Georgia Railroad locomotives remembered

Georgia Railroad locomotives included a mix of small steam designs and EMD models.

In steam, Georgia had more 4-6-0s than any other type; 205 posed in Atlanta in March 1952. C. K. Marsh Jr. collection

Mikado 321, one of seven mid-1920s Limas, storms out of Atlanta with train 2 in April 1950. C. K. Marsh Jr. collection

Georgia 4-6-0 No. 253 was built by Rogers in 1907 as Western of Alabama 150. Rebuildings changed the cylinders, valve gear, trailing truck, domes, and tender — little remains from 1907 in this 1940s photo. D. W. Salter photo

Georgia 4-6-0 No. 222 is noted by the photographers as being the last steam locomotive in service on the railroad. It is shown at Milledgeville, Ga., on April 8, 1954. Eugene A. Ellis photo

Georgia Railroad F3 No. 1001. Brian M. Schmidt collection

Train 203 passes through Union Point, Ga., on May 25, 1963, with three of the Georgia’s handsome blue-and-gray GP7s doing the honors. Jeffrey A. Harwell photo

Two GP40s and two GP7s lead train 108 at Norwood, Ga., 3 miles west of Camak, on Oct. 12, 1975. Jeffrey A. Harwell photo

As seen from the Dutch door of dusty-cushioned coach 120 on “Super Mixed” 103, counterpart 108 leaves Union Point on Oct. 22, 1975. J. David Ingles photo

On Tuesday evening the 21st, we found GP7 1027 “exposed.” J. David Ingles photo

New Family Line GP38-2 No. 6051 shows it Georgia Railroad reporting marks at Danville, Ill., with Louisville & Nashville train 201 on March 15, 1980. J. David Ingles photo

By 1914 the Georgia Road was powered by an assortment of 4-4-0s, 0-6-0s, Moguls, Ten-Wheelers, four modern Lima 2-8-2s, and a pair of light Pacifics. A handful of all-steel baggage cars, RPOs, and coaches shared the car roster with a fleet of steel-underframe wooden passenger and freight cars. The Georgia Road emerged from the USRA period (1918-20) with a small fleet of standard 2-8-2 and 0-8-0 locomotives, power that lasted past the Korean War. In addition, during 1920-42 some of the larger Ten-Wheelers were rebuilt, modernized, and renumbered. They handled the branches and secondary mainline assignments.

Much of the non-rebuilt small power was retired soon after World War I, and most of the remaining engines were scrapped in the 1930s. The acquisition of four heavy 2-8-2s from sibling Clinchfield and a single 0-8-0 from the Detroit Terminal, plus four more rebuilt 4-6-0s, provided additional power for the war years and rounded out the steam roster.

The roster of diesel Georgia Railroad locomotives was a simpler matter. The first internal combustion road locomotive, F3 No. 1001, arrived in 1948 to cover four daily trips over the Macon Road. Except for a sole Baldwin DS-44-1000 switcher, the company replaced its 50-engine steam roster with 45 EMDs of models NW2, SW9, FP7, and GPs from ’7 and ’9 to ’40-2 and ’38-2, often bought in concert with close affiliates A&WP and WofA, known as the “West Point Route.” After 1954 the four daily mainline passenger trains generally drew a single or pair of F units, while yard assignments at Atlanta and Augusta went to eight switchers; the Geeps handled everything else. Business went on quietly for almost three more decades except for the latter-day mixed trains, whose longevity earned the Georgia a relative high profile among enthusiasts.

Until 1966, the Georgia generally operated independent of the A&WP and WofA, although Georgia and West Point Route road diesels began to move more freely on either side of Atlanta. The first of 22 second-generation GP40s arrived in 1967, eventually eight each for A&WP and WofA and six for the Georgia. They wore solid black, which had replaced the early dark blue-and-silver and a later solid blue.