 | |
 1903 map of the Central of Georgia Railway | |
 TheCity of Miami in 1964, painted inIllinois Central colors, not CofG's own livery | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Savannah, Georgia |
| Reporting mark | CG |
| Locale | Georgia,Alabama |
| Dates of operation | 1895–1963 |
| Successor | split betweenSouthern Railway laterNorfolk Southern andSt. Louis-San Francisco Railway thenBurlington Northern nowBNSF |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Previous gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm), civil war era and4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm)[1] |
| Length | 1,944 miles (3,129 km) in 1929 |
TheCentral of Georgia Railway (reporting markCG) started as theCentral Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name toCentral Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constructed to join theMacon and Western Railroad atMacon, Georgia, in the United States, and run toSavannah. This created a rail link fromChattanooga, on theTennessee River, toseaports on theAtlantic Ocean. It took from 1837 to 1843 to build the railroad from Savannah to the eastern bank of theOcmulgee River at Macon; a bridge into the city was not built until 1851.[2]
The company was purchased by theSouthern Railway in 1963, and subsequently became part ofNorfolk Southern Railway in 1982.
Despite the similarity between the names, neither theGeorgia Central Railway orGeorgia Railroad have ties with the Central of Georgia Railway.
Over the years, this railroad steadily acquired other railroads by either lease or purchase:[3]
In 1888, the Richmond Terminal Company, a Virginiaholding company, gained control of the Central. The financial problems of the parent company forced the CofG intobankruptcy, and it was sold at foreclosure three years later, being reorganized as theCentral of GeorgiaRailway on November 1, 1895.
In 1907, railroad magnate and financierE. H. Harriman gained acontrolling interest in the railway, and in 1909, sold his interest to theIllinois Central Railroad, which he also controlled. In 1932, during theGreat Depression, the CofG went intoreceivership, from which it did not emerge until 1948. In 1956, theSt. Louis-San Francisco Railway ("Frisco"), seeking a route to Atlantic Ocean ports, gained control of the CofG, but theInterstate Commerce Commission declined to approve a merger of the two roads, so the Frisco sold its CofG stock to theSouthern Railway in 1963.
At the end of 1956, the CofG operated 1,764 miles (2,839 km) of road and 2,646 miles (4,258 km) of track; that year it reported 3208 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 73 million passenger-miles. Those totals do not include the 144-mile (232 km) Savannah and Atlanta, the 10-mile (16 km) L&W, the 20-mile (32 km)Wadley Southern or the 36-mile (58 km) Wrightsville and Tennille.
The CofG became aSouthern Railway subsidiary on June 17, 1963.[4] In 1971, the Southern formed theCentral of Georgia Railroad to merge the Central of Georgia Railway, theSavannah and Atlanta Railway, and theWrightsville and Tennille Railroad.
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The famous passenger train, theNancy Hanks II (1947–1971), ran fromAtlanta toSavannah, viaMacon. It had the two added on the end to distinguish it from a short-lived train the Central sal in the 1890s. Another notable train was theMan o' War (1947–1970), aColumbus –Atlanta route, viaNewnan. Both of these trains were named after prize-winning racehorses. WhenAmtrak took control of the Southern Railway's passenger service in 1971, The Southern decided to discontinue the "Nancy Hanks II" but continue operating the "Crescent Limited" until 1977.
Into the mid-1950s, the CofG, with theAlabama & Saint Andrews Bay Railroad, operated passenger trains headed for theGulf Coast resort cityPanama City, Florida.[5]
Long distance inter-state trains operated on Central of Georgia tracks as part of their itineraries:City of Miami (Chicago-Miami),Southland (Chicago & Cincinnati to St. Petersburg),Flamingo (Cincinnati-Jacksonville) andSeminole (Chicago-Jacksonville).
Well into the 1960s, CofG trains remainedsegregated, long after most Southern railroads abolished racial bars following adesegregation order by theInterstate Commerce Commission.[6]
Today the Central of Georgia exists only as apaper railroad within theNorfolk Southern Railway group. 42 miles (68 km) of the CofG's former mainline are currently leased by theChattooga and Chickamauga Railway from theState of Georgia. On April 5, 2012,Norfolk Southern unveiled NS 8101, aGE ES44AC painted in the scheme found on Central of Georgia's diesel locomotives. It was the fourth of 20 units that NS painted in the colors of their predecessors.[7]
A number of former properties of Central of Georgia are preserved as historic sites. These include the following, listed on theNational Register of Historic Places:
This list includes, but is not limited to the preserved engines and rolling stock of the Central of Georgia Railway.
Locomotives:
Rolling Stock:
For Norfolk Southern's 30th anniversary, NS painted 20 new locomotives into predecessor schemes. NS #8101, aGE ES44AC locomotive, was painted into the Central of Georgia scheme.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
