SOUTH CAROLINA RAIL-TRAILS: INVENTORY AND PROSPECT by James F, Schmid, Jr. Bachelor of Arts The University of South Carolina, 1987 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Geography University of South Carolina 1989 4)epartf Department of Geography Director of Thesis 2nd Reader Depawment of Geography! Dean of the Graduate School 3rd Reader TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF FIGURES iv LIST OF TABLES v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Problem and Purpose 2 Literature Review 4 Student Studies 7 Methodology 8 Abandoned Railroad Inventory and Maps 8 Rail-Trails Inventory and Maps 10 2. THE RAILS-TO-TRAILS MOVEMENT 13 The National Park Service 15 The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 16 The Southern States 16 3. SOUTH CAROLINA'S RAIL NETWORK 20 Norfolk Southern Corporation 26 CSX Transportation 26 Future ot the South Carolina Rail Network 29 4. SOUTH CAROLINA'S ABANDONED RAILROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAY 31 Railroad Abandonment Studies 31 The Nielsen Studies 31 The U.S. Department of Transportation Study 33 The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Study 34 The Interstate Commerce Commission List 35 The South Carolina Rail Plans 37 The South Carolina Abandoned Railroad Study Committee 40 South Carolina Abandoned Railroad ROW Inventory 40 5. SOUTH CAROLINA RAIL-TRAILS INVENTORY 54 South Carolina Rail-Trails 54 The Cathedral Aisle Trail 55 The Swamp Fox Trail 57 The Blue Ridge Railroad Historical Trail 59 Big Trestle Park 61 The West Ashley Bikeway 63 Planned South Carolina Rail-Trails 65 The Greeneway 65 The West Ashley Greenway 67 The Guignard Trail 69 ii 6. SOUTH CAROLINA'S POTENTIAL RAIL-TRAILS 71 Potential Rail-Trails 71 McCormick to Calhoun Falls 72 Barnwell to the South Edisto River 72 York to Smyrna 73 Town of Cheraw 73 Town of Marion 73 Other Potential Rail-Trails 74 7. RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONVERSION 75 ROW Selection Criteria 75 Accessibility 75 Linkages 75 Aesthetic Qualities 76 Other Physical Characteristics 76 Public and Political Support 76 Adjacent Property Owners 77 8. CONCLUSIONS 78 Recommendations ' 79 Future Studies 81 REFERENCES 82 OTHER SOURCES CONSULTED 86 APPENDICES A. South Carolina Rails-to-Trails Program Policy Statement 92 B. Order Board Announcement 93 C. Annual Recreation Survey/SC Rail-Trails Inventory Survey 94 D. Abandoned Railroad ROW Noted by Local Recreation Providers 96 E. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy National Inventory Survey Form 97 F. Concurrent Resolution (H. 3666) 98 G. Railroad Name Abbreviations 99 H. RTC National Inventory Surveys for South Carolina Rail-Trails 100 iii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURES PAGE 1. America's Rail-Trails: 1989 5 2. The South Carolina Railroad System: 1923 21 3. The South Carolina Railroad System: 1989 23 4. Decline ot U.S. Road and Track Mileage: 1929-88 25 5. The South Carolina Railroad System: 1989, Southern Railway (NS) 27 6. The South Carolina Railroad System: 1989, CSX Transportation (CSX) 28 7. The South Carolina Railroad System : 1989, Short Lines and Railroad Museum 29 8. South Carolina RR Abandonments: 1923-70 44 9. South Carolina RR Abandonments: 1971-80 45 10. South Carolina RR Abandonments: 1981-89 46 11. Proposed South Carolina RR Abandonments: 1989-91 47 12. South Carolina Geographic Regions: 1989 49 13. South Carolina Regional Planning Districts: 1989 51 14. South Carolina Rail-Trails: 1989 54 15. The Cathedral Aisle Trail 56 16. The Swamp Fox Trail 58 17. The Blue Ridge Railroad Historical Trail 60 18. Big Trestle Park 62 19. The West Ashley Bikeway 64 20. The Greeneway 66 21. The West Ashley Greenway 68 22. The Guignard Trail 70 23. Potential South Carolina Rail-Trails: 1989 72 iv LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. America's Rail-Trails: 1989 6 2. Comparison of Southern States: 1985-89 19 3. U.S. Freight Railroad Industry by Size: 1987 23 4. Railroad Companies Operating within South Carolina: 1989 24 5. Nielsen's List of South Carolina Railroad Abandonments: 1937-73 32 6. Harbridge House Inventory of South Carolina Abandonments: 1970-76 33 7. Lennon Study of South Carolina Abandonments: 1960-70 35 8. ICC-Granted Abandonments in South Carolina; 1970-89 36 9. Railroad Lines Analyzed in the South Carolina Rail Plans: 1980-85 39 10. Rail Abandonment Status Report: 1985 40 11. South Carolina Railroad Abandonments: 1923-91 41 12. South Carolina Railroad Abandonments by Geographic Region ' and Segment Number: 1923-91 48 13. I^iles of South Carolina Railroad Abandonments by Geographic Region: 1923-91 ... 49 14. South Carolina Railroad Abandonments by Planning District and Segment Number: 1923-91 50 15. Miles of South Carolina Railroad Abandonments by Planning District: 1923-91 50 16. Miles of South Carolina Railroad Abandonments by County: 1923-91 52 17. South Carolina Railroad Abandonments by County and Segment Number: 1923-91 53 18. South Carolina Rail-Trails: 1989 55 19. Planned South Carolina Rail-Trails: 1989 65 20. Potential South Carolina Rail-Trails: 1989 71 V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank each of my committee members, Robert Janiskee, John Winberry, and Lisle Mitchell for their guidance, assistance, and contributions. I would also like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my wife Sandra for her constant support and inspiration not only during this study but during our six years together at the University of South Carolina. Thanks also to my parents, James and Hazel Schmid, and my in-laws, Ray and Betty Young, for their words of encouragement and support. This project could not have been completed without the moral and financial support of Ron Carter, Director, Division of Recreation, South Carolina Department of Parks. Recreation and Tourism. A special thanks to you and your staff for your support and encouragement of the rails- to-trails movement in South Carolina. I am also grateful for the time and expertise given by the following individuals: Beth Dillon, Rails-to-Trails Program Coordinator, National Park Service Marianne Fowler, Southern Regional Field Coordinator, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Ronald Jenkins, Director, Special Studies, South Carolina Railways Commission Mark Gustafson, President, Central South Carolina Chapter, National Railway Historical Society Steven Eisenach, Manager, Corporate Development, Norfolk Southern Corporation Stuart Barnwell, Director, Governor's Office of Transportation Walt Schrader, Trails Coordinator, South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism David McQuillan, Map Librarian, University of South Carolina Joe Potter, Environmental Specialist, Interstate Commerce Commission Bill Hicks, a fine Southern gentlemen who keeps the Xerox machine hummin And thanks to all those who responded to my many letters and calls for help. vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION South Carolina's recreation providers are becoming increasingly interested in finding new resources and facilities to help meet the slate's growing demand for outdoor recreation opportunities. The idea of utilizing abandoned, often derelict, railroad rights-of-way (ROW) for recreation purposes has gained an increasing amount of support. The 1985 report of the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors (PCAO) called for using these ROW as the backbone of a national system of "greenways" connecting parks and recreation areas (PCAO 1986b: 102). The PCAO found that since 1959 trail-related activities consistently rank annong the ten most popular outdoor recreation activities in America (PCAO 1986a: 82). Relatedly, the 1984 South Carolina Recreation and Participation Study found "walking for pleasure " to be the most widely enjoyed outdoor activity of both residents and visitors in South Carolina (SCPRT 1984: 39). Rail beds make excellent trails since they run along carefully graded corridors that traverse scenic riverways, rrxiuntaln valleys, and coastal plains. With gentle grades, hard surfacing, and wide widths, they are often ideal for hikers, bikers, and runners, as well as for older citizens and wheelchair users. Converted to trails, these corridors could reach out and link cities, suburbs, small towns, forests, and farms In a vast greenway network. Rail-trails could also link schools, neighborhoods, shopping centers, parks, and other open spaces, providing areas not only for active recreation but for picnics, birdwatching, strolling, or just daydreaming. Cities could use rail- trails to prorrxjte tourism and Improve the community image (Peskin 1988:13) . To allow communities, industries, or other private interests to destroy the unique linearity of these areas 1 would cause irreparable damage to a system of ROW wtiich tias taken more than 160 years to complete. If the many miles of abandoned railroad ROW in South Carolina were converted to trails, they could help meet the needs of both recreation providers looking for new resources and citizens looking for places to walk, bike, or ride horses. South Carolina, however, has been slow to act in preserving these abandoned railroad ROW for public use. This reflects not only a lack of knowledge about the location of the resources available, but also a lack of information about the rails-to-trails conversion process. To assist these local communities in developing their own rails- to-trails plans, the Commission of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) issued a "South Carolina Rails-To-Trails Program" policy statement in 1989 (Appendix A). PRT has formally endorsed the rails-to-trails concept as an extension of its Recreation Division's assistance programs. Problem and Purpose Over 3,000 miles of railroad ROW are abandoned each year in the United States (Montange 1986: 4). At its peak in the 1920s, the U.S. rail industry, with over 260,000 miles of road, boasted the most extensive rail system in the world, six times larger than the present interstate highway system (Harnick and Kline 1987: 5). Today, the system is down to 140,000 miles of road. It is believed that by 2000, the U.S. will have a core rail system of 100,000 road miles (Byrnes 1988: 21).