We are trying to gather information relevant to the restoration of our town depot. We have spoken to numerous 'old-timers' and former railway personnel but we still need a great deal of information. If you have any information about the railway that ran from Columbus, GA to Griffin, GA We would really appreciate it. All I have learned so far, is that the name may have originally been the Georgia Midland & Gulf Railway. Please let me know if there are any good research sites on the web or if there are any books available that may have details about our area. We would like info on the original plans of the depot if they are available. Thanks!

-- Brandi Payne (brandipayne@earthling.net), February 05, 2000

Answers

Brandi - The Southern Railway line from Columbus to McDonough, Ga., was, indeed built by the GEORGIA, MIDLAND & GULF R.R., and opened on December 1, 1886. In April 1896 the GM&G was reorganised under the control of the Southern and was leased to the Southern three months later, propably as a long term lease. In looking through old public timetables, it would appear that Ellerslie was a stopping point from the opening of the railroad. The station would not necessarily have been built by the opening date, but probably soon after. At some date circa 1901, Ellerslie became a flag stop, meaning that trains would not stop unless signalled to do so by intending passengers. If Ellerslie had been an agency station(with station agent) up to that time, the office was probably closed. From October 1948 passenger service on the line was provided by a gas-electric car out of Atlanta. Passenger service was dropped completely and the line was used by freight trains only from sometime between October 1949 and December 1950. A timetable of September 1889 shows that one could have boarded a train at Ellerslie and ridden through to Atlanta. Since you now have the date the line opened, it is suggested that you go to the central public library in Columbus and see if they have a file of local newspapers from that time. The opening of the line would certainly have been covered and may even give a discription of the line and stations. Another source of information might be by going to the Harris County Court House to see if they can help. Hope this has given you some leads. Tom Underwood

-- Tom Underwood (tlunder@attglobal.net), February 08, 2000.