The Columbus Southern Railway is a historic railroad that operated in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The railroad operated an 88-mile line from Columbus to Albany that opened in 1890.

History

It was originally chartered in 1885 as the Columbus and Florida Railway. The Columbus Southern Railway was created in 1886 after the C&F's charter was amended. It rapidly ran into financial difficulties. In 1889 the State of Georgia demanded its assets be handed over to local counties for unpaid taxes. The company fought the order and the case made its way to the Supreme Court which in 1894 decided in Columbus Southern Ry. Co. v. Wright that the 14th Amendment did not protect the company from these actions. Soon after the decision the railway was sold to John Skelton Williams's

Georgia and Alabama Railway The Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway (SA&M) was a historic railroad located in the U.S. states of Georgia and Alabama. SA&M was built in the 1880s running between Montgomery, Alabama and Lyons, Georgia. It would be completed to Savannah ...

in 1896. In January 1899, John Skelton Williams's syndicate offered to purchase a majority of shares in railroads along the east coast of the United States that would become the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

. By 1900, the Georgia and Alabama Railway formally became part of the Seaboard Air Line. John Skelton Williams served as the first president of the Seaboard Air Line, and he would later serve as the

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 territori ...

Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all nationa ...

. The Seaboard Air Line discontinued passenger service from Columbus to Albany in 1932 and the line became a freight-only line. In 1944, the Seaboard Air Line acquired the Georgia Florida and Alabama Railway (GF&A), which paralleled the Columbus Southern between Richland and Kimbrough. As a result, the Seaboard Air Line abandoned the former Columbus Southern between Richland and Kimbrough and consolidated service on the former GF&A. The Seaboard then designated the former Columbus Southern north of Richland (along with the GF&A) as their Richland Subdivision. The Columbus Southern south of Kimbrough became their Albany Subdivision.Seaboard Air Line Railroad South Carolina Division Timetable (1944)
/ref> In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line merged with its rival, 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 ...

, and the combined company was named 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 li ...

. The former Columbus Southern segments continued to operate, though the segment from Kimbrough to Albany was renamed the Kimbrough Subdivision. By 1982, track had been abandoned from Kimbrough to Dawson and the remaining segment from Dawson to Albany was known as the Dawson Subdivision.Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Savannah & Waycross Division Timetable (1982)
/ref> In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated unde ...

, creating the

CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. ...

. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation. CSX sold much of the line to the Georgia Southwestern in 1989. The Georgia Southwestern abandoned the line from Cusseta to Richland in 1995, with the rails being removed in September 1997. Rails remained in place from Columbus to Cusseta in order to serve a large pulpwood yard near the latter which are still in place today but are out of service. At the south end, the line was abandoned from Albany to Sasser in 1994. The Georgia Southwestern still operates the remaining line from Sasser to Dawson.

Historic stations

References

External links

Stock Certificate for the Columbus Southern Railway Company
— The Columbus Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Columbus Southern Railway Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Seaboard Air Line Railroad Railway companies established in 1886 Railway companies disestablished in 1896 1886 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1896 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)