> See link... 26 miles of SC railine to
> succumb to waterfront development and
> possibly a trail.
I happen to know both this area and that railroad, having had a girlfriend whose parents lived in Beaufort. This line has been hanging by a thread for nearly two decades; the only reason it still exists was that the state wished to maintain access to the Port of Port Royal, south of Beaufort, which is (according to press reports) slated to close sometime early next year. Without the state support this line has had, it probably would have shut down ages ago; it was recently seeing a weekly-at-best trip hauling liquid fertilizer and dry concrete. The only "waterfront" property being eyed for development at this point is apparently the port facilities themselves; however, the railroad does traverse some rather nice waterfront property in Beaufort as well (well, potentially nice if developed).
Oddly, this line has a better chance of survival than most; apparently every option imaginable is being examined, from a trail to a dinner train to a contract freight operator to what we would call "railbanking". Indeed, the article linked below indicates that the line is considered a strategic emergency evacuation route--by hi-rail truck! There was also a "test" passenger run made in 2002; see second link below.
See also http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/11 ... road.shtml
http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/03 ... rain.shtml
Emergency rail transport of hospital patients?
LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net
