Carolina Rails
New
Photo Page as of 9/1/02!
Lancaster
and Chester in the 1960s
Carolina Rails
New
Photo Page as of 9/1/02!
Lancaster
and Chester in the 1960s
Welcome to Carolina Rails, an ongoing exercise to capture the true spirit of railroading in the Carolinas. It's set in the present with an eye toward the future, but doesn't forget the colorful history of various lines throughout the state. I cover the Class 1s and the shortlines just alike, from the Lancaster and Chester to Carolina Southern to the Aberdeen, Carolina & Western.
This page, while it does deal mostly with Carolina railroading, is not a one trick pony. I have a good many Burlington Northern Santa Fe shots from my time in Memphis and Arkansas. There is also a page devoted to the beautiful Canon City & Royal Gorge Route of Colorado and some scattered shots from Kansas City.
Please keep in mind that this site is hosted by a free server. That will explain the often annoying pop ups and banners. I apologize for the inconvenience. However, the only option to this right now is not to have this site at all. This is a labor of love for me, a decided non-technical person. I hope you enjoy surfing the site as much as I do piecing it all together.
Finally, this site is not endorsed by or affiliated with any of the roads I cover.
What this page offers:
Carolina
Rails -- This is where you are. Please read the About This Site section
at the bottom of this page.
Carolina
Rail News -- This is a new part of the web site as of summer 2001 to
bring you some of the more pertinent railroad news from the Carolinas.
Carolina
Rail News: Page 2 was started 12/272001 with a story about
me by Erica Pippins of the Herald.
The
Blue Blazes: A Brief History of the Lancaster and Chester -- Quick!
What does Gypsy Rose Lee, a devastating 1916 hurricane and a train trip
to a baseball game have in common? Find out in this section.
Outlook:
A Look Ahead for the Lancaster and Chester -- Now that we've handled
the first 105+ years of the L&C's existence, what does the next few
years offer?
Hinson's
Railroad Photography: Shortlines of the Carolinas -- An ongoing exercise
to photograph most, if not all, of the Carolina shortlines. I'm currently
most of the way finished updating this page.
Hinson's
Railroad Photography: Class 1 Carriers -- From the many and varied
paint schemes of BNSF to Norfolk Southern's Dark Horse, I've got all of
the existing Class 1s here.
Other
Visions: Hinson's Non-Railroad Photography -- I don't just take railroad
shots. I also shoot cows. And water towers. Oh, and bridges too! (Page
recently updated with fireworks from Charlotte this July 4th.)
An
All-Time Diesel Roster of the L&C -- Also includes a few roster
shots not in the L&C Gallery. I recently updated this page to include
pre-L&C shots of SW1200 #94 and all three 1500s currently on L&C
as well as information regarding the latest LLPX end cab to appear on L&C
rails.
Lancaster
and Chester in the 1960s -- A new feature
of this site featuring classic scenes of the L&C.
Trainspotting
on the L&C -- No, not that kind of trainspotting, but rather nice
spots to catch the L&C in action. This page was just updated to include
information on L&C's Kershaw District. This page now offers an L&C
Railway System Map!
Other
Railroads in Lancaster and Chester -- CSX and NS spots in the two counties
and surrounding areas.
I am working
on updating this page soon.
Carolina
Shortlines Guide -- This page is still in it's infancy, but when
it is complete, it will have all the pertinent information on each shortline
in North and South Carolina. I am currently working on the Laurinburg &
Southern section and have that line's locomotive roster up.
Bibliography
and Acknowledgment Page -- Some people don't tell you where they get
their information. I do. And it's listed on this page.
Hinson's
Interchange Page -- At last count, I had upwards of 60 rail related
links. After you've visited my site, pick out a couple of these nice places
to visit.
Carolina
Rails -- I started this service in March, 2000, an e-mail based news
group devoted to rails in the Carolinas. Do you have a question about Carolina
railroading? Then get on here and let us know! Did you just see something
rare on Carolina Rails? If so, there's currently almost 320 subscribers
that would like to hear from you.
Leased
Locos -- My second rail-related Yahoo Group, dealing in the many and
varied lease locomotives out and about on American rails. 150 strong as
of 11/13/2001.
EMD
Switchers -- This is my third rail-related Yahoo Groups. Switchers
is dedicated to Electro Motive Divison's long standing SW and NW type switcher
locomotive. These small horsepower locomotives are often overlooked and
underappreciated. Here we celebrate them!
The
Joseph C. Hinson Personal Home Page -- This is my personal site and
includes original fiction, poetry, non-railroad photography and rants and
raves about everyday life.
[email protected]
-- E-mail comments or suggestions directly to me.
All
photographs on the pages within were taken by me unless otherwise indicated.
Any reproduction or redistribution of my photographs will be considered
the highest form of flattery. I would like to know if they are going to
be posted on another site and would like to be credited should this happen.
A link back to this page would also be appreciated. Anyone wishing to use
the photographs or documents of someone else that I have on my site should
take it up with them.
What's to Come?
I'd like to post some archival photographs of the L&C. They have put a couple of calendars out over the last few years with some nice older shots (not to mention what's in their museum) but I haven't gotten around to asking their permission to use them yet.
The same goes for an old menu put forth by Elliott White Springs not to mention a map he drew up in the 1950s of the Lancaster & Chester Railway "and connecting systems." It's an amusing sight to see. The "connecting systems" takes the then-29 mile line to St. Louis and Memphis. In the meantime, I plan to work more on the Carolina Shortlines Guide and of course, more train photography!
I must acknowledge several people who have been more than helpful. First and foremost are Carrie, Holly, Anne, Wednesday and Adriean at the Chester, South Carolina Wal Mart One Hour Photo Lab. They were very kind and very helpful for most of 1999. Good luck to all of them in new jobs, etc. I currently have been taking my shots to the Rock Hill Eckerds near York Tech. They may be short on customer service, but they're good at their job.
Thanks as well to everyone who have provided insight into the daily operations of railroading, from the guys on the L&C, to the posters at Trainorders.com, the nice gentleman for the Laurinburg & Southern (whose name I sadly forget) as well as everyone who e-mails me or signs the guestbook. However, no thanks to the crew of the Yadkin Valley when I was there in the summer of 1999 who looked upon as if I was going to shoot them with bullets, not with film.
I
hope you enjoy my page. Please bookmark it and come back often!
Joseph
C. Hinson
ICQ#
20186233
1998/1999/2000/2001/2002
About This Site: Carolina Rails is an off shoot, albeit a large one, of my personal homepage. While Carolina Rails has been designed as a family-friendly site devoted to railroads, trains and photography of such, the personal side is not as family friendly. Think of the language of HBO and you have some idea of how I write my rants, my fiction and my poetry. While I do not find this offensive, those with children under 17 may want to think twice about allowing them to go there. That said, the railroad side of my site has been designed so that railfans of all ages and sensibilities can enjoy! Any comments may be e-mailed directly to me at [email protected].
A word must be said about the pop-ups and banners that Fortune City bombards us with. When I started this site more than three years ago, FC put up only the banners at the top of each page. Since then, they now have the pop-ups. That leaves me in a quandary. Free servers are dropping like flies. Fortune City may drop as well. In the meantime, I have two choices. I can either let the site go because I don't like the pop-ups as a web surfer or a web master. Or I can keep doing the site as the labor of love it is. I hope you enjoy this site in spite of everything Fortune City does to run you away.
The L&C train gif was created
by Chris Denbow and
used with his permission from his web site,
Train
Gifs Station. Tony Hill and others use him. Check his site out and
tell them where you saw them!
(JCH -- 12/15/2001)
