Georgia Central Railway
 | |
 Georgia Central U23Bs lead a freight train through Garden City, Georgia in 2010. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Lyons, Georgia |
| Reporting mark | GC |
| Locale | Georgia |
| Predecessor | Macon, Dublin, and Savannah Railroad; Savannah, Americus, and Montgomery; Seaboard Air Line Railroad; Seaboard Coast Line; Family lines System; Seaboard System; CSX Transportation |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | Standard (4" 8.5') |
| Electrification | None |
The Georgia Central Railway[1] (reporting mark GC) operates about 174 miles (280 km) of former Seaboard Coast Line track from Macon, Georgia through Dublin, Georgia and Vidalia, Georgia to Savannah, Georgia. It also operates about 20 miles (32 km) of trackage between Savannah and Riceboro, Georgia, switching . It connects with CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway. The Georgia Central Railway is owned by Rail Link, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Despite the name, the Georgia Central is in no way related to the Central of Georgia Railway.
Locomotives[]
The Georgia Central operates a roster of GE U23B, GE U30B, EMD GP9, EMD GP18, EMD GP38, and EMD SW9 locomotives.[2]
In the early 2010s, the Georgia Central became rather famous, being one of the last railroads in North America to have a complete roster of U23Bs, known as U-Boats.[3] Since then, however, all but one of these units have been scrapped, with the last one residing in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on the roster of the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum.
History[]
The Georgia Central Railway was chartered in 1885 as the Macon and Dublin Railroad, to connect its namesake cities. In 1891, it changed its name to the Macon, Dublin and Savannah Railway, even though the railroad did not reach the port city of Savannah. In fact, the original railroad did not go closer to the coast than Vidalia, where it interchanged with the Savannah, Americus, and Montgomery Railroad. In 1912, the MD&S was purchased by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. It continued to be operated separately until 1954, when it was fully absorbed into the Seaboard.
In 1990, a new Georgia Central Railroad was formed by Rail Link, which purchased former Macon, Dublin, and Savannah, and the Savannah, Americus, and Montgomery, from CSX, the Seaboard's successor. The ownership of the Georgia Central changed hands in 2012, when Genesee & Wyoming purchased Rail Link.[4]
Infastructure[]
In 2019, the Georgia Central began improving track conditions so that it can handle 286,000 lb. railcars, the same as class 1 railroads.[5]
See also[]
Macon, Dublin, and, Savannah Railroad (predecessor)
Savannah, Americus, and Montgomery Railroad (predecessor)
References[]
- ^ "HawkinsRails - Georgia Central". hawkinsrails.net. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- ^ [1] The Diesel Shop; Georgia Central Railway
- ^ "GC - Georgia Central Locomotive Roster - Railroad Picture Archives.NET". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- ^ "Georgia Central Railway". www.gwrr.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- ^ "Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary upgrades infrastructure in Georgia". FreightWaves. 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
External links[]
- Official site
- HawkinsRails.net Georgia Central page
Media related to Georgia Central Railway at Wikimedia Commons
 | This United States railway company-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
 | This article about transportation in the U.S. state of Georgia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- Georgia (U.S. state) railroads
- Genesee & Wyoming
- Spin-offs of CSX Transportation
- Companies operating former Seaboard Air Line Railroad lines
- United States railway company stubs
- Georgia (U.S. state) transportation stubs