Tag: Columbus County

Working on the Carolina Southern Railroad Sale

Hopes are high that an expected sale of the Carolina Southern Railroad will be finalized within the next 60 days, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Horry County Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding that includes $1.8 million to be applied toward that sale at its regular meeting Tuesday night. In addition, the Horry County administrator was directed by Horry County Council to continue to work toward completion of a sales and purchase contract for the Carolina Southern Railroad.

Columbus County (NC) Commissioners approved a like amount to be applied toward the sale one night earlier.

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Carolina Southern Railroad

Carolina Southern Railroad Heist?

An unofficial committee of three local counties passed two resolutions Wednesday calling for new ownership for the Carolina Southern Railroad while acknowledging the railroad is essential for Horry and Marion counties in South Carolina and Columbus County, NC.

Grandly calling itself the “‘Interstate Railroad Committee of North and South Carolina’, this group of public officials representing several communities and three counties across two states, with no legal basis, has finally come out of the closet with its true purpose.

That purpose is to wrest ownership of the railroad from Ken Pippin and his family.

Since when, in America, is it the purpose of one government or a group of governments to decide who should own a private business?

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Repairing the Carolina Southern Railroad

Repairs on railroad crossings and bridges along the Carolina Southern Railroad route in North Carolina are moving along while funding for repairs in the South Carolina portion of the line is still being sought.

Meanwhile, a committee (?) formed to search for ways to help get the railroad back into full operation seems to be more interested in effecting a change of ownership of the Carolina Southern Railroad rather than searching for ways solutions.

Calling itself the ‘Interstate Railroad Committee of North and South Carolina’, this group of public officials representing several communities and three counties across two states, seems bent on forcing the Pippin family, owners of Carolina Southern Railroad, out of ownership of the railroad.

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Working on the Carolina Southern Railroad

A committee formed to discuss ways in which the Carolina Southern Railroad may be helped back into operation may be causing more problems than it can solve.

Formed as an informal, joint discussion committee between officials in the three counties served by Carolina Southern Railroad, it seems to have evolved into something entirely different.

According to committee meeting minutes, at least nine different city or county councils, from two states (North and South Carolina), have appointed members to what amounts to an informal committee.

By its November 7 meeting, the committee, now calling itself the Interstate Railroad Committee of North and South Carolina, was discussing a “budget” of $100,000 to be allocated among the three county governments represented – Horry and Marion in South Carolina and Columbus in North Carolina.

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