The Blue Ridge Southern Railroad was formed on 25 June 2014 when Watco reached a definitive agreement with Norfolk Southern for the purchase of 91.8 miles of branchlines in Western North Carolina. The railroad began operations with a fleet of 11 diesel electric locomotives, which consist of three SD40-2s, four SD40M-2 rebuilds, and four GP39-2s.[1]
The announcement to sell the lines that would become the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad was made in a Norfolk Southern corporate meeting in April 2014.[2][3]
