051110 Truss bridge between Greensboro and Burlington, N.C.
051132 Line in eastern North Carolina, east of Goldsboro.
051171 Crossing the Trent River at New Bern, N.C.
051200 Line east of New Bern, N.C.

Ernest H. Robl stock photos:

North Carolina Railroad
Company Corridor
(Click on the images for larger versions)

The North Carolina Railroad (NCRR) Co. is a state owned management company that in turn owns a railroad corridor stretching from Morehead City, on the Atlantic Coast, through Raleigh and Greensboro, to Charlotte. This historic railroad corridor, dating back to the mid 1800s, is still in use, and, in some sections, busier than ever. The NCRR does not own any rolling stock but leases its corridor to freight railroad Norfolk Southern (NS). Amtrak trains also operate over parts of the corridor.

 NCRR corridor west of Durham, NC
040243 Funston siding near Durham, N.C.

Based in Raleigh, the NCRR takes an active part in the operation of the corridor, re-investing some of the funds received in lease payments from NS into upgrades of the right of way and in trying to attract industries to locate along the corridor. The NCRR also has a strong interest in improved railroad passenger service within the state, working with the Rail Division of the N.C. Dept. of Transportation and Amtrak to achieve this goal.

Traffic levels vary widely, from the extremely busy Greensboro-Charlotte segment with dozens of trains per day to only a handful of trains in mostly rural far eastern North Carolina.
060260 Street running in New Bern, N.C.,
in far eastern North Carolina.

The NCRR is proud of its history and worked to restore its oldest surviving building at Burlington, N.C., a one-time locomotive shop building, into Burlington's new Amtrak passenger station.


040639
040633
For more information on the NCRR historic display depicted above, click on either image.

Over the years, I've made a substantial number of photos that relate to the NCRR corridor, so this page is specific to that corridor, not just to railroad images from North Carolina, though the images do, of course, also illustrate railroad operations in North Carolina.

Many of these sample photos were initially accessible via my Recent Images pages.

April 2004: "Before" photos of old NC 54 bridge in the process of being replaced.


040072 Engine of northbound Amtrak "Carolinian"		 Replacement of this bridge near Research Triangle park is a $5.5 million dollar project being funded by the North Carolina Railroad.

Evidence of the beginning of the construction project can be seen just beyond the bridge.
040073 Coaches on northbound Amtrak "Carolinian"

November, 2003: Inspection trains on newly opened track at Funston, west of Durham, N.C.


031150 Norfolk Southern track geometry train		 On Nov. 20, 2003, two special inspection trains ran on a newly opened section of track of the North Carolina Railroad west of Durham, N.C. For details, see the larger versions of the images. At this location, both the main line and siding are new to a track re-alignment to increase speeds.
031167 Inspection train for railroad and state dignitaries.
July, 2003: New passenger station, Burlington, NC

In July, one of North Carolina's oldest railroad buildings also became the state's newest passenger station.

The one-time engine house of the North Carolina railroad has been renovated and converted into a passenger station. The shell of the building dates back to 1868.

The photo shows the southbound Amtrak "Carolinian" arriving at the new station.
030911 New Burlington, N.C., station

021580 Ribbon cutting at the station with
state and local dignitaries.

Selma, N.C., Union Station rededication

November, 2002

This historic station in now again available to Amtrak passengers.


021587 Deputy N.C. Secretary of
Transportation David King speaking.

2002 saw a large amount of railroad related construction work in North Carolina, ranging from rehabilitation of passenger stations to track and signal work. Though some projects were completed in 2002, others were continuing in 2003. I am continuing to document these projects.

For additional description of this coverage, please go to the Stock photo newsletters section of my site and select the link for issue #21.


030031 Switch replacement, downtown
Mebane. The old switch is being removed.		 Track and signal work, Mebane, N.C.

January, 2003

Trains can now operate at up to 79 miles per hour on segments of this east-west this line.
030059 Norfolk Southern trains meeting
under control of newly activated signals.

Related pages:

Many of the images on my Railroad Construction page are also from the NCRR corridor.

You may also be interested in images from the currently dormant CSX S line, which has been proposed as part of the planned Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR) Corridor.
(The CSX S line corridor is not directly related to the NCRR, other than that the proposed SEHSR corridor would also follow the NCRR alignment between Raleigh and Charlotte.)

For additional railroad images, see the general Railroad page or select Pictures by category & location.

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