Monthly Archives: August 2008

Central Florida Commuter Rail

DMU Exterior View Meanwhile, four hours to the south, Central Florida Commuter Rail Sunrail has received planning commission approval to start a commuter rail line centered on Orlando:
Existing CSXT railroad tracks are utilized for the planned route. CRT trains consist of 1-3 cars and can carry up to 218 passengers. Maximum operating speed is generally between 65-79 mph.
Hm, using existing CSX tracks, just like the GS&F (now CSX) route from Hahira through Mineola, Remerton, Valdosta, Dasher, and Lake Park.

Valdosta, Moultrie & Western Railroad, Ga. 133, and Corridor Z

Reading about the committee wanting to widen Ga. 133 from Valdosta through Moultrie to Albany made me wonder if there had ever been a railroad on that route. Why yes, there was:

VM&W RR Map 1920

Source: Rand McNally Standard Map of Georgia, in Commercial Atlas of America, 1920, found on Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. by Steve Storey

It ran two trains each way each day in 1918 (one was different on Sunday):

VM&W RR Timetable 1918

Source: Official Guide of the Railways, April 1918, found on Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. by Steve Storey

Like Valdosta earlier on a different railroad, the town of Berlin was founded because of the VM&W RR.

Unfortunately, it was short-lived, lasting only from 1910 to 1921. Its demise seems to have been connected with

…the final depletion of the vast supply of timber about 1922 and the railroad systems which had played such an important role in the flourishing development of Berlin ceased operations.

— The Origin of Berlin, Berlin Community Volunteer Fire Department Station 31, Berlin, Georgia, accessed 10 August 2008

It's hard to tell from that brief quotation whether the end of the timber caused the failure of the railroads, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a factor.

I see the Lowndes County Commission has on its agenda for Tuesday 12 August a "Resolution in Support of a Four-Lane Project for State Hwy 133 from Albany to Valdosta. This is the same resolution that was before Colquitt County Commission on August 5.

Before the Lowndes County Commission votes, it would be useful to know what have been the effects of Corridor Z, the four lane highway from Jekyll Island to Columbus by way of Tifton and Albany, also known as Ga. Route 520. Has it produced the effects the committee for widening Ga. 133 wants? Has it benefited agriculture and industry? Has it led to more opportunities? What ill effects on local landowners and environment did its construction have?

And what do the people think who live along the route of Ga. 133?

Current Owners of Valdosta Train Stations

So who owns the land where the old Valdosta train stations were?

The old Atlantic Coast Line station lot, at the U-turn between Patterson and Ashley just north of the downtown overpass, is owned by the City of Valdosta. That's kind of moot, since there are no tracks there now.

The old Georgia & Florida Station lot between Toombs and Patterson and between Savannah and Florida is owned by Lowndes County, as shown here:

Stationowners

As found on Lowndes County Property Record Search by searching for owner CSX.

The county Health Department is in the middle of it, but the tracks run against the back parking lot. These are the tracks that go to Moody.

And the old Georgia and Florida station lot, just south of that, is owned by CSX, as part of a strip along their tracks from Toombs St. to Railroad Ave.:

CSX TRANSPORTATION INC
TAX DEPARTMENT C-910
500 WATER STREET
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202

The old GSF Station lot, just south of that, between Toombs and Patterson and north of Florida Ave., is owned by Norfolk and Southern.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY CO & SUBSID
C/O GULF & OHIO RAILWAYS
PO BOX 2408
KNOXVILLE, TN 379012408

It looks from the aerial maps like it's being used for a park, and there's some sort of tiny building on it, too. These are the tracks that go to Hahira, Mineola, Remerton, Dasher, and Lake Park.

If you select aerial photography you'll see that the tracks are currently located slightly differently than the map above shows.

However, it appears that new Valdosta train stations could be constructed with agreement from nobody other than Lowndes County and the railroads. Well, them and the planning commission, and the county commission, and the Valdosta City Council, and the various cities the passenger service would run to. But the Valdosta station land itself seems to be in the hands of a small number of appropriate parties.