Pickens Railway (reporting marks PICK, PKHP) is a shortline railroad that has operated on two separate divisions in the Upstate Region of South Carolina: Connections are made with the Norfolk Southern at Easley and Anderson, and with the Greenville and Western Railway at Belton.
Traffic included transportation equipment on the original Pickens line (in the form of locomotive remanufacture CLCX, Inc. located in Pickens until 2013), while the Anderson-Belton handles kaolin, limestone, synthetic rubber, rubber processing oil, plastics, silica, scrap metal, paper, scrap paper, bird feed ingredients, farm supplies, and electrical equipment.
The Easley-Pickens line was chartered on December 24, 1890, by the South Carolina General Assembly after two failed attempts to build a railroad through Pickens from Easley.
The Southern Railway briefly acquired control of the Pickens around 1910, however, it was reverted to local interests several years later.
In 1927, the Appalachian Lumber Company built a network of logging lines in the upper portion of Pickens County.
In 1963 and 1964, "Jones Tours" (named after Pickens Railways' owner, James Jones) purchased all three of Pullman Car Company’s Train X nine-car articulated lightweight trainsets, (the Xplorer from the New York Central, and the two Dan'l Webster trains from the New Haven Railroad) for use in passenger excursions.
In 1967 Jones Tours ended its rail-excursion service and parked the trains on a siding of the G&N at Travelers Rest, South Carolina, where they remained until removed for scrapping in 1970.
[2] Jones sold the Pickens in 1973 to Philadelphia-based National Railway Utilization Company (NRUC), which expanded the carshop to build new freight cars.
[3] In 1991, Norfolk Southern Railway leased the Belton-Honea Path line to the Pickens under the "Thoroughbred Shortline Program."
Included was former Anderson trackage that had belonged to CSX previously owned by the Piedmont & Northern and Charleston & Western Carolina.