased summer traffic... The major industry is the Black Diamond Coal Mine on the north end of town. The town has grown to be a moderately wealthy town due to the surrounding resort activities. This is evident by the small up-scale residential area called “Maple View” where the Mayor and prominent business owners live.
Black Diamond mine is an “OLD” family owned mine dating back to the turn of the 20th century. The owners have control of a large coal field under the local mountains that is in no danger of being depleted in the near future. The peak production of this mine was during World War II when the demand was increased by the war effort and the increased traffic on the railroad that put into service every steam locomotive they could find. It is still producing coal at a reduced amount for the local industries, businesses, and homes. The owners have also found a market for their coal overseas. At times increased production is required but this is not on a steady basis. It is also hard to find miners that will only work for a short time. The owners have solved this problem by producing coal tonnage at a steady rate and stock piling the coal. The owners of the mine and the SSC Railroad Management have reached an agreement on using coal hoppers as a storage facility. The coal is mined and loaded into the hopper cars and stored on the sidings at the mine yard in Westside. When this area is full of loaded cars they are transferred to the marshalling yard (proposed) next to the Woodville sidings. When the ship from overseas arrives in the seaport a train is made up of the hoppers in Westside and the marshalling yard. The Train transports the cars to the port to load the coal onto the ship. In addition to this portion of the mine business it also supplies coal to the Railroad at the round house facility and the industries taking shape along the railroad. There will be local coal trains of less than six cars on the railroad at various times, depending on the season, servicing all of the requirements of the existing & future industries, business and home delivery suppliers. Further, the owners have customers serviced by other railroads. This means from time to time coal cars are delivered to the inter-change track at Middleton.
As we leave Westside and the Black Diamond mine, we begin a down grade around or through the peak of Grandview Mountain, over Beaver Creek Falls, to the upper rim of the old granite quarry. We cross the great double bridge and continue down grade to Woodville.
Woodville is a railroad town and the major industry is the Railroad shops that service the Railroads steam and the newly introduced diesel engines. As the steam engines wear out the railroad is replacing them with diesels. The roundhouse has three tracks under roof for repairs and a newer building has been built having two tracks under roof for diesel repairs. The other five tracks in the complex are outdoors. Minor servicing can be done here. Engine crews start their days here readying their engines for the run that they are to make during their work days. All Engines of the railroad are stored here when not in use. In addition there are four sidings for car repair, short term car storage and engines just arriving from runs on the main line or from shifting work at one of the marshalling yards and short term car storage.
Beyond the railroad shops and repair facilities there is a petroleum facility and a power sub-station. The town of Woodville caters to Railroad people that either live there or are on an overnight stay before returning to their place of origin with a train the next day. The town is also a distribution point for products and produce that come into the region by rail. There is a whole street and siding devoted to the arrival of these items by train.
Leaving Woodville, we cross the massive curved wooden trestle over the defunct quarry, re-cross the river further downstream and disappear under the mountain on our way to Hyder. Hyder is a very special place on the railroad, requiring a good imagination to appreciate. It’s our backstage, a place for trains in operation to hide-a-while, giving the illusion of time and distance to an otherwise short run. With the capacity to hide up to four long trains without fouling the main, Hyder also functions as a starting point and destination for long unit trains from foreign roads entering and leaving our theatre of operations under lucrative ROW agreements to use our high speed, gently graded double track passage over the mountains, (think of Amtrak on CSX rails).
Continuing eastbound out of Hyder, we come to a low lying area where wetlands are being recovered to allow more light industry or agricultural pursuits to be serviced by the railroad. At South River Crossing, another “Imagination Station”, the entire point-to-point railroad can be instantly converted from double track operations to double-the-length single track operations by placing the double crossover into the crossing mode. Here, we take the crossing and exit the main onto the single track lead to East Port and Newport at the eastern terminus of the railroad.
East Port is a terminal point for shipping of commodities out of the country as well as receiving them from over seas. Since America has an abundance of raw material most of the items leaving the country is produced by basic industries like coal, lumber and the like. Items arriving are generally finished products being produced overseas at reduced manufacturing cost allowing them to be sold at a healthy profit by merchants here in the United States. In the 1950’s the amount of finished products entering America is small and selective such as small appliances, toys, seasonal items, etc. Almost all came in crates and boxes on pallets. Automobiles from foreign manufactures arrived in small quantities (Volkswagen / Fiat). Container shipping is not yet in existence so the employment on the dock is considerable. The trucking industry is just getting ready to expand due to the interstate highway system. Most of the commodities are still being shipped by rail. This means there is heavy rail traffic to and from the port requiring good planning by any dispatcher in charge of controlling the traffic to this area. Since this could become a bottle neck the assignment of a local switcher is required to spot cars at the right time and at the proper position.
Newport is the name given to the Industrial Park occupying the location of the former Navy Pier. Numerous opportunities exist here for the motivated entrepreneur to establish a thriving business in recycled military facilities or in newly constructed replacement buildings.
It is here that we turn our train and follow the same route back to Middleton, the only added location being Possum Hollow, just beyond Hyder, where a branch line leaves the main to service local businesses before returning to the main line west of the Woodville yard.
Updated by Dan Donegan, 01/25/2006 |