Reporting mark CPLJ Dates of operation 1941–2001 Headquarters Jacksonville | Locale Eastern North Carolina Length 8,851 m | |
Track gauge 4 ft 8 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Parent organization Southern Railway Co. Mobile & Ohio RR Co. | ||
Camp Lejeune Railroad, (reporting mark CPLJ), was a shortline railroad that was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Railway. The railroad original operated over 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometres) of track that was owned by the U.S. Government and leased to the Norfolk Southern Railway for operations. The line was abandoned in 1999. However the rail line from Havelock to Camp Lejune is still active and owned by the US Army leased to Camp Lejeune Railroad.
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History
Camp Lejeune Railroad began operations in 1941 to meet the needs for a track connecting the Marine Corp base with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Jacksonville. An eight-mile section between the base and Jacksonville was hauling materials for the facility's construction and supplies for the marines. The line served as a point of access to the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point and the port at Wilmington.
In October 1999, the railroad filed for abandonment. The abandonment was approved in December, which officially ended the railroad and operations from Marine Junction in Jacksonville to Camp Lejeune. After abandonment, the railroad was converted to a rail-trail.
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.