The Georgia and Florida Railway is a short line railroad operating in Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 and Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, and is a subsidiary of OmniTRAX

OmniTRAX

OmniTRAX, Inc. is one of North America's largest private railroad and transportation management companies, providing management services to 16 regional and short-line railroads that serve 10 U.S...

. The railroad spans 297 miles (478 km) over numerous different rail lines, most of which radiate out of Albany, Georgia

Albany, Georgia

Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the...

.

Primary commodities include corn, scrap metal, chemicals, ethanol, cement, paper, cottonseed, clay wood pulp, peanuts, fertilizer, beer, aggregates and others, generating 21,000 annual carloads.

History

Upon its start on April 14, 1995 the railroad was named the Georgia and Florida Railroad and was a Gulf & Ohio

Gulf and Ohio Railways

Gulf & Ohio Railways is a holding company for seven different short-line railroads in the Southern United States, as well as a tourist-oriented passenger train, and locomotive leasing and repair service through Knoxville Locomotive Works...

 subsidiary operating over two lines: Albany to Sparks

Sparks, Georgia

Sparks is a town in Cook County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,052 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Sparks is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000,...

, and Valdosta

Valdosta, Georgia

Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 54,518. The Valdosta metropolitan area, according to the 2010 estimate, has a population of 139,588...

 to Nashville

Nashville, Georgia

Nashville is a city in Berrien County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,697 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Berrien County...

 over former Norfolk Southern tracks.

Original System

Initially the railroad consisted of approximately 130 miles (209.2 km) of track over two separate branches, including trackage rights over Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

 to link the disconnected lines. Upon its start, the railroad hauled grain, peanuts, fertilizer, woodchips, and beer, totaling around 10,000 carloads.

Albany - Sparks

The Albany - Sparks route actually consists of two different routes meeting at Moultrie

Moultrie, Georgia

Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County and the third largest in Southwest Georgia behind Thomasville and Albany. As of 2009, Moultrie's population is 15,199 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 6.07 percent....

. The Albany - Moultrie portion was completed by the Georgia Northern Railway

Georgia Northern Railway

The Boston and Albany Railroad was chartered in 1891 to build a rail line from Boston to Albany, Georgia, United States. After two years, very little progress had been made and the railroad was purchased by the Pidcock Family who had founded a private logging railroad in the early 1890s that ran...

 in 1905. In 1966, the Southern acquired the Georgia Northern and it was merged with the Albany and Northern Railway

Albany and Northern Railway

The Albany and Northern Railway began life in about 1895 on a stretch of railway from Cordele to Albany, Georgia. The line had originally been built around 1890 by the Albany, Florida and Northern Railway . The AF&N was leased then to the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway in 1892...

 subsidiary.

The second section from Moultrie to Sparks was originally constructed by the Sparks Western Railway, however, the railroad was acquired by the Georgia and Florida Railway

Georgia and Florida Railroad (1926–1963)

The Georgia and Florida Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S., with a main line from Madison, Florida to Greenwood, South Carolina. The Southern Railway gained control in 1963, reorganized it as the Georgia and Florida Railway, and merged it into subsidiary Central of Georgia Railroad in 1971....

 in 1910, with the line being completed in 1911. The G&F became a subsidiary of the Southern in 1963.

Both sections, including a bypass around Moultrie, officially became part of Norfolk Southern in 1990 and were leased to the Georgia & Florida Railroad beginning in 1995.

Valdosta - Nashville

Tracks from Valdosta to Nashville were built by the Douglas, Augusta and Gulf Railway

Douglas, Augusta and Gulf Railway

The Douglas, Augusta and Gulf Railway was created as a subsidiary of the Georgia and Florida Railway to consolidate lines of several smaller railroads. It started in 1905 by acquiring the Barrows Bluff, GA to Douglas, GA line that was from the Wadley and Mt. Vernon Railroad...

 and became part of the Georgia & Florida around 1906. The Georgia & Florida later became part of the Southern in 1963 and Norfolk Southern in 1990.

In early 2005 changes came to the branch as the Georgia Department of Transportation

Georgia Department of Transportation

The Georgia Department of Transportation is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in developing public transportation and general aviation programs...

 purchased the line from the Georgia & Florida, including an additional section of exempted track from Nashville to Willacoochee

Willacoochee, Georgia

Willacoochee is a city in Atkinson County, Georgia, along the Alapaha River. The population was 1,434 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimated population for Willacoochee is 1,508. The population for the 31650 ZIP code, which serves Willacoochee, is 3,002....

, 16.6 miles (26.7 km), owned by the city of Willacoochee. Under the agreement, the Georgia & Florida would continue to operate the entirety of the line from Valdosta to Willachoochee.

Live Oak, Perry & Georgia

Starting around 1896 the South Georgia Railroad built a line south from a point near Adel to Quitman

Quitman, Georgia

This article is about the Georgia city. For the county in the same state see Quitman County, Georgia.Quitman is a city in Brooks County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,638 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Brooks County....

. The line was extended further to Greenville, Florida

Greenville, Florida

Greenville is a town in Madison County, Florida, United States. The population was 837 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 832 .-Geography:Greenville is located at ....

 in 1901 where it met the South Georgia and West Coast Railway, which ran from Greenville to Perry, Florida

Perry, Florida

Perry is a city in Taylor County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,017 at the 2010 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 7,017....

. The entire line was later reorganized as the South Georgia Railway and became part of the Southern in 1971.

On December 15, 1995 the LOP&G was purchased as a subsidiary of Gulf & Ohio. The railroad ran from Adel, Georgia

Adel, Georgia

Adel is a city in Cook County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,344. The city is the county seat of Cook County. The original name of the city was Puddleville. The city's first postmaster, Joel "Uncle Jack" Parrish, wanted to change the name of the city...

 to Foley, Florida, 80 miles (128.7 km), and was operated by the Georgia & Florida.

Consolidation and Acquisition by RailNet

On January 21, 1999 Gulf & Ohio consolidated its holdings in the region under a single entity and sold the new network - including the two branches of the neighboring Atlantic & Gulf

Atlantic and Gulf Railroad (1991–1999)

The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad was a shortline railroad that previously operated of track between Thomasville and Sylvester, Georgia via Albany. The Atlantic & Gulf was created in 1991 from former CSX tracks and currently exists as part of the Georgia & Florida Railway, a subsidiary of...

 railroad - to RailNet

North American RailNet

North American RailNet, Inc., based in Bedford, Texas, was a holding company of short line railroads. It formerly owned the following:...

. The new railroad was renamed Georgia and Florida RailNet.

OmniTRAX

OmniTRAX acquired the entire Georgia & Florida RailNet in 2005, renaming the railroad Georgia and Florida Railway.

A boon came to the railroad in 2006 as an ethanol plant was planned for Camilla, Georgia. The new facility was expected to generate significant traffic for the line when it opened in late 2008. However, due to financial difficulties experienced by the facility, it is unclear whether the effect on the G&F railroad will remain.