masthead_shortlines
Scrapbooks ▾
wiregrass wiregrass_grass

route

hog_logo1Heart of Georgia Railroad

Georgia shortline egyptian he Heart of Georgia Railroad was founded in 1999 to operate shortline service across the state of Georgia on 219 miles of track leased from the Georgia Department of Transportation. Previous line owner Georgia SouthWestern received portions of the line from a Seaboard System abandonment in 1983. The Georgia SouthWestern ended operations in 1999, after which the state purchased the entire line from Vidalia in the east to Mahrt in the west, and then sought an operator. This route was once operated by the Savannah, Americus & Montgomery Railroad, formed in 1888, a successor to the Americus, Preston & Lumpkin Railroad. The original SAM mainline between Savannah and Montgomery, Alabama, would later be absorbed into the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, until segments of the line were spun off by successors Seaboard System and CSX Transportation in the early and late 1980s.

hog_logo3 The original Heart of Georgia operated the line until 2017, when shortline operator Genesee & Wyoming purchased the HOG and incorporated the railroad into its Coastal Region. Today the HOG connects with sister G&W property Georgia Southwestern at Americus, and with the Georgia Central at Vidalia. HOG serves an inland intermodal terminal at Cordele, and for a time it provided daily direct rail service via the Georgia Central to the Port of Savannah for auto, agricultural products, and other merchandise. Class 1 interchange is maintained with CSX Transportation at Cordele and Norfolk Southern at Americus and Helena. The western end of the line is out of service from Preston onward. In addition to freight operations, the railroad also hosts the SAM Shortline heritage train. The tourist train equipment is owned managed by the Southwest Georgia Railroad Excursion Authority and the HOG provides locomotives and operating crews.

icon_wikipedia

apl_inset An east-west route from Vidalia to Mahrt forms the core of the Heart of Georgia Railroad and was built in segments over a period of several years. The Americus, Preston & Lumpkin was started in 1884 and connected its namesake cities by 1887. Also in 1887 further extension brought the terminus of the railroad further east to Abbeville. In 1888 the railroad became the Savannah, Americus & Montgomery. The railroad continued to grow in 1890, reaching Lyons in the east, as well as the Chattahoochee River, and eventually Montgomery to the west. At Lyons, the SA&M met the newly constructed Savannah & Western. In 1895, the SA&M was reorganized under the Georgia & Alabama and in 1900 the railroad once again changed hands into the Seaboard Air Line.

Wikipedia

tag_jump

See also our SAM Shortline tourist scrapbook in Preservation

hog_map1

HOG route map / Genesee & Wyoming

sal_map10

1910 Official Guide map / collection

sal_list10

1910 Official Guide timetable / collection

gs_guide94

1994 Official Guide ad / collection

Scrapbooks

tag_lagnLagniappe

Links / Sources

This page was updated on 2022-11-28