These NC railroad tracks have survived since the 1800s — but will be gone soon
Drivers should expect delays as Norfolk Southern begins preliminary work next week to replace tracks across the city of Gastonia that date to 1889, city officials said Friday.
That is not a typo.
The tracks do indeed date to the President Benjamin Harrison administration.
And they really need to be replaced, according to a city news release.
Gastonia is 22 miles west of Charlotte.
Only 200 people lived in Gastonia when the tracks were completed, 12 years after the city’s incorporation, according to a history of the city on CityofGastonia.com. Before incorporation, Gastonia was a railroad depot where steam-powered trains could get water and all aboard could stay at a hotel.
For perspective, the post-Civil War Reconstruction era officially ended in 1877, the year Gastonia was founded.
Gastonia had a mere 140 souls and was a mile square, according to GastonLibrary.com.
Yet the city and county quickly became an important textile hub, starting with the 1877 founding of the steam-powered Gastonia Cotton Manufacturing Co., library documents show.
About 81,000 people now call Gastonia home, according to the census.
Really long train to block crossings
Now it’s time to say so-long to the tracks that fueled textile’s rise in the city and county.
All day Monday, Feb. 27, and Tuesday, Feb. 28, a northbound Norfolk Southern train will unload new rails on either side of the existing track through the city. The existing track will be replaced from October to December, city officials said.
“When they get to the intersections where the track crosses a street, they will have to cover the new rail up with stone and asphalt temporarily for up to eight months,” according to the news release.
That will create a patch in the road where the railroad crosses, officials said.
Work will not occur Monday and Tuesday at crossings on several of the city’s busiest roads, namely, Hudson Boulevard, Broad Street, Main Avenue and Franklin Boulevard.
Expect work to occur on Second Avenue, Third Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Garrison Boulevard, Marietta Street, Ruby Avenue and Clyde Street, according to the city.
How long will this take?
Work at each intersection will take about a half hour.
But drivers beware: The train doing the work is 1,900 feet long, or about a third of mile.
“And even though the work at a particular intersection may be complete, the train could remain across that intersection while working on the next intersection ahead,” according to the release.
“No detours will be placed for this work,” officials said.
The existing track consists of 39-foot joints bolted together. The new rails are 1,440 feet long and will be welded together, meaning no joints.
This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 2:11 PM with the headline "These NC railroad tracks have survived since the 1800s — but will be gone soon ."