Alcolu to Olanta - Alcolu Railroad
Includes the Paroda Railroad from Paroda Junction on the Alcolu to Bethel Siding.
This railroad was incorporated on March 18, 1902 by Robert J. Alderman and David W. Alderman and David C. Shaw to build from Alcolu on the Central Railroad of SC (now the CSX line from Sumter to Lanes, northwest of Manning, SC, to the northeast to Sardinia and to the Lynches River. The Aldermans were lumber magnates and the line was built essentially to bring lumber to the Alderman mill in Alcolu. Alcolu was named as an amalgamation of three names - ALderman, COldwell (brother-in-law of David W. Alderman), and Lulu (daughter of David W.). The line reached Olanta in 1906 and was actually extended to Kirby in 1907. From the Alderman mill in Alcolu, the line served McLead (2 mi.), Henby (5 mi.), Durant (7 mi.), Gable (11 mi.), Sardinia (12 mi.), New Zion (14 mi.), Seloc (17 mi.), Paroda Junction (20 mi.), Hudson (21 mi.), Olanta (25 mi., named Beulah before the railroad arrived), and Kirby (29 mi.). A branch was built N to Turbeville, but the closest station to Turbeville was at Seloc (Coles spelled backwards).
The branch to Turbeville extended into the forests and the Carolina Bays beyond town, and the main line was extended N across the Lynches River to Sardis in Florence County. The farthest point reached was Peniel in 1910, but the line was cut back to Sardis in 1912 and Kirby in 1915. In 1910, the line was 32 miles of standard gauge track. In 1916, the Alcolu rain one passenger train each way each day from Alcolu to Olanta.
The Paroda Railroad, owned by the Aldermans also, connected with the Alcolu at Paroda Junction. The Paroda was chartered in 1906 and was intended to be a standard gauge line to Lanes on the Northeastern (ACL) between Florence and Charleston, where it would also connect with the Georgetown & Western. The Paroda first built N to Durwoods PO, then this was abandoned in 1910. The Paroda then built S to Bethel Siding in SE Williamsburg County. The Paroda was little more than a logging road feeding the Alcolu, but it was listed in the Official Guide as a common carrier. The Alcolu obtained trackage rights and operated freight over the line. The Paroda was abandoned in 1930.
The Alcolu Railroad was abandoned on June 4, 1936. A small spur still exists from the CSX line to the Georgia Pacific Plant in Alcolu. It is extremely difficult if not impossible to make out the former right of way.
Much of the information above comes from the book "Logging Railroads of South Carolina" by Thomas Fetters. Special thanks to "Mayor Bubba" McElveen of Sumter for other information on this and other lines in and around Sumter, SC.
