Aberdeen Carolina & Western creates locomotive, car repair subsidiary

The Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway Co. (ACWR) yesterday announced it formed ACWR Shops L.L.C., a new subsidiary that will repair and retrofit locomotives, freight cars and passenger cars.

The short line has acquired and began retrofitting the former Commodore Homes Corp. building on Highway 220 in Candor, N.C., to serve as the subsidiary's shop. ACWR has begun the first phase, which calls for retrofitting a 91,000-square-foot warehouse into a locomotive repair facility featuring 4,600 feet of track and a modern locomotive pit.

The company plans to create 25 new jobs and invest $3.3 million in the facility over the next five years. Over time, ACWR expects to develop the remainder of the 78-acre, rail-served industrial site.

The Candor building primarily will be occupied by ACWR Shops, but also will house the short line's corporate headquarters when the second phase of the project is completed, railroad officials said in a press release. ACWR currently employs 34 in a Star, N.C., facility.

"Our Vice President of Mechanical Dale Parks has been building the locomotive, freight rail-car and passenger-car repair part of our business for over five years," said ACWR President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Menzies. "We have exceeded capacity at our facility in Star, and we are already attracting interest from companies wanting to know when we will be ready to start to working on their locomotives."

The North Carolina Department of Transportation provided funding that will be applied toward the cost to build the 4,600 feet of track, ACWR officials said. Other project partners include the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp., Montgomery County, the town of Candor, Duke Energy Progress and the North Carolina Department of Commerce.