Saluda Grade

[Michael Knight]

How is NS handling the traffic in the Carolinas without Saluda? Has there been any rumors of Saluda reopening?

[stillbre]

Rumors are aplenty.  Almost a new one a week.  Probability of it actually reopening, very low.
Traffic is now handled via Salisbury on the S-Line.  The main traffic on the line was 66E/67E handling woodchips to and from Canton.  This train now runs Columbia, Charlotte, Salisbury, Asheville.  Coal trains to Belmont are also handled via the same route.  General freight traffic is handled via 134/166 out of Asheville to Linwood and then taken south by either 119, 153, or 173.

[JCagle]

There was at least a sliver of hope that Saluda could have been reopened prior to the hurricanes in the fall of '04. There are many sections of rail that are hanging with no support and it would take a lot of money to make the necessary repairs to bring everything up to grade and worthy of supporting rail traffic. I'd say the majority of the rumors of reopening are started by people who start waxing poetic about the old days and think of a halfway decent reason why it could be opened again, but fiscally it wouldn't make much sense. It's a shame that it couldn't have at least been saved and turned into a tourist line out of Hendersonville.

[bootprint]

Today (2/11/2008) I was driving between Hendersonville, NC and Saluda, and observed a white pickup with flashing lights traveling along the track headed east. It traveled through Saluda, and headed down the Saluda Grade.

Would this have any special meaning. This is the first movement on the tracks that I have seen in years.

[Hoydie17]

They are stil required to inspect the ROW every so often, up until they file for and are approved for abandonment by the STB.

You likely just lucked into seeing their routine inspection.

[JCagle]

I'd love to see it reopened, but its a long shot. There would need to be a major amount of money thrown in filling washouts from the storms back in 2004. I believe there have eben been banks of dirt placed on the rails to act as a derailer of sorts on both ends of the grade.