Figure 1 Catawba Depot (SCL) - 1974

Like Harmony, our previous stop on the layout tour, Catawba, SC is not so much a town as it is a rural area with a post office and a handful of residences and businesses. Catawba gets its name from the tribe of Native Americans that settled this area in the 17th century. When the Seaboard Air Line came through this area in the 1880s, they decided to name all of their stations after the Indian lands they passed through. Thus, Catawba was born. In the modern CSX era, Catawba is little more than a control point for the north end of the Catawba passing siding, although there is a trailer that serves as the "depot" for crews working the nearby Bowater Paper mill. However, in the SAL era, Catawba played a much more prominent role. First of all, there was a real depot (Figure 1), an active interchange with the Southern Railway, and the Catawba Valley Branch split from the mainline. Also, the Southern crossed the SAL on a short deck girder bridge.

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» Catawba Depot

Figure 2 Catawba Depot - October 1961

The photo to the left shows just how much was going on at Catawba in the 1960s (Figure 2). To the left, you can see the depot in the distance and a motorcar shed in the foreground. The man in the photograph, presumably a Seaboard employee, is standing between the mainline to the left and the siding to the right. The siding merges with the main track just before ducking under the Southern Railway in the distance. To the right, you can see the interchange track rising up and curving away to meet the SOU mainline around the bend. The interchange track will end at the background and will be switched like a regular industry spur. There is also a house track where a local switcher was stationed, although in this photo the house track is vacant and we can see Seaboard Alco RSC-2 #1527 sitting on the interchange track awaiting its next assignment. All of the other details such as the train order semaphore signal, the pole lines and the telltales complete this classic railroad scene.

Figure 3 Catawba Depot area - 1968

The overall layout of the Catawba depot area can be observed on a USGS topographic map from 1968 (Figure 3). The Seaboard mainline (by this time the SAL had merged into the SCL) goes from west to east, while the Southern line angles down from the northwest to southeast. The interchange tracks are clearly indicated to the southwest of the crossing, although the photo from 1961 only shows a single interchange track while the map shows two. Southern had a depot at Catawba as well; it was located where the interchange tracks joined the SOU mainline. Space limitations will not allow this structure to be modeled on the layout. Also, just out of view to the right is the large yard for the nearby paper mill that was served by both railroads.

» Southern Railway

Figure 4 CSX at Catawba, SC - 2007

Brian Woodruff/RRPictureArchives.com

The Southern Railway line from Rock Hill, SC to Kingville, SC (currently the Norfolk southern SB line), crossed the SAL on a short deck bridge just north of the Catawba depot. While the bridge itself is unremarkable, the tiny opening that the SAL mainline has to squeeze through will leave you thinking there is no way a train could ever fit through. However, CSX doublestack trains pass through this tight opening daily without issue (Figure 4).

» Catawba Valley Branch

Figure 5 Catawba Valley Branch - 1968

The Catawba Valley Branch was a 22 mile branchline from Catawba to Great Falls, SC completed in 1909. The branch joined the mainline at a wye just east of the U.S. 21 overpass (Figure 5). There were two significant customers on this branchline: the Lancaster & Chester Railway, which was served via an interchange track at Fort Lawn, SC, and the Republic Cotton Mill in Great Falls. Passenger service existed at one time, but this was long gone by 1966. I plan on modeling the Catawba Valley Branch by having each leg of the wye end at the backdrop. I do plan on modeling an extended lead track to the branch that will allow through trains to exchange cars with the branch without fouling the passing siding. This will allow the branch be an active part of local switching operations, even though the actual branch is not modeled. I may also extend one of the wye tracks into the adjacent family room to allow for staging of branchline trains. The Catawaba Valley Branch was abandoned in the late 1960s and the rails were pulled up in the 1970s.

I would like to extend credit and a special thanks to Conrad Cheatham for his valuable information regarding the Catawba Valley Branch.