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1946 Statistics: C&WC Station #95, Water Station, and Yard. It is 94.7 miles from Augusta and 38.6 miles from Spartanburg.
1914 Schedule:
Train #3 Daily - Eastbound to Spartanburg - 8:17pm.
Train #1 Daily - Eastbound to Spartanburg - 2:25pm.
Train #5 Daily - Eastbound to Spartanburg - 8:25am.
Train #2 Daily - Westbound to Augusta - 8:22am.
Train #4 Daily - Westbound to Augusta - 3:40pm.
Train #6 Daily - Westbound to Augusta - 6:05pm.
Train #55 Daily - Westbound to Greenville - 8:18pm.
Train #52 Daily - Westbound to Greenville - 2:40pm.
Train #51 Daily - Westbound to Greenville - 8:30am.
Train # 54 Daily - Eastbound to Laurens - 8:20am.
Train # 53 Daily - Eastbound to Laurens - 1:45pm.
Train # 56 Daily - Eastbound to Laurens - 5:55pm.
1946 Schedule:
Third Class #53 Mixed Daily - Westbound to Greenville - 8:30am.
Third Class #52 Mixed Daily - Eastbound to Laurens - 9:00am.
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1937 Statistics: CN&L Station. It is 75 miles from Columbia.
1914 Schedule:
Train #50 Sunday Only - Westbound to Laurens - 11:04am.
Train #54 Daily except Sunday - Westbound to Laurens - 8:05pm.
Train #52 Daily - Westbound to Laurens - 2:20pm.
Train #51 Sunday Only - Eastbound to Columbia - 5:35pm.
Train #55 Daily except Sunday - Eastbound to Columbia 8:20am.
Train #53 Daily - Eastbound to Columbia - 2:00pm.
1937 Schedule:
Third Class #12 Mixed Daily - Westbound to Laurens - 6:10am.
Third Class #13 Mixed Daily - Eastbound to Columbia - 2:00pm.
Let's start in 1884. Laurens was served by the Laurens Railroad. It connected Laurens with the Greenville and Columbia RR in Newberry. The following map illustrates the layout of Laurens at this time showing the Laurens Railroad passenger and freight depot located on the south side of town.
Some five years later, the Greenville, Laurens, and Spartanburg Railroad had arrived in Laurens. This connected Laurens with Greenwood SC and Spartanburg SC. In addition, the Greenville and Laurens Railroad connected Laurens to Greenville SC. As compared to 1884, a new passenger and freight depot was built in Laurens on S. Main Street to service these new roads. The Laurens Railroad depot continued to serve that road. The following map illustrates these changes.
The next five years show even more change for Laurens. The Greenville, Laurens, and Spartanburg along with the Greenville and Laurens RR were now merged in the the new Port Royal and Western Carolina Railway. The passenger and freight depot on S. Main Street continued to serve the PR&WC. The Laurens Railroad had split the passenger operations from the freight depot by building a separate passenger depot near where the Laurens and the P.R.&W.C. lines crossed. The photo that follows is this new Laurens Railroad depot. The following illustrates the layout of the year, 1894.
Over the next 7 years, some big changes took place. First, the Port Royal and Western Carolina was part of the mergers to form the Charleston and Western Carolina in 1896. Second, the Laurens Railroad was merged into the Columbia, Newberry, and Laurens. Third, the two lines moved operations into shared facilities. The Laurens Freight Depot became the Union Freight Depot. The Laurens Passenger Depot disappeared. The PR&WC passenger/freight depot became George Brokers Warehouse. A new Union Passenger Depot was built between the C&WC and CN&L lines. An important note: this Union Depot is not the three-towered brick depot of later years. It was a one-story frame structure with overhanging eaves. A dining room was located towards the rear of the depot. Also, appearing at this time, was a double water tower directly opposite the Union Passenger Depot. The map below illustrates the Laurens 1901 rail situation.
Moving forward to 1906, we see the addition of passenger shelters at the Union Depot. The former C&WC passenger/freight depot that had become George Brokers warehouse has disappeared. The map below diagrams the 1906 layout. Do note the arrow on the far right marks the position of a photographer for the photo of Union Depot that follows the map.
Within the next 6 years, a big change occurred in Laurens. The single
story, wooden Union Depot was replaced with the three-towered, brick depot noted
in many pictures of Laurens. This depot had a very distinctive design as it was
a triangle with towers on each corner. The face towards S. Main Street was the
"front", i.e. the passengers arrived at this face. The other two faces
serviced the the two rail lines. The "back" tower, or tower
facing the diamond, was used for rail offices. The kitchen and dining room
occupied the rear portion of the depot. A hallway with large doors opened to
each rail line. According to James D. Sheppard, who visited the depot in the
forties:
"On
a blueprint of the Laurens depot, dated May 16, 1945, the western tower is
labeled ROADMASTER'S OFFICE. Each of the other two towers is labeled WOMEN and
they were presumably used as a waiting rooms, one for white and one for blacks.
There was a large WHITE WAITING ROOM, presumably for men (there was a
connecting toilet for men) , and a large COLORED WAITING ROOM, presumably for
men (there was a connecting toilet for men). Near the tower closest to
the white waiting room was a toilet, presumably for white women. Near the
tower closest to the colored was a toilet, presumably for colored women."
The following map of the Laurens diamond illustrates the camera views of the pictures that follow the map.
Photo #3 has been deleted.
Next is a photo of the current (2006) view of the depot site. I have superimposed a view of the Union Depot to give some idea of how it would be seen today. The Union Depot portion is credited to James D. Sheppard.
Photos of the current (2006) Laurens diamond follow.
The first is looking towards the site of the old Union Freight Depot. The brick depot is a newer depot used by the C&WC, now used by the Carolina Piedmont. The CP purchased the former Laurens-Greenville branch. The tracks to the left are the CSX tracks to Augusta. The CP tracks to the right lead to Greenville. (A side note: the 1894 Laurens Depot pictured earlier was located about where the telephone pole sits near the white pickup truck!)
This is a photo looking along the former C&WC tracks (now CSX) towards Augusta. The two pickup trucks are sitting where the C&WC side of the old Union Depot used to be located. Lastly, the old Union Depot was demolished in the early 1970s.
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