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Abstract
The Piedmont and Northern Railway was an electrically powered interurban short line that operated in two physically separate divisions in North and South Carolina from 1910 to 1969. The railroads success depended on its ability to provide better service to local customers than could its larger competitors, and it represented this service-oriented attitude with the construction of modest yet attractive passenger stations. The Piedmont and Northern was the only electric intercity carrier to develop in the South and thus of great historical significance at both the local and regional level. This thesis discusses the history of the railway and documents its stations, with special attention given to the few that remain. As communities in the Carolinas face increasingly complex issues of transportation in the twenty-first century, Piedmont and Northern stations are worth studying not only in their own right as valuable historic resources, but also as key elements in the future of regional transportation.