From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Central of Georgia Railway (reporting mark
CG) started as the Central Rail Road and
Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract
investment capital, the railroad changed its name to
Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia.
This railroad was constructed to join the Macon and Western Railroad
at Macon,
Georgia and run to Savannah, Georgia. This created a
rail link from Chattanooga on the Tennessee River
to seaports on the Atlantic Ocean. It took from 1837 to
1843 to finish this railroad all the way to Macon and until 1851 to
get a bridge built across the Ocmulgee River.[1]
Acquisitions
Over the years, this railroad steadily acquired other railroads
by either lease or purchase:[2]
- Augusta and Savannah Railroad 1862
- Augusta and Waynesboro Railroad 1857
- Eatonton Branch Railroad 1855
- Milledgeville and Eatonton Railroad 1855
- Milledgeville and Gordon Railroad 1855
- Mobile and Girard Railroad 1886
- Savannah and Tybee Railroad 1890
- Savannah and Western Railroad 1890
- Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad 1891
- Rome and Carrollton Railroad 1887
- Columbus and Rome Railroad 1888
- Columbus and Atlanta Air Line Railroad 1879
- North and South Railroad of Georgia 1877
- Columbus and Western Railroad 1888
- Savannah and Memphis Railroad 1880
- East Alabama Railroad 1888
- East Alabama and Cincinnati Railroad 1880
- Savannah, Griffin and Northern Alabama Railroad 1890
- Southwestern of Georgia Railroad 1869
- Montgomery and Eufaula Railroad 1879
- Muscogee Railroad 1868
- Vicksburg and Brunswick Railroad 1879
- Southwestern Railroad 1869
- Upson County Railroad 1891
- Barnesville and Thomaston Railroad 1860
Troubles began in 1888 when the Richmond Terminal Company gained
control of the railroad. The financial problems of the parent
company forced this railroad into bankruptcy and it was sold at
foreclosure three years later. It was reorganized as
Central of Georgia Railway on November 1,
1895.
Central of Georgia
Railway
The famous passenger train the Nancy
Hanks, ran from Atlanta to Savannah, via Lovejoy, Griffin, Macon and Millen. Another
from its famed fleet was the Man o' War, a Columbus,
Georgia - Atlanta route,
operated via Pine Mountain, Raymond and Newnan, Georgia. Note that both of
these famous Central of Georgia trains were named after prize
winning steeds.
In 1907, E. H.
Harriman gained control of the railway, and later sold it the
Illinois Central Railroad,
which he also controlled. The Illinois Central lost control in
1948, and the Central of Georgia was bought by the St.
Louis-San Francisco Railway (“Frisco”) in 1956. The Interstate Commerce
Commission did not approve the purchase, and so the Frisco sold
the railway in 1961.
The C of G became a Southern
Railway subsidiary on June 17, 1963. In 1971, the Southern
formed the Central of Georgia Railroad to merge
the Central of Georgia Railway, the Savannah and Atlanta
Railway, and the Wrightsville and
Tennille Railroad.
Today, the Central of Georgia exists only as a paper railroad
within the Norfolk Southern Railway
group. Forty-two miles of the CG's former mainline are currently
leased by the Chattooga and Chickamauga
Railway from the State of Georgia.
Preserved historic sites
A number of former properties of Central of Georgia are
preserved as historic sites. These include the following six that
are listed on the U.S. National Register of
Historic Places:
- Central of Georgia Depot (Andalusia, Alabama)
- Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed,
Savannah, Georgia
- Central of Georgia Railroad Terminal (700 12th St., Columbus,
Georgia)
- Central of Georgia Railroad Terminal (1200 6th Ave., Columbus,
Georgia)
- Central of Georgia Railroad: Savannah Shops and Terminal
Facilities, Savannah, GA
- Central of Georgia Railway Company Shop
Property, Savannah, GA
See also
References
- ^
Georgia's Railroad History and Heritage
- ^
RAILROADS IN NORTH AMERICA; Some Historical Facts and An
Introduction to an Electronic Database of North American Railroads
and Their Evolution by M. C. Hallberg (April 24, 2006)[1]
- Drury, George H. (1985). The
Historical Guide to North American Railroads. Milwaukee,
Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company. pp. 53–56. ISBN 0 89024 072
8.
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