I have just begun to develop an interest in the Central of Georgia, so I am still at the stage of asking elementary questions. Did the Illinois Central passenger equipment that was used on th C of G (E locomotives and smoothside passenger cars) carry C of G markings?

-- Jim Roquemore (roque@1st.net), November 08, 1998

Answers

Jim,

The Central of Georgia operated the Seminole and the City of Miami, both Illinois Central Chicago/Florida trains, over a portion of its trackage. The CofG supplied a number of passenger cars for both trains and motive power for the Seminole. A couple of years after their delivery in the classic blue, grey, and black scheme, the Central of Georgia's two E8s (811 & 812) were both repainted in the IC brown and orange scheme, with Central of Georgia lettering on the sides. They even sported the IC's green diamond herald on the nose with "Central of Georgia" spelled out instead of Illinois Central. A number of CofG passenger cars also received the IC's standard brown and orange colors. Some of those cars sported the Central of Georgia roadname on the letterboard, in yellow, IC style lettering. The roadname on some cars was yellow in the CofG's passenger car typeface instead of the IC's stylized lettering. The car number was brown in a matching typeface, centered on the car side beneath the windows. Some cars had "City of Miami" on the letterboard with a small "C of Ga" and car number on the car sides beneath the windows and at the vestibule end of the car. Apparently, both smoothside ACF cars and a number of converted heavyweight cars made it into this scheme. My assumption is that any car that was lettered Central of Georgia or carried CofGa reporting marks was owned by the Central.

-- Allen Tuten (ahtuten@aol.com), November 08, 1998.