Hamlet, NC

>>A Railfan's Guide to Hamlet, NC

The City: Hamlet, NC is a small town located in Southern North Carolina. About 50 miles from the city of Charlotte it is well known for single tracked diamond with tracks branching out in 5 directions. Over 40 CSX Trains pass through this town terminating or originating in a large CSX classification yard just north of the town. The easiest way to get to Hamlet is by car. If you live up in the Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Cary) just shoot down US 1 and then get onto 177 which will take you right into the town of Hamlet.

Yards: Hamlet, NC is located on the junction of five diffrent CSX lines. To the north of downtown Hamlet there is a large CSX classification yard originally built by the Seaboard Air Line which at one point almost every train on the seaboard mainlines terminated or originated in Hamlet. This yard is huge, over 3 miles long with a car and locomotive shop along with an active hump yard. There is no real location to veiw this yard from though with out tresspassing on CSX property. They have a parking lot right in front of the locomotive shops though it is CSX property. My best advice is to contact CSX and get a pass or slip for verification of you approval to be there. Also note that traffic at hamlet is heavily weigthed or you will only see trains up until a certain point. Most trains enter the Yard through the southern entrance, only 2 or 3 locals along with 2 Amtraks (91 and 92) operate north of Hamlet.

Railroad Frequencies:
CSX Road

160.590 (Road Channel/ Hamlet Yard)

161.100 (Road Channel)

CSX Dispatcher
160.230 FE (Andrews Sub.)
160.410 FD (Aberdeen and Hamlet Sub.)

160.920 FC (Monroe Sub.)

161.370 FA (South End Sub.)

161.520 FE (Wilmington and Hamlet Terminal Sub.)

Train-Watching Spots: Visible from the Amtrak station is the diamonds of the Wilmington and Hamlet Subdivision. Although this place offers a good veiw of the diamond the majority of trains will be coming off the Monroe or Wilmington Subdivision connection. My best advice would be to move across the tracks over to an abandoned parking lot and the location of a union office. The Amtrak station used to be located here before the moved it across the tracks where it now resides. At this location you can get a better veiw of the Monroe and Wilmington Connections.

Other Activities: The Amtrak station also is home to a quite interesting Railroad Museum that explains the history of Hamlet and the Seaboard Airline. There is also a model railroad based on Hamlet down below the Museum. You can also check out downtown Hamlet's many shops that line the street. There are also many places to eat and even an Ice Cream shop along with a Seaboard SD35 near the Amtrak Station.

At a Glance:

Railroad: CSX

Train Count: 40-50 trains over 24 hours

ATCS: Partly

Subdivisions:
Monroe Subdivision: Hamlet to Monrore, NC
Hamlet Subdivision: Hamlet to Columbia, SC
Hamlet Terminal Subdivision: Hamlet Classification Yard
Wilmington Subdivision: Hamlet to Willmington, NC
Andrew Subdivision: Hamlet to Florence, SC
Aberdeen Subdivision: Hamlet to Raleigh, NC

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