The Gainesville Midland and Her Sister Short Lines
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By May of 1883, the last of the $240,000 7% bonds were sold and the money was raised to extend the line from Hochston to Jug Tavern. The Monroe branch was located and would be built if local help was received. As of April 30, the line had spent $106,909 on construction costs.
Later in May, The Georgia Road (the nickname of the Georgia Railroad is “The Georgia Road”) said that they would buy the GJ&S if the line was completed in one year. It was reported that contracts for construction of the Monroe Branch were awarded to Blackstone, Lewis, & H D Jackson. The grade was to be completed by November 1 and track laid by December 1 next in the June 29, 1883 issue of Railway Age.
The Georgia Road''s deadline of one year seemed achievable. In September, the line''s southern terminal was moved from Hochston 10 miles to Jug Tavern. (27 miles from Gainesville). The GJ&S was consolidated with the Walton Railroad by November according to a Railway Age report. As we will see, this may have been a little premature.
By February of 1884, track was started from the Walton Railroad in Monroe north towards the GJ&S at the Apalachee River. The GJ&S was stalled there awaiting completion of the bridge. This is the same problem the G&D ran into in spanning the Chattahoochee River. Unlike the G&D, the GJ&S already had a traffic base and could survive the time to build the bridge.
On Mar. 11(5), 1885, official consolidation between the Walton and GJ&S Railroads. In the March 14, 1885 issue of Railway Age, it was reported that the Georgia Railroad takes control of the GJ&S. And in the March 21st issue, the line from the Apalachee River to Monroe was completed. This made Gainesville 43 miles from Monroe. Apparently the delay in completing the Monroe line was not held against the GJ&S by The Georgia Road.
The GJ&S opened its entire 55 miles of line for service on March 8, 1884.
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About the Book
The Gainesville Midland is but a remnant of a system of railroads that covered the northeastern Georgia landscape. Her predecessor the Gainesville, Jefferson & Southern tried valiantly to forge a living in the area between Gainesville and Macon. The Gainesville, Jefferson & Southern merged with the Walton Railroad. The empire unraveled in bankruptcy. This book also covers the Gainesville & Northwestern which was built to tap the timber stands in and around the Robertstown-Helen area. G. J. Baldwin Jr, a mine owner, built the Chestatee Railroad and a rail connection with the Gainesville & Noth Western at Clermont. He purchased the Gainesville Midland to keep rail competition alive. Once the need for pyrite was gone and the mine closed, the Gainseville Midland was sold to the same man who owned the Greene County Railroad and Georgia Car and Locomotive (a used equipment dealer).
About the Author
Douglas Edgar van Veelen is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering. He gets his interest in railroading and in history from his mother (Doris). Her family had 13 members work for the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successors between 1910 and 1984. He has written several articles for hobby and professional publications including Live Steam Magazine and Modeltec Magazine. He has been on national professional conferences as a faculty member for the ATE & Instrumentation Conference and the Test Engineering Conference. Articles include Civil Engineering for Live Steam Railroads, Computerizing an Atlas 6” Lathe and Using In-Circuit Testers for Functional Testing.