The Branchville and Bowman Railroad was a shortline railroad that began just after

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

and survived until the mid-1920s. The Branchville and Bowman Railroad, was a successor of sorts of the Smoak tramway, a three-foot gauge wooden-railed logging line built in 1884, which served the Smoak family mill in

Branchville, South Carolina Branchville is a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,024 at the 2010 census. History The community was so named because a railroad branch began at the town site. Branchville, located on the southern ti ...

. The Branchville and Bowman was chartered in 1890 with a goal of creating a line to the new town of

Bowman, South Carolina Bowman is a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 968 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,198 in 2000. Geography Bowman is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total a ...

, and construction on the 11-mile line was completed in 1893. It retained the three-foot gauge of its predecessor. By 1925 the line was struggling. It was down to one locomotive and eight worn-out units of rolling stock. The line had been leased and operated by Earl and Walter Dukes since 1920, and the pair purchased it. They immediately ended the railroad operation and obtained in exchange an operating certificate issued by the State of South Carolina for highway motor transport. This was possible because the trucking industry was overseen by the State Board of Railroad Commissioners at this time.South Carolina Railroads, Branchville and Bowman Railroad
Readers desiring a more detailed history of the Branchville and Bowman Railroad should consult the book ''The Early History of the Communities of Bowman, South Carolina'', by Linda Carter Smith (compiler), published by the Orangeburg County Historical Society, second printing by Lulu, July 2013.

References

Defunct South Carolina railroads Railway companies established in 1890 Railway companies disestablished in 1925 1890 establishments in South Carolina American companies established in 1890 1925 disestablishments in South Carolina {{SouthCarolina-transport-stub