The Pittsboro Railroad was a railroad that historically ran from

Moncure, North Carolina Moncure, founded in 1881, is a small rural unincorporated community in southeastern Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. Moncure and the neighboring community of Haywood form the Moncure census-designated place (CDP), which had a popu ...

Pittsboro, North Carolina Pittsboro is a town in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2010 census and 4,537 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Chatham County. The town was established in the late 18th century, shortly ...

, a distance of about 10.5 miles. The line became part of the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

and operated as the company's Pittsboro Subdivision.

History

The Pittsboro Railroad was first chartered in 1885 and construction began on November 16, 1885. About $15,000 were raised for the construction of the line by township bonds and local citizens. The line was completed a year later and its first passenger train operated on December 20, 1886. The Pittsboro Railroad was subsequently leased to the

Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad was a North Carolina railroad that operated in the second half of the 19th century. History Early years The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad traces its history back to the early 1850s, when the line ...

, which the Pittsboro Railroad connected with in

. The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad then operated the Pittsboro Railroad as a branch line. The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad was absorbed into the Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1900, and the Pittsboro Railroad was fully merged into the company as well. The Seaboard designated the line as their Pittsboro Subdivision. By 1955, only freight service was operating on the line with a road switcher running the line six days a week. The road switcher ran took about 40 minutes to run from Moncure to Pittsboro.Seaboard Air Line Railroad Virginia Division Timetable (1955)
/ref> In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line merged with its rival, the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

(ACL). The merged company was named the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

(SCL). The Seaboard Coast Line continued to operate the Pittsboro Subdivision until it was abandoned in the 1980s. An overpass that carried the line over

US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort ...

in Moncure still stands abandoned just east of the Moncure-Pittsboro Road interchange (Exit 79).

Historic stations

References

{{reflist Defunct North Carolina railroads Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad