![Ritz Theatre, Brunswick, Georgia, USA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Ritz_Theatre%2C_Brunswick%2C_Georgia%2C_USA.jpg)
The Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad (B&B) was a railroad in southeastern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was chartered on December 11,
1900. In 1902–03, it built a line from
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick () is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Sa ...
to
Offerman, Georgia and a line from
Bushnell, Georgia to
Ocilla, Georgia
The city of Ocilla is the county seat of Irwin County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 3,498 at the 2020 census. Ocilla is part of the Fitzgerald Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Ocilla was founded in 1880, incorporated as ...
. The B&B purchased the
Offerman and Western Railroad on July 1, 1902, and the
Ocilla and Irwinville Railroad
The Ocilla and Irwinville Railroad was incorporated on October 4, 1900, and began operations the same year, operating an 11-mile line between Ocilla, Georgia, and Irwinville, Georgia. It had only one locomotive and the railroad was purchased on Fe ...
on February 19, 1903. The railroad ran into financial troubles and was purchased by the
Atlantic and Birmingham Railway
The Waycross Air Line Railroad, chartered in 1887, was an air-line railroad in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It began operations between Waycross, Georgia, Waycross and Sessoms, Georgia, Sessoms in 1890. In 1901, the railroad had extended as ...
in April 1904.
The segment of the line built between
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
and
Alma, Georgia
Bacon County Courthouse
Alma is a city in Bacon County, Georgia, United States, and the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,433.
Alma is known as Georgia's blueberry capital, and hosts a Blueberry Festival each ...
was abandoned by the
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...
in 1953. The remainder of the line survived the 1967 merger of the ACL and
SAL to form the
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...
, and the acquisition of the
Family Lines
The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.
Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads—notab ...
(
CRR,
L&N,
GA,
AWP) into the
Seaboard System Railroad
The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.
Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads—notably the Louisville & Nashv ...
in 1982. After being purchased by
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
, the line between
Nicholls, Georgia
Nicholls is a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,798 as of the 2010 census, up from 1,008 in 2000, due to counting of the Coffee County Correctional Facility population within the city limits. This facility is pri ...
and Alma was abandoned in 1986.
Brunswick to Nichols (Abandoned Rails)
/ref>
The railroad's headquarters are today the Ritz Theatre in the Brunswick Old Town Historic District
Brunswick Old Town Historic District is a historic district in Brunswick, Georgia. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 26, 1979 and includes an area bounded by 1st Street, Bay Street, New Bay Street, H Street, an ...
.
References
External links
Brunswick & Birmingham Railroad
Steve Storey, Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage
Brunswick & Birmingham Railroad Office
Steve Storey, Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage
Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads
Railway companies established in 1900
Railway companies disestablished in 1904
Predecessors of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
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