Wilmington and Manchester Railroad

During the development of commerce in North and South Carolina, one of the biggest complaints among North Carolina shippers in the early 19th Century was that many NC farmers and producers would ship products along the natural course of the waterways towards Georgetown and Charleston, SC. With the rise of the railroads, this began to change.

The seaport at Wilmington, NC eventually became conneted to the vicinity of Sumter, SC via the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad. Most people know where Wilmington is, but Manchester? This terminus was westawards toward Columbia, SC. In the area known as the "high hills of the Santee" beyond the town of Sumterville, later to be known as Sumter.

The Wilmington and Manchester Railroad was chartered in 1847, and opened up 1854. This was a new line of communications, in that Florence was connected to Wilmington and Charleston, and freight could be shipped to either port at Wilmington or Charleston.This line eventually went bankrupt during Reconstruction and after suffering much damage at the hands of the Union armies. It became the Wilmington, Columbia & Augusta Railroad, in 1870, opening an extension west to Columbia in 1873.

Sadly, this line never made it to Augusta.This line also became bankrupt, and the old name of the Wilmington and Manchester came to life once more until being sold to the Atlantic Coast Line in 1900.

Atlantic Coast Line building, Wilmington, NC

Of the towns that grew up on this line, many still see rail service, none at all, or a remnant of what was.One of the still barely struggling sections of this line is a remnant from Mullins to Whiteville, N.C.

Carolina Southern engine 950, GM model GP18, 1200HP, Mullins, SC

CSX acquired the line from Florence at Wilmington, and abandoned the right of way. Most of what remains is the Carolina Southern short line that runs from Mullins, SC to Whitesville, NC. Although a functional line exists, it is mostly a shadow of its former self.

Weed overgrown creek trestle, south of Mullins


Much of the old right of way is either overgrown track, track bissected by paved roads and construction, or simply a raised bed with the occasional spike that turns up now and then.

Abandoned track north of Marion

Stranger still, are the wholly abandoned sections of rail overgrown with centipede grass and broomstraw. The occasional industrial spur lies dormant, like some steel and timber Lazarus waiting to rise up and work once more.

Dormant industrail spur. Note landlocked cab car in center.

As for the Carolina Southern, this short line is not giving up without a fight. Crossing the CSX "A Line," it does industrial service switching jobs. While the line may no longer run from Manchester to Wilmington, there is at least a portion of the line that is servicable through SC. After over 150 years of service, this road still runs.