Victoria Point Railway
Victoria Point Railway (reporting mark VPRY) is a Class II regional railroad operating in South Carolina and Georgia, United States. As of writing, VPRY has over 1,000 employees and 600 miles of track, and is headquartered in Charleston, SC. It operates an extensive passenger service with a heavy commuter operation out of Charleston Union Station, serving 101 stations across the system. There are over 250 locomotives on the roster.
History
Victoria Point Railway was formed on January 1, 1969 by the sale of three ex-Seaboard Coast Line lines, which consisted of the old Seaboard Air Line mainline between Little River, SC, and Savannah, GA, and several associated branch lines. At the time, all of these lines were suffering from deferred maintenance, and passenger numbers were declining. After major investment, the mainline was in good condition by 1971. VPRY refused to join Amtrak on May 1, 1971, continuing to run its own passenger services. The hostile attitude from Amtrak ended in 1982, and since then through services have operated to great success.
Freight traffic was sparse at first. The largeest customers at first were a steel mill and oil refinery, which still account for a large portion of carload freight. For many years, executives pursued every potential customer, and this paid off. In 1974, the first Flying Wren intermodal service ran between Charleston and Savannah, followed by service to Myrtle Beach the next year.
Commuter service upon formation was sparse and run with then-unreliable first-generation diesels. Rolling stock consisted of worn-out coaches dating from the 1910s. Over the course of the 1970s, new coaches joined the fleet, and the old power was rebuilt. In 1994, VPRY bought 25 ex-Burlington Northern E9As which took over all commuter runs. The commuter fleet has since expanded.
The railroad expanded over the years, gaining the Port Royal Railroad in 2006, and a large area of Norfolk Southern trackage in 2023. The ex-NS lines include the former Charleston District to Columbia, Cosgrove Yard, and a network of branch lines. In 2001, VPRY gained trackage rights on CSX between North Charleston and Kingstree, in order to begin commuter service.
Operations
Victoria Point Railway operates freight and passenger trains on most of its network. Most run daily.
Train symbols
Passenger
Passenger trains can be divided into commuter, regional, long-distance, and mail trains. The central point of the passenger network is Charleston Union Station, where almost all trains stop, and the majority terminate. Passenger trains use numeric symbols.
Even numbers are northbound, odd southbound, except commuter, where odd numbers are inbound, even outbound regardless of geographic or timetable direction. Not all spots used at all times.
| Numbers | Origin | Destination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago, IL | Charleston, SC | Carolina Special |
| 2 | Charleston, SC | Chicago, IL | Carolina Special |
| 3 | New York, NY | Miami, FL/Naples, FL | Silver Gull |
| 4 | Miami, FL/Naples, FL | New York, NY | Silver Gull |
| 5 | New York, NY | Savannah, GA | Vacationer, sections for Sea Islands, South Islands, Beaufort, Hilton Head |
| 6 | Savannah, GA | New York, NY | Vacationer, sections from Hilton Head, Beaufort, South Islands, Sea Islands |
| 7 | Greenville, SC | Charleston, SC | Midnight Special |
| 8 | Charleston, SC | Greenville, SC | Midnight Special |
| 9 | Kansas City, MO | Charleston, SC | Midwest Auto Train, sections from Chicago and St. Louis |
| 10 | Charleston, SC | Kansas City, MO | Midwest Auto Train, sections to Chicago and St. Louis |
| 11-18 | Myrtle Beach, SC | Savannah, GA | Coast Parlor |
| 19-24 | Georgetown, SC | Edisto Beach, SC | Islands Parlor |
| 25-30 | Charleston, SC | Greenville, SC | Inland Parlor |
| 31-40 | Charleston, SC | Myrtle Beach, SC | Regionals |
| 41-50 | Charleston, SC | Greenville, SC | Regionals |
| 51-60 | Charleston, SC | Savannah, GA | Regionals |
| 61-72 | Charleston, SC | Hilton Head, SC/Beaufort, SC | Regionals, alternating between destinations |
| 73-80 | Myrtle Beach, SC | Savannah, GA | Regionals |
| 81-98 | Various | Various | Mail trains |
| 100-199 | Charleston, SC | Woodville, SC | Mount Pleasant Line commuter |
| 200-299 | Charleston, SC | Bulls Island, SC | Sea Islands Line commuter |
| 300-399 | Charleston, SC | Willtown Bluff, SC | Hollywood Line commuter |
| 400-499 | Charleston, SC | Edisto Beach, SC | South Islands Line commuter |
| 500-599 | Charleston, SC | St. George, SC | Dorchester Line commuter |
| 600-699 | Charleston, SC | Kingstree, SC | Moultrie Line commuter |
Freight
VPRY freight trains use alphanumeric codes comprised of a train type, destination codes, and a sequential number. An example would be IDI-1, an intermodal (I) from Downtown Yard (D) to Chicago (I for interchange).
| Code | Train type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A | Amtrak | Run-through Amtrak trains and detours |
| B | Bulk commodities | |
| C | Loaded coal | |
| D | Deadheads | Non-revenue equipment moves |
| E | Empty coal | |
| G | Grain | |
| H | Manned helpers | Congaree Hill only |
| I | Intermodal | |
| J | Dimensional moves | |
| K | Automotive | |
| L | Local | |
| M | Merchandise | |
| O | Non-scheduled passenger | Office Car Special and steam excursions |
| P | Passenger | Used in computer sytems only |
| Q | Emergency trains | Mostly hurricane evacuation |
| R | Road local | |
| S | Special moves | Mostly military and windmill trains |
| T | Transfer | |
| U | Recrews | |
| W | Work trains | |
| Y | Yard |
| Code | Facility | City |
|---|---|---|
| A | Amtrak Station | North Charleston, SC |
| B | Beaufort Yard | Beaufort, SC |
| C | Belt Yard | Columbia, SC |
| D | Downtown Yard | Charleston, SC |
| E | Jungle Yard | Edisto Beach, SC |
| F | Cosgrove Yard | North Charleston, SC |
| G | Shaw Yard | Georgetown, SC |
| H | Marshland Yard | Hilton Head, SC |
| I | Interchange | Various |
| J | Walterboro Yard | Walterboro, SC |
| K | Cross Yard | Cross, SC |
| L | Nucor Steel | Berkeley, SC |
| M | Shoreline Yard | Myrtle Beach, SC |
| N | Shaw AFB | Oakland, SC |
| O | Magnolia Yard | Orangeburg, SC |
| P | Seven Mile Yard | North Charleston, SC |
| Q | Camden Yard | Camden, SC |
| R | BP Oil Refinery | Wando, SC |
| S | Hutchinson Yard | Savannah, GA |
| T | Industrial parks | Various |
| U | Power plants | Various |
| V | Ports | Various |
| W | Work sites | Various |
| X | Sumter Yard | Sumter, SC |
| Y | Cruise Terminal | Charleston, SC |
| Z | Sand Terminal | Bulls Island, SC |
Subdivisions
Victoria Point Railway is divided into subdivisions, each covering varying amounts of track.
- Charleston Terminal Subdivision
- Columbia Subdivison
- Georgetown Subdivision
- Beach Subdivision
- Myrtle Beach Terminal Subdivision
- Hollywood Subdivision
- Savannah Subdivision
- Savannah Terminal Subdivision
- Sullivan Subdivision
- Kiawah Subdivision
- Hilton Head Subdivision
- Port Royal Subdivision
- Myrtle Beach Industrial Track
- Walterboro Subdivision
- Cosgrove Running Track
- Federal Industrial Track
- Shipyard Industrial Track
- Cross Industrial Track
- Wando Subdivision
- Piedmont Subdivison
- Wateree Industrial Track
- Sumter Industrial Track
- Camden Industrial Track
- Shaw Industrial Track
Equipment
Locomotives
Victoria Point Railway operates a diverse fleet of locomotives and rolling stock, ranging from steam locomotives to relatively modern diesels.
Rolling stock
Most of VPRY's owned rolling stock is either passenger or maintenance equipment, however a sizeable fleet of varying types of freight cars is available for customer needs.
Maritime
VPRY operates a small fleet of ships and boats, most of which are used for maintenance on bridges and other infrastructure. However, there are five passenger vessels under VPRY ownership. These are used for charter and ferry services.
On December 21, 2023, VPRY executives announced the formation of Palmetto Line, a subsidiary in maritime cargo. This venture is currently in talks to acquire several ships, but have not yet decided whether to buy new or used container ships and oil tankers.
On April 2, 2024, Palmetto Line announced its Fleet Plan. This calls for six container ships, four vehicle carriers, four luxury passenger ships, three new ferries, three tugs, four barges, and a floating crane. Tankers will also be purchased at a later date. The first ship in the new plan, container ship MV Charleston, is scheduled to be laid down at Newport News, VA, in summer of 2024. Palmetto Line also announced that has worked with the State of South Carolina to expand the drydocks at the former Charleston Navy Yard to accept these new ships.
| Class | Vessels | Type | Estimated tonnage | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston | MV Charleston
MV Mount Pleasant MV Sullivan's Island MV Folly Beach MV Isle of Palms MV Morris Island |
Container ship | 65,000 deadweight | 4,000 TEUs |
| Kiawah Island | MV Kiawah Island
MV Seabrook Island MV Hilton Head Island MV Daniel Island |
ACE-type RO-RO vehicle carrier | 56,000 deadweight | 5,500 autos |
| Crab Bank | SS Crab Bank
SS Lighthouse Inlet SS Patriot's Point SS Intracoastal |
Luxury passenger ship | 10,000 GRT | 400 passengers |
| Ashley | MF Ashley
MF Cooper MF Wando |
Passenger ferry | 300 | 150 passengers |
| Fort Moultrie | TB Fort Moultrie
TB Fort Sumter TB Battery Point |
Tug | 200 gross tons? | 7,000 HP |
| Ablemarle Point | YWN Ablemarle Point
YWN Shutes Folly Island YWN Bird Key |
Hopper barge | ? | 2,000T |
| YWN Goat Island | Deck barge | ? | 2,000T | |
| DB Ravenel | Crane barge | ? | 150T lifting capacity |
The Fort Moultrie and Ablemarle Point classes, plus the barges, will likely be built locally. All passenger ships will be designed along the lines of those of the early 20th century.