The road’s roots can be traced back to the original 1910 charter of the Greenville, Spartanburg & Anderson Railway (GS&A). The line was part of a section of the GS&A that was constructed between Greenwood and Greenville between 1910 and 1912 and the company, together with its affiliate Piedmont Traction Company, were collectively recognized by the public as Piedmont & Northern Lines.
Following the 1911 charter of the Piedmont and Northern Railway Company (P&N), both companies were absorbed into the P&N in 1914 and such was the line’s identity through 1969. Purchased by Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in that same year, the line, as the result of successive mergers that led to the formation of CSX Transportation (CSXT), remained under CSXT ownership and operation for over 36 years, ending October 20, 2006. Effective October 21, 2006, GRLW assumed ownership and operation of the line which serves the Belton, Cheddar, Williamston and Pelzer communities
Once a candidate for abandonment, GRLW continues to upgrade the infrastructure of and add capacity to its line to further aid in the ongoing development of adjacent parcels, in order to attract new businesses to locate along the line and bring additional new job opportunities to the citizens of Anderson County. GRLW interchanges with both CSXT at Pelzer and the Pickens Railway (PKHP) at Belton. GRLW also has interchange access to Norfolk Southern (NS) at Anderson via its PKHP connection at Belton.
GRLW currently offers seven-day service and customizable switching services to its customers and boasts the only heavy machinery rail transload facility in the state: Big Creek Machinery Distribution Hub, located in Williamston. GRLW is a member of the South Carolina Association of Railroads (SCAR), a member of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), recipient of the ASLRRA’s annual Jake Award with Distinction for achieving a Frequency/Severity Index of 0.00 for sixteen of the past seventeen years (2007-2014, 2016-2023).
Freight Tariff GRLW 8100 (PDF file) Issued July 1, 2023, Effective October 1, 2023
Freight Tariff GRLW 9001 (PDF file) Issued July 1, 2023, Effective October 1, 2023
In addition, GRLW is the recipient of CSXT’s 2009 Short Line Business Development Award for achieving the highest interline percentage growth (of all connecting CSXT short lines) and placed in the top three for CSXT’s 2010 Short Line Business Development Award competition in both the interline percentage increase and interline incremental volume (carload) increase categories. GRLW is the recipient of the ASLRRA’s 2010 and 2015 Marketing Awards and was named Railway Age’s 2010 Short Line of the Year. GRLW also received CSXT’s prestigious 2012 Regional Development Partnershipping Award for being instrumental to the success of a regional development project.
The company’s principal goal is to provide safe, reliable and efficient rail services and facilities to its patrons. For more information on available sites (SC Department of Commerce registered sites below) or to discuss how Greenville & Western Railway can serve your business and shipping needs, contact our business office at 864-334-5374.
Belton North: Bespin Site 1475 acres
Belton City: SOUTH CAROLINA CERTIFIED Standpipe Industrial Park Site 45 acres
Belton South: U.S. 76 Site 263 acres
Other available rail-served sites:
Pacolet Milliken: Peerless Site (contiguous to Belton South) 94 acres
Download GRLW, Big Creek Machinery Distribution Hub, 210 Mill Street, Williamston, SC 29697 (PDF file)
Download Big Creek Machinery Distribution Hub in CSX Machinery Transloading Network (PDF file)
Bulk Transporter Big Creek Machinery Distribution Hub, Bulk Transporter SC Facilities Directory Link
