attention:DOUGH

[Anonymous]

I came across an old post of yours inquiring about that Chessie engine that you see in Athens. That line is called The Athens Line and is ran by the same crew that runs The Hartwell Railroad. If I'm not mistaken, that part of the line is still under lease from NS. Not sure exactly how many miles the Athens Line portion is, but the plan is to re-open the rest of that line from Watkinsville to Madison. There are some things going on right now that are holding up any progress on repairing the rest of that line. I don't know too much more than that about that line, the guy who trained me on The Great Walton Railroad, is the conductor on The Athens Line and The Hartwell Railroad,and told me they haul coal and use an old Chessie engine so I know we are talking about the same line. If you have any more questions just ask , and I can find out pretty much anything you want to know about the company.

[Dough]

WOW! I just recently started posting here again, and I just barely caught this post. Thanks for getting my attention. I have actually learned a great deal about the line since I made that post. They have from Center, GA south. The tracks currently end just south of Watkinsville, however. They seem to be storing 30-40 TTX 89' frame cars down at the end of the navigable line.

Since you offered, I am kind of curious if you know any details about these cars. I'm also curious as to what the problems are with getting that line rebuilt. I haven't heard a thing.

This is my second year here in Athens. (I'm at UGA) There has been some good rail fanning around here too! I was especially happy to see all of the history. Old rail bridges, signal poles, an active caboose, and even a Chessie in original paint! All this MoW has been brining in all sorts of fallen flags as well!

FYI, one of these days I would like to find a way to get some pictures of the three rail bridges on that leased NS line (old Central of Georgia). I can see them fairly clearly on Mapquest, and they are some huge wooden structures. I got some decent shots of the one over Hard Labor Creek, but now I'm trying to figure out how to get down to the Oconee River one and the Apalachee River bridge. The Apalachee is especially problematic because Weyerhaeuser owns the land around it and they don't like strangers. I've even considered kayaking down the rivers if I could just borrow someone’s boat.[:D]

Anyway, I really appreciate you getting back to me, and feel free to ask any questions that you may have. I am finally starting to learn a few things about this area, and would love to return the favor.

Dough

[JoeKoh]

Dough
if you have a pic of that chessie in original paint could you email it to me please?
stay safe
Joe

[redflasher1]

hey Dough!

good coney islands at the Varsity Drive In there in Athens!!!

I was there 6 years ago and really loaded up on them.

[Dough]

LOL red, glad you liked them.

And yes I have several, but I don't have time to scan them up right now. I'll try to get them to you tonight, or tomorrow at the latest. Their are actually two working for that company, but the other one is on a different line, and I haven't gotten the chance to go photograph it yet.

[JoeKoh]

Dough
thank you in advance!
stay safe
joe

[Dough]

Ok, I'm a little slow here. Can you tell me how to email you the attachment? I can't figure out how to do it through the little email icon below the replys...so I'd appreacite if if you would tell me where to send them or how to use the site's feature.[:p]

[JoeKoh]

Ok
click on the envelope send me an email message.It will give me your email address.I will email you back then you will have my email.a little security feature.
stay safe[:)]
Joe

[Anonymous]

The latest news I've heard is that the setbacks have been due in part of a property line / right of way battle with some residents. On that highway that parellels the out of use portion of that line(441 I think), there is a nursery, and the owner had put up a fence on the right of way and even across it. The track is in serious need of restoration. There are some nice size trees growing up between the rails, and in some places the trees are so thick you loose sight of the track. Man power is another issue. We only have a handful of track workers, and those same guys work The Hartwell Railroad, The Athens Line, and both of the lines I work that are under the Great Walton Railroad. I won't dig too deep into why things take so long to get done,but you would understand if you ever worked for the company. They had been storing several flat cars in Watkinsville,in front of Memory Station, and down the line behind that peach farm. Don't rember the name of the road, but there is a long dirt road that follows the un used portion from Apalachi to Madison. You can get a good view of one of the tressels, which I was told was rebuilt by Southern several years ago. If you like Chessie, we use a GP9 No. 6400, along with a South Carolina Central GP9 on the Social Circle portion of the Great Walton. We also have a C&NW GP9 (out of service) and have a C&O GP9 6243(parts only) 6400 is one of a handful of Chessie GP7's that were chopped and rebuilt as GP9's. Hope this answers a few questions, again, let me know if there is anything else you wanna know.

[Dough]

Thanks James. I'm going to try and head down to Social Circle one day and see those engines. I went down to check out that huge coaling tower, but didn't have time to find much on the Great Walton line.

One more question. Do you know of any plans to use that Conrail slug in Monroe? It looks like it has been sitting in the weeds for quite some time, along with an old speeder. I didn't know if it was for parts or what.

Thanks again, and keep an eye out for a guy with a camera on the UGA campus.

Doug

[Anonymous]

Are you talking about that GP 35 at RailRhodes? If so, I think the people who own that shop also own that engine, and want waaaayyyy too much for it, so I hear. It has been rewired and had several upgrades, so for now it will sit like it has for quite some time.
I'm still surprised that CSX hasn't had that tower torn down, but I'm glad they haven't. Interesting to see trains come flying around the curve and through that old tower. Oh yea, just remembered that shop is working on a Canadian National SW1200. We towed it up there a few weeks ago, and are supposed to be getting a few more in the near future.

[Dough]

Sorry, I completely missed your reply. For some reason the link to the picture of the slug is broken, but it is described on this site: http://peachstaterails.railfan.net/Gallery/GreatWalton/grwr_socialcircle.html

It is Conrail #1005. It is just sitting up in Monroe on questionable tracks, and I wasn't sure if their were any plans for it. I'm actually going to be passing through there tomorrow (Friday), and I'm going to try and get some pictures of it as well as the locomotives north of Social Circle if I have time.

Edit: Not in Monroe at the time but here is a picture: http://mainlineseast.railfan.net/csxt1005.html