Georgia Great Southern

Company History: The GGS was established in 1990 by the RailTex shortline group to resume operation on a 24 mile line from Albany to Dawson, Georgia (a former Seaboard Air Line route which CSX had closed for lack of traffic.) The GGS was operated in concert with their sister railroad Georgia & Alabama. The GGS had no on line customers to speak of but served as a bridge route between the Georgia & Alabama at the Dawson end and the Atlantic & Gulf (part of the G&O Railways group) and NS at the Albany end. In 1994, RailTex obtained trackage rights on the NS to Albany and the GGS route was closed. It was merged into another sister road, the Georgia Southwestern a year later but with no trains running, that was really a formality.

Successor/Parent History: The GSWR began in 1988 as a division of the South Carolina Central Railroad but operating under the Georgia Southwestern name. This was a spin off of Norfolk Southern. The initial route linked Rhine, Georgia and Mahrt, Alabama on one axis and Columbus and Bainbridge, Georgia on the other. GSWR’s parent company was a part of the RailTex shortline group.

In 1996, Georgia Southwestern was merged with Georgia & Alabama and their sister line Georgia Great Southern with Georgia Southwestern being the surviving name. In 2000, RailTex was bought by RailAmerica but two years later, RailAmerica sold the Georgia Southwestern to local interests. GSWR’s mileage varied considerably over the years as lines were bought and sold. It appears to have maxed out at about 350 miles. The current routes are of Seaboard Air Line and Central Of Georgia ancestry. In 2008, GSWR joined the Genesee & Wyoming family of shortlines. Traffic includes chemicals, clay, grain, peanuts, plastic, stone and forest products. Under Genesee & Wyoming, GSWR now has a 234 mile system.

In addition to freight service, GSWR ran passenger excursions and acquired a pair of former VIA FP-9’s to pull them. A contract renegotiation with NS caused them to end the excursion service and the FP-9’s were then transferred to freight service.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.