Yearly Archives: 2008

The TitleTown Express

In 1910, Lowndes County had railroads running every which way:

Lowndes County Railroads
(Source image found through Railroad History, which has a clickable map of Georgia railroads. Initial idea owed to Bob Clouston.)

Yep, that looks like a road map, but those are railroads, including where Bemiss Road and old U.S. 41 North run now. Most of the tracks are still there; you can see them on Google maps.

Just a few days ago three people from Lowndes County told me they’d taken the SAM Shortline, which runs through Cordele, Americus, and Plains. It’s a “rolling park” for tourists, but what about commuter rail for workers, shoppers, and tourists?

The RR rights of way already exist in Lowndes County. The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway parallels old U.S. 41 North and the Georgia and Florida Railway (now Central of Georgia Railway) parallels Bemiss Road. After all, it was a railroad that caused Valdosta to incorporate in its present location in 1860. I don’t know if the G&F is still active, but I can hear trains on the GS&F from my house, and I get stopped for them often enough in Hahira.

Why not run a commuter service in addition to the freight trains already on that line? Run it from Hahira in the north to Lake Park in the south, stopping at Valdosta several times at the morning and afternoon rush hours, maybe with lunchtime and evening extra trains. Stop in Mineola (all aboard, Stone Creek golf carters!), Remerton, Dasher, and Melrose, too, like the GS&F used to. That would connect all five incorporated cities in Lowndes County with an efficient rail service. Less road traffic, fewer accidents, no need to widen any road, less gas money, and less pollution. Encourage development close to those cities without sprawl. What’s not to like?

Sure, it would cost money. More than the $6 million the DOT’s old US 41 widening scheme would cost? I suspect not. And once it’s running, let it pay for itself in fares. Save some gas. Save some houses, farms, and woodlands. Attract more customers and tourists to north Lowndes county and to Valdosta and the other cities. Be a leader to the rest of the country.

Numerous additions would be easy. Remerton is less than half a mile from the mall: add a shuttle bus between the mall, Remerton, and VSU. The airport is only a few miles from the tracks: add a stop at south Inner Perimeter and shuttle bus to the airport, or have a shuttle run between downtown Valdosta, a train station on West Hill Ave., and the airport. Wild Adventures could subsidize a further leg out to their place. And of course, add commuter service to Moody on the G&F, with stops at Bemiss and Barretts.

Valdosta is very proud of having a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Use the old lines to Brooks, Echols, and Lanier Counties. But people come to shop in Valdosta from farther away than that. GS&F goes to Adel and Tifton, too. Eventually provide service to Atlanta in the north and Orlando in the south. Go on down the Valdosta Southern Railroad to Clyattville and Madison, Florida. Make Valdosta a rail travel hub.

That would even attract more airline passengers to the airport, because they could take the train in and fly out. Connect rail service to Jacksonville and Savannah and let Delta compete with Southwest and Jetblue.

Start small, Hahira and Lake Park to Valdosta. Now that people are looking at TitleTown, let’s leverage that attention with a new title, this time for making money with environmentally friendly rail service.

Call it the TitleTown Express!

Updated 10:12AM 1 Aug 2008.

Passionflower

Found in the woods on 12 June 2008:

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Here’s one just opening on 4 June:

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There are still a few blooming. The flowers look nice on the plant, but don’t last if you pick them.

Many of them have already made fruits. I hear you can eat those.

Car 41 No

Here’s the April 2 Ga. DOT old U.S. 41 widening proposal, showing the part that would go through Hahira.

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Since then they’ve produced a newer plan, which I haven’t seen, that doesn’t go through Hahira and reduces the width from 250 feet to 150 feet. That’s better, but it would still be four lanes with a median, probably a concrete median like Bemiss Road.

What’s this all about? Depends on who you ask. The future of the north end of Lowndes County. Greedy developers. Preservation of homesteads, farms, and lifestyles. Jobs for the children so they don’t have to move to Atlanta.

I prefer to stand with the group popularly known as Car 41 No, that wants both DOT plans cancelled, in favor of homesteads, farms, and lifestyles, and for a future where the county is not paved over like Atlanta; instead people have something to come home to that’s worth it. That’s why I signed the petition.

Burning Some Piney Woods

Every few years it’s good to burn the woods! If you don’t burn piney woods, they turn into oak woods. Burning cuts down on the small oaks, vines, and undergrowth, puts potash in the soil, and lets the pines come up. Longleaf especially benefits from burning, since it survives burns especially well, and it only sprouts if its seeds land on bare mineral soil (not leaf litter or vine buildup).

I lit these woods 20 February 2008. Pictures by Gretchen.