G&O geo & hist

G&O geo & hist
Map of the system.
GEOGRAPHY
The A&G based in Albany operates about 60 miles of track south to Thomasville and a 20 mile branch east to Sylvester.
The G&F, also based in Albany, operates 60 miles of track southeast to Adel. It then has trackage rights over NS from Adel to Valdosta, to operate a 28-mile branch to Nashville. From Adel, it operates a branch to Perry, Fl through Greenville and Quitman. These 2 railroads connect with NS in Albany. They also connect with CSXT at Thomasville, Quitman and Greenville.
The Wiregrass Central operates a 23-mile line out of Enterprise AL, from Clintonville to Waterford where it connects with CSXT.
The area is mostly rolling terrain alternating with swamps and lakes, so the railroad does not have to face any major grade, but it does face the possibility of flooding on a regular basis. The soil is typical red clay, which does not help. Primary industries dominate the economy of the region. Peanuts, pecans and corn are joined by a late resurgence of cotton. Forestry, even though in decline, is still going strong. Secondary industries include a wide range of activities most of them requiring railroad services (see section on local industries). Typical of short lines, the density of the industries in the area is very low, imposing on the railroad to maintain a lot of miles of line with very few customers on it.

Newspaper article
HISTORY
A short but excellent history of all 3 railroads is covered by Ed Lewis in his reference book American Shortline Railway Guide. The track from Albany to Thomasville was completed on June 14th, 1870 by the South Georgia & Florida RR based in Savannah. To mark the event, the Albany newspaper of the 16th had a description of the new passenger services (see document 1). It allowed passengers to travel from Albany to Savannah through Thomasville and Jesup in 15 hours without changing trains. In 1879, this company became Savannah, Florida & Western, a precursor of the ACL. Gulf & Ohio bought the line from CSX and began service in 1991. The track from Albany to Moultrie was build by the Georgia Northern Railroad in 1905. Both cities have displays of former GNRR steam engines (see railfan section for more information). The rest of the line was operated under the Georgia & Florida Railway at 2 different periods. The first period was early 20th century; the second was between 1962 and 1971 (see picture of G&F engine 705?). The G&F started operating about 4 years after the A&G.
The track of the Wiregrass Central was built by the ACL. The WC started operating in 1987.

In March 2000, Railnet bought the lines out of Albany from Gulf & Ohio along with some of the engines. The shortage in power was taken care of by leasing to Helms. For a short time, 2 SW1500s from Appalachicola Northern that had been recently bought by Helms were working out of Albany. However, most of the leased power are GP38s and GP40s.