Camp Lejeune Railroad

Short-line railroad in North Carolina, United States

Camp Lejeune RailroadOverview

Headquarters| Jacksonville, North Carolina
Reporting mark| CPLJ
Locale| Eastern North Carolina
Dates of operation| 1941-Present
Technical
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length| 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometres)

Camp Lejeune Railroad, (reporting mark CPLJ), is a shortline railroad that was wholly owned by the Department of the Navy. The railroad operates over 25 miles (40 kilometres) of track that is owned by the U.S. Government with a trackage agreement to Norfolk Southern Railway for operations. A small 5.5 mile stretch between MCB Camp Lejeune and downtown City of Jacksonville, NC was abandoned in 1999 and turned over as part of Rails to Trails initiative. However the remaining Camp Lejeune Railroad from MCB Camp Lejeune to Havelock NC, 25 miles in total, is still active and owned by the US Navy.

## History

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Camp Lejeune Railroad began operations in 1941 to meet the needs for a track connecting the Marine Corps base with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Jacksonville. A 5.5 mile section between the base and Jacksonville was hauling materials for the facility's construction and supplies for the Marines. The line serves as a point of access to the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point and the port at Wilmington.[1]

In October 1999, the Camp Lejeune Railroad Company (CL) filed for abandonment of the 5.5 mile portion between Camp Lejeune and City of Jacksonville NC.[2] The abandonment was approved in December, which officially ended the railroad and operations from Marine Junction in Jacksonville to Camp Lejeune.[3] After abandonment, the railroad was converted to a rail-trail.[4]

A GE 65-ton switcher that served on the line at one time is preserved at the New Hope Valley Railway. The locomotive was acquired as surplus from the Department of Defense.[5]

## Towns served

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* Havelock
* Camp Lejeune

## See also

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* Trains portal

* Norfolk Southern Railway
* Southern Railway (U.S.)

## References

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1. ^ "Camp Lejeune". NCpedia.org. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
2. ^ "Camp Lejeune Railroad Company-Discontinuance of Service Exemption". Federal Register. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
3. ^ "Surface Transportation Board Decision Document". Surface Transportation Board. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
4. ^ "Jacksonville-Camp LeJeune Rail-to-Trails". TrailLink.com. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
5. ^ "Equipment". New Hope Valley Railway. Archived from the original on April 9, 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2014.

## Further reading

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* Working on the railroad, United States Marine Corps (retrieved 11 July 2014)

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Railroads of North Carolina

Common carriers|

* Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway
* Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad
* Alexander Railroad
* Atlantic and Western Railway
* Blue Ridge Southern Railroad
* Caldwell County Railroad
* Cape Fear Railways
* Carolina Coastal Railway
* Carolina Southern Railroad
* Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad
* Clinton Terminal Railroad
* CSX Transportation
* Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
* Laurinburg and Southern Railroad
* North Carolina Railroad
* North Carolina and Virginia Railroad
* Nash County Railroad
* Norfolk Southern Railway
* State University Railroad
* Thermal Belt Railway
* Virginia Southern Railroad
* Winston-Salem Southbound Railway
* Wilmington Terminal Railroad
* Yadkin Valley Railroad

Passenger carriers|

* Amtrak

* See also: Former carriers in North Carolina
* List of United States railroads by political division

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