I was recently traveling in Fayetteville on Skibo Rd at the intersection with the All American Expressway and notice what appeared to be a former railroad grade and grade crossing at Lake Valley Drive. There were also ties in place near an overpass. Was this part of Aberdeen and Rockfish or another railroad?

Thank you,

Wesley

I don't know the ownership of that segment, but it provided a connection between the A&R and the trackage inside Fort Bragg. You can follow the track here on Open Railway Map:

https://www.openrailwaymap.org/?style=s ... 34&zoom=14

Perhaps the former Cape Fear Railway?

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/11/06/E7-21708/cape-fear-railways-inc-abandonment-exemption-in-cumberland-county-nc

- Alan Maples

This was indeed part of the Cape Fear Railways. (I don't know why, but the company is "Railways" instead of "Railway.") In the summer of 1981 I was at Fort Bragg and I stopped by the railway's office to I inquire about the line to Skibo, which then was mostly intact but clearly not in service. An employee informed me that their contract with the Army required the company to maintain two outside connections. Theoretically the Skibo line could be repaired and placed back into service, but with a knowing smile the employee said that was never going to happen. Even if the line had been in good shape, it would have been troublesome to deal with the numerous grade crossings and increasing street traffic as Fayetteville continued to grow.

Apparently that requirement was eventually dropped. Over the years the line has been disappearing in pieces as the widening of adjacent roads, parking lots, etc., nibbled away at the dormant track, and today there's little left to be seen.