A key section of freight railway has been rebuilt after being devastated by Hurricane Helene.
The railway, known as the Old Fort Loops, has been a lifeline for many local businesses. The first train since Helene will roll through this weekend — and that has rail advocates excited.
The twisting, turning stretch of railway known as the Old Fort Loops runs about 13 miles between Old Fort and Swannanoa. Climbing more than 1,000 feet through the Blue Ridge Mountains, it’s one of the most treacherous sections of rail in the country.
The railway sustained heavy damage from Helene, and for months, it wasn’t clear whether the owner, Norfolk Southern, would rebuild it. Finally, last May, the construction began. And now, less than a year later, the first freight train is about to roll through since the storm.
Heather Garcia, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern, said one key step in the process took place last week, when a special train called a geometry car performed final checks on the tracks.
“Using advanced lasers, sensors and cameras, NS’ geometry car inspects alignment, gauge, curvature and surface conditions while it travels over the rails, making sure the track is ready for the first train back,” Garcia said in an email.
Marion mayor and rail historian Steve Little visited the Loops not long after Helene. Little, who co-chairs the Western North Carolina Rail Committee, said he was shocked by the scale of the damage to the tracks.
“I walked on some of them where there was a gap of — I’m estimating 20 feet of air below me,” Little told BPR in an interview. “And it had previously been dirt. It was completely sickening and devastating to see it that way.”
Rail advocates like Little see the Old Fort Loops as crucial not just for local businesses dependent on freight rail, but also for the eventual goal of bringing passenger train service back to Western North Carolina.
“This, once again, is life-changing — to have the prospect of passenger rail, giving us in Western North Carolina a level of freedom that we haven’t enjoyed since 1975,” Little said.
The Loops are also among the most historic sections of rail in the country: The rail line was built in the 1870s by thousands of incarcerated laborers, most of them African American.
Little said he and others will be at the Old Fort Depot this Saturday at 10 a.m. to remember that history, look forward to the future and welcome the first train as it rolls through.
