3042
South East Alabama; June 2003.
The goal of the trip was to follow old lines and find the "remains". I also got lucky with existing railroads as well.

First, I drove to Dothan to catch up with the Abbeville & Grimes. Prior research indicated that the depot in Headland is on the National Registry of Historical Monuments. I looked for it downtown without success. Then I went up the line to Newville where I caught up with a Bayline train. Downtown has no railroad structure left that I could find. I moved up the line through Capps, then found Bayline 512 switching woodchippers at a lumber mill between Capps and Murphy Station. I finally reached Abbeville where I found a very large plant on the West side of town that has been leveled to the concrete foundations. Downtown, I found the depot being renovated inside a lumber yard. I did not try to follow the rest of the line to Fort Gaines and beyond; that will be for another trip.

I then went to Eufaula. I found a structure (depot?) by the east-west track just west of the junction with the line to Union Springs. I also saw the bridge across the river and a tower by what seems to be the original location of a fairly large yard. The line to Union Springs still has tracks and a bridge by Hoboken. The roadbed is visible from the road past Lugo but then gets hard to follow to Union Springs except through Midway where the track is still visible. In Union Springs, the line from Hurstboro crosses US 82 just west of town between AL 40 and Owens St. A wide corridor now just grass, follows south where it meets with what could be the line from Eufaula to Montgomery. A little bit west, is a fairly big concrete coal tower.

I was running out of time for the day, so I made the bee line to Troy following the line Columbus, Ga, Andaludia, Al. In Troy, I found the ACL?  depot totally repainted. The bad news: all blade signals that were on the Southern Alabama RR now Conecuh Valley RR are gone. I also caught up with 2 of the recently arrived engines on the Conecuh River RR: 2 SW1500 2241 and 2242. Are these former NS/CR/RDG engines?


Newville, Al; Abbeville & Grimes (Bayline).
Abbeville Turn (Correct designation? with 507 and 505 heading north after switching 2 plants on the south end of town.



1/2 way between Murphy Station and Capps, Al; Abbeville & Grimes (Bayline).
Yard job with Bayline 512 GP 9 cleans up the woodchip plant ahead of the Abbeville Turn.
512 acquired in the late nineties from whom? Heritage?




Abbeville, Al; No railroad left. Former Central Of Georgia? Line from Fort Gaines.
After passing a plant on the west side of town that has completely been leveled to the concrete foundations, I get to downtown where a lumber yard is apparently restoring the depot.



Eufaula, Al; GSWR (abandoned?)
This structure is just west of the junction with the line to Union Springs.


Eufaula, Al; north of the junction and south of former yard.
The tower sits in a wide open area.

Eufaula, Al; GSWR.
Bridge over the Chattahoochee River.


Union Springs, Al; All railraods abandoned.
Coal tower just west of where the junction between the Hurstboro-Troy line and the Eufaula-Montgomery line used to be.  Photo is facing east toward the junction.


Troy, Al. CSX junction with then Southern Alabama RR now Conecuh Valley RR (Gulf & Ohio)
ACL depot in the late 1990s now repainted ...purple!!!

Signal blades (now gone)



Troy, Al. Southern Alabama RR (late 1990s)



Troy, Al. Conecuh Valley RR (Gulf & Ohio)
2241 2242 SW1500
Are these NS 2241-2242/CR 9619-9620/RDG 2769-2770?