The St. Marys Railroad is a

class III railroad Railroad classes are the system by which freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With a ...

operating in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

United States.

History

The St. Mary's and Kingsland Railroad, incorporated on October 24, 1906, was founded in 1865 by Captain

Lemuel Johnson Lemuel Johnson may refer to: * Lemuel Adolphus Johnson, Sierra Leonean professor * Lemuel Johnson (politician), American judge and politician {{hndis, Johnson, Lemuel ...

. It received its charter from the state of

, and its first two

locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

purchased were #207 and #308. The SM&K eventually became the Atlantic, Waycross and Northern Railroad. After the death of Johnson in 1918, the railroad was sold to the Southern Fertilizer and Chemical Company in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, with the sale being completed on January 24, 1918. The AW&N was sold in 1939 to Gilman Paper Company-St. Marys Kraft Corporation and became the St. Marys Railroad. The SM purchased its first

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

#500 in 1945 which was nicknamed the "Goat." Ten years later the railroad constructed a 4-mile spur to service the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

's Kings Bay ammunition storage facility which is now the

Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is a base of the United States Navy located adjacent to the city of St. Marys in Camden County, Georgia, on the East River in southeastern Georgia, and from Jacksonville, Florida. The Submarine Base is the U.S. ...

. The SM was merged into the

Gilman Paper Company The Gilman Paper Company was an American paper producer founded by Isaac Gilman in the 1880s in the village of Fitzdale, Vermont, which would later be renamed Gilman, Vermont. History Gilman Paper Company's founder, Isaac Gilman, emigrated from Ukr ...

on January 11, 1999, and operated initially under the Gilman name. The Gilman Paper Company separated the railroad by establishing a

limited liability corporation A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the Flow-through entity, pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the l ...

operating under the name of Saint Marys Railroad, LLC. On December 17, 1999, the paper plant and railroad were purchased by the

Durango Paper Company Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650, the 8th lowest of Mexico's s ...

(changing its name in 2000 to the Durango-Georgia Company) and the railroad was renamed the Durango Railroad. All federal reporting requirements for the railroad were filed under that name. The company declined to change its

reporting marks Reporting may refer to * any activity that leads to reports * in particular business reporting * Data reporting * Sustainability reporting * Financial reporting * international reporting of financial information for tax purposes under the OECD's ...

however, thus the locomotives and rolling stock continued to use the St. Marys Railroad name. The Durango Paper Company closed its doors in 2002 after two industrial accidents at the plant resulted in nearly $200,000 in fines from

OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

. All employees of the paper plant lost their jobs, putting the future of the railroad in doubt. The railroad continues to operate and the St. Marys Railroad right-of-way and assets remain intact. The railroad has always maintained its own locomotives and cars with a fully equipped shop facility in St. Marys. In January 2007, the St. Marys Railroad, LLC was purchased by the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

-based Boatright Companies. The railroad continues to be fully operational with no change in its reporting marks.

Current

Currently the St. Marys Railroad leases two locomotives; ex-NS 2379 (MP15DC, built as SOU 2379) and ex-NS 2389 (MP15DC, ex-SOU 2389). Annually, St. Marys Railroad moves approximately 1100 carloads of freight and 2000 railcars placed in and out of storage.

Interchanges

The only connection to other railroads along the 11 mile route is to the First Coast Railroad at Kingsland.

References

External links

St. Marys RR Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Railroad Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Regional railroads in the United States

History

Current

Interchanges

See also

References

External links