Northwest of Bordeaux, this trestle on the former Charleston & Western Carolina branch to Anderson was built on top of a culvert. Apparently the grade of the railroad was raised when the lake (Clarks Hill, now Strom Thurmond Lake) was impounded. Thanks to the drought, this was visible recently!
Special thanks to Julian Finley for the pictures and information on this line.
The first part of the Charleston & Western Carolina (C&WC) from Port Royal to Augusta, GA, was built in the 1870s. The Central of Georgia gained control in 1881 and lost it in 1894. By 1895, the C&WC was complete with a main line from Augusta to Spartanburg (still in use by CSX today) and branches to Greenville and Anderson. Apparently some of this was built as the Port Royal & Western Carolina. The Atlantic Coast Line gained control in 1897 essentially to gain access to Augusta. The ACL soon thereafter completed a line from Denmark down to Robbins on the C&WC, and then on the C&WC into Augusta. The ACL attempted to merge the C&WC in 1930, but this was protested by neighboring roads. The ACL finally merged the C&WC in 1959.
The C&WC/ACL/SCL branch to Anderson diverged from the main line to Spartaburg at McCormick. It went through Bordeaux, Willington, Mt. Carmel, Hester, Calhoun Falls (where it crossed the SAL main line to Atlanta), Latimer, Lowndesville, Barnes, Iva, Starr, Deans then to South Anderson. A spur is still in place from South Anderson through Orr Mill and into Anderson. The section of SCL abandonment from East Anderson (Toxaway) through Campbells to Belton Junction was actually part of the Piedmont & Northern. The section from McCormick to Calhoun Falls and back to Iva was abandoned in the late 1970s. The former P & N section was abandoned during this time also. The section from Iva to South Anderson was abandoned in the early 1980s. Here is a link to historical information on this line and other area history.
Top of the trestle shown above.
Nice find! No need to blow the whistle now. From SE of Bordeaux.
ROW at Hester just S of Calhoun Falls. Note the rail on the R side.
Concrete whistle post just outside of Calhoun Falls looking N.
The old C&WC/ACL station in Calhoun Falls. The Railway Express Agency sign is still in place on this building that was built in 1905. The front half of this building has been restored. The CSX/SAL main line is behind the building.
The CSX main-line through Calhoun Falls (ex-SAL) with the old C&WC visible to the right (dark building). This is the back side of the building in the picture to the left. The grade of the CSX line has apparently been raised significantly over the years - this was a grade-level diamond where the two lines crossed.
Close-up of the building above...showing the REA sign.
This is an aerial photograph of the area in the picture at the top of the page. The photograph was taken from the highway bridge looking towards the former ROW. There was actually water in the lake when the aerial photo was taken!
Another example of the detective work done by Julian Finley. It seems that the C&WC through Calhoun Falls was moved at some point, away from the depot in the pictures above. The depot is located near where the old ROW crosses the CSX/SAL main. See the drawing below for clarification.
The Calhoun Falls CWC depot in an earlier view. The depot as it currently looks is seen above in the left-hand column.
