| The Historical Timeline you see below is a mix of actual history and a good bit of fiction stirred in. | ||
| The ‘bits’ that are Fictional (or nearly so) will look like this. | ||
| Pre- 1775 |
NC | Horton Coal Mine operated near Gulf, NC for local needs. George Wilcox builds forge near Cumnock. |
| 1852 | NC | Main shaft of Egypt Mine sunk to depth of 460 feet. *The Western Railroad of NC was chartered to build a 43 mile line from Fayetteville northwest to the coalfields of Egypt, about seven miles beyond Sanford. Right-of-way was procured during a six year period, construction began in 1858, and trains were hauling coal to Fayetteville by 1861. |
| 1860′s | NC | Other mines in the area: Egypt, Carolina and McIver mines around Cumnock; the Taylor Slope, the Gulf and Deep River mines of Gulf; the Black Diamond and Gardner mines of Carbonton; the Jones Coal Pit and Haw Branch mines near the House in the Horseshoe. |
| 1888 | SC |  The Wilson & Lake was built by Thomas Wilson, a lumber magnate, to bring lumber to his mill at what was then known as Wilson’s Mill on the Central Railroad of SC (now the CSX line from Wilson to Lane, SC). The fist section was built from Wilson, SC, to Lane in 1888. (Shown here in red).
The “Wilson & Lake” was really the “Wilson and Summerton“. Summerton is South of Sumter some 20mi or so. I wanted to link Wilson with Lake to simplify my ‘alternate history’. |
| NC | Egypt Mine reopened by Egypt Coal Company; mine enters boom years. | |
| 1890 | SC NC |
 The Charleston, Sumter & Northern Railroad was chartered to extend a line from Vance on the Eutawville RR on the S side of the Santee River, across the river through Millard to Sumter, Cheraw and eventually Monroe, NC. The line was already extended across the Santee in 1888, and in 1890 the CS&N built through Millard, Packsville (now Paxville), Silver, Tindall, Pocalla Springs and into Sumter.
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| 1892 | SC NC |
 From Sumter the CS&N was extended to Elliot where it connected with the Bishopville RR, to Lamar, Darlington, Mont Clare, Marlboro and into Bennetsville where it met the South Carolina Pacific Railway, a Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railway subsidiary. The last extension in 1892 took the line to Gibson, NC, where it connected with the Raleigh & Augusta Air Line Railroad with trackage rights into Hamlet.
This was too much for the CS&N and that year the company went into receivership. |
| 1894 | NC |
My Reality: The Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway was placed in receivership in 1894 and the South Carolina Pacific Railway was sold to Carolinas Aggregates.
Reality: The Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley was placed in receivership in 1894 and the South Carolina Pacific Railway was first sold for $1 million, then, two weeks later, it was resold for $5 million. For three decades ownership of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley changed hands repeatedly, until a North Carolina Supreme Court decision in 1924. The southern routes of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway, including the South Carolina Pacific Railway, went to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The lease for the South Carolina Pacific passed to the Atlantic Coast Line. In 1914, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad renewed its lease with the South Carolina Pacific Railway for 99 years, beginning on Jan. 1, 1915. However, the company was merged into the Seaboard System in 1983 and the South Carolina Pacific Railway was officially dissolved. Although the company itself existed for just over 100 years, it appears the only item it owned was official company correspondence. |
| 1895 | SNC |
The CS&N was sold off in 1895. - The section from St. Paul to Sumter was sold to the W & S. - The section from Sumter to Bennettsville and Gibson was sold to Carolinas Aggregates .. a pre-cursor to the Lugoff and Camden Aggregate Co. Note to self: Need to locate aggregates on this piece of line somewhere North. Find where it makes sense to mine aggregates a bit away from the line .. and have it delivered by a narrow gauge railroad. The HVCC (Hill Valley Coke Company) would be a subsidiary of the LC&NRR. With that .. the HVA (Hill Valley Aggregates) could also be a subsidiary of the LC&NRR and use some of the same track as the HVCC. Reality: Since I wanted the LC&N to own the Sumter to Bennettsville and Givson route I needed to modify the history here. I just completely took the ACL out of the picture. The ACL formed the Charleston & Northern in 1895 for the sole purpose of buying the CS&N which entered receivership in 1892. The ACL then broke the line up and assigned parts to several member companies or sold the lines to others. The section from Sumter to Darlington was assigned to the Manchester and Augusta Railroad and The section from Darlington to Bennettsville and Gibson was assigned to the Cheraw & Darlington. The Camden Aggregates never existed except in what people laughingly call my mind. |
| 1899 | SC | In 1899, the W & S was renamed the North Western Railroad of SC. This name had actually been used by the ACL in 1889 when it planned to build from Sumter to Camden, but it had not acted on the plan.
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad built through Lugoff in 1899 from Camden to Columbia. Lugoff was named for Count Lugoff (Loo’goff), a Russian engineer, who helped build the Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1899. Lugoff is one of many stations in Kershaw County for the Seaboard Railway. |
| 1900 | SC | Thomas Wilson reached an agreement with the ACL, and with ACL backing extended the line to Camden. Construction started in 1900 and the line was opened in 1901. The line ran down what is now Guignard Street in Sumter, with a trestle over Shot Pouch Branch, to Dalzell, Providence Springs, Seal’s Siding, Borden, Rembert, to North West Junction 3.2 miles from Camden. The NW used trackage rights over the South Carolina & Georgia (later Southern) into Camden. In 1913, the NW built a branch from Seal’s Siding (which became Manville Junction) through Bradford Springs, Swimming Penns, and Carter’s Crossing to Manville in Lee County, 9.5 miles. In 1927, the NW had 6 locomotives, 8 passenger cars, 26 freight cars and a roundhouse near Harvin Street in Sumter. |
| 1902 | NC |  Egypt Coal Co. declares bankruptcy; mine closes. There had been a series of accidents – a mine explosion in 1895 killed 46 and another in 1900 that killed 26.
The photo is undated – from the bottom of the article – “The Egypt Coal Mine Jinx” |
| 1910 | SC |  The Brawnstetter-Lugoff Sand and Gravel Co. is formed by Shaughn Brawnstetter, a nephew of Count Lugoff, the Russian engineer working for SAL who the Whistle Stop was named for in 1899.
A large deposit of Sericite was found at Lugoff in 1904. Sericite is a white clay mineral similar in appearance to kaolin and is an important ingredient used by brick and paint industries. This later lead to interest in acquisition of a shale mine in Marboro Co. (also used in brick making) and the railroad that connected Lugoff to that area. |
| 1915 | NC | Egypt Mine reopened by Norfolk Southern Railroad to supply railroad only; renamed Cumnock after Scottish mining town in hope of breaking Egypt coal curse. |
| 1921 | NC | Carolina Coal Company formed to create Coal Glen Mine. |
| 1922 | NC | Egypt Mine closed after repeated flooding by Deep River. Coal Glen Mine shaft sunk. |
| 1925 | NC |  Coal Glen Mine disaster; 53 miners killed. The photo shows “the scene at Coal Glen after the series of explosions on May 27, 1925. The men congregated here are trying to decide how to excavate the trapped miners.” – The Coal Glen Mining Disaster
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| 1930 | SC | The Brawnstetter-Lugoff Sand and Gravel Co. and Carolinas Aggregates merge as the Lugoff and Camden Aggregate Co. |
| - | NC | Carolina Coal Company declares bankruptcy; Coal Glen Mine closed. |
| 1935 | SC | Because of lack of business mainly due to movement of the timber companies in the area and the competition of trucks, the NW went into receivership in October 1934. In April 1935 the line was put up for sale. The Sumter to Camden portion was acquired by the Lugoff and Camden Aggregate Company on August 3, 1935, and then remainder was abandoned on October 25, 1935.
Reality: Because of lack of business mainly due to movement of the timber companies in the area, the Sumter to Camden portion was abandoned on August 3, 1935, and then remainder was abandoned on October 25, 1935. |
Lugoff, Camden and Northern RR
The Railroad connecting Northern South Carolina and Southern North Carolina
