| Listed on the National Register of Historical Places, the ex-ACL depot at Cope still stands by the CSX line that runs to the SCE&G power plant west of Cope. The rail line at this location was originally the Manchester and Augusta Railroad. It ran from Sumter, SC to Denmark, SC. ACL absorbed the line in 1898. It became part of the line that ran from Florence, SC to a junction with the C&WC at Robins station. ACL had trackage rights to run from this point to Augusta, Ga. over the C&WC. During the 1960s this line saw 4 passenger trains per day plus 2 run through freights and a local. Passenger service ended just before the arrival of Amtrak but two through freights continued to operate, 129 and 130, as well as a local out of Orangeburg. In the late 1970s, two more through freights were added, 277 and 278. In the late 1980s CSX abandoned major sections of this line. The line was cut near the former location of the town of Dunbarton inside the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site and torn up to a point near the power plant at Cope. Another section was torn up between Florence and Sumter, SC. Ironically, this section of the Manchester and Augusta is still left in place largely intact except for the section running west of Cope to Denmark, SC. Photo was taken from public property. |