St. Mary's Railroad

ashley2771,

I guess that I'm behind the information 8-ball, but I haven't heard about the take-over until your post. What's the information about the take-over: portion of track involved, point of interchange, trackage rights, etc.?

I'm not surprised that some action is going to be taken, as CSX head-shed types had been grumbling about the low amount of traffic on the branch. But, I am surprised that, instead of abandoning the line, CSX found a qualified entity who wants to operate it!

Thanks for the info!

Keep 'em rolling!

ACLfan

I'm not quite sure when the takeover is, perhaps once the whole OFA (Offer of Financial Assistance) process is over. CSXT did try to abandon it, but the county the line is in filed a protest, and then St. Marys filed an OFA with the STB. They will operate the line as the St. Marys West for financial purposes.
BPW

Thanks for the update Brian. I assume the it would include the entire sub from Waycross to Pearson (about thirty miles), with interchange at Waycross.

St. Marys is still waiting on final STB approval before they can serve the line. They changed the name to St Marys West. Apparently so it's another separate company, so if it fails it won't harm the main company as much (if at all).
The line runs WNW of Waycross, and it interchanges with CSX there. I think it's about 25 miles of track out to the town of Pearson, GA.
I also heard that there are currently no shippers on the line. The one mill either closed or stop shipping by rail. So I don't think there is any rail demand on the line. So who knows what will happen, it might just sit idle for awhile.

On a positive note, that supposed Excursion Train that I keep hearing about will start in a few weeks down in St Marys, GA. But, I'll believe it when I see it. It was supposed to be open back in November and it just kept getting pushed back and back and back. So hopefully it will be running by summer.

The point of line take-over is an important factor, as an industrial park on the NW side of Waycross has six active customers, including a GATX tank car repair facility. I'm not aware of any other customers, except an on again/off again woodyard at Willacoochee, and the feed mill at Pearson (which has apparently stopped using rail service). With the reasonably good customer base in the industrial park, I would be surprised to hear that CSX wanted to abandon that portion of the track. West of the industrial park--YES! But, not east of the Park!

ACLfan

CSX is retaining the trackage that serves the industrial park just outside of Waycross. They are not giving that up, St Marys wanted to serve it, but CSX of course said "no way."
Back in the day there was a Georgia Pacific Mill out on the line near Pearson, but it closed up like 4-5 years ago.
When it closed CSX just waited it out, knowing the line was slowly "dying" and then last year they filed for abandonment. St Marys stepped up thinking it will turn that line around. And I hope they can.
But mills and industries aren't opening they are closing. Jobs in rural Georgia have been declining steadily now for years. So this kind of reflects that. Hopefully St Marys can make a difference.

Yeah! If history is any indicator, making a living from the Pearson branch west of the Industrial Park is going to be extremely hard! As posted, industries are leaving the area, rather than coming!

It seems like about 5 or so years ago, a new industry opened up on the south side of Willacoochee, GA. The Ga - Fla Railnet restored about 25 - 30 miles of the abandoned GA & FL RR from Nashville to the site of the new industry to provide rail service. The new mill only used rail service for a year or so, and then stopped!

Only a true optimist would take the economic risk of providing rail service to no customers! It's not quite like building a baseball park in a cornfield with the belief "If I build it, they will come!"

ACLfan

Nice Field of Dreams reference...
City of Pearson I'm sure has plans for an industrial park, but so does every little town down there. They don't want to lose the railroad so they are fighting for that line.
Willacoochee has the Langboard plant, the Langdale family (owners) have some good political connections so they are working on getting that line back up to snuff.
There is also talk of a new concrete plant coming to the railraod in Willachoochee, but who knows what might happen in this economy.
The BP Amaco plant on that line is now up for sale. So that could be curtains for one of the largest shippers on the line too.

GDOT is trying to acquire the line and hopefully improve it.

I dont know what is with all the talk of willacooche

the line stops at pearson now, it doesnt even go to willacooche anymore and its not like this shortline has the money to rebuild the ROW, which csx probabally already sold to the state anyway west of pearson

the last time I was out off US 82, there were some points where the ROW had even been altered (fills, berms, retention pond) so it wouldnt even be possible now

honestly I dont know what the st. mary's expects to get out of this arrangement except losing more money

Some of the customers that used the Pearson line moved their rail operations over to Willacoochee when service ceased on the Pearson line. They still contine to use the Langboard facilty to load/unload their product and ship it over via truck to the Pearson Area. That line should be bought by the state sometime soon.

I've also heard that St. Mary's is done. I haven't confirmed it, but I've been told that the railroad somehow got sucked back into Bankruptcy process of the paper mill since the railroad was an asset of the mill. Also, they allegedly weren't making payments on their leased equipment so it got repo'ed. A friend of mine was down there about a month ago and saw zero activity and no equipment on the line. I assumed it must be still active since the Navy Base is there and it must be served. But in May the report on US Base Closings comes out, and we'll see if it doesn't get closed. I don't think it will be closed. There are other Georgia facilities that will get axed before Kings Bay.

If anyone knows any new info please post.

Apparently, the St. Mary's Historic closed down because of a lease dispute about their locomotive. The regular St. Mary's should still be running.

From the Feb. 10 Florida Times Union:

St. Marys Historic Railway closes


Attorney blames dispute over lease; tourism department still offering St. Marys tram rides.


By GORDON JACKSON
The Times-Union
ST. MARYS -- The billboards on Interstate 95 are still luring tourists to take a ride on the St. Marys Historic Railway.

But when they arrive to the ticket office in Kingsland, people are learning their plans to ride the tourist attraction have been derailed.

The railway hauled its last tourists on the 10-mile ride from Kingsland to St. Marys on Jan. 24, when it closed its doors without any notification.



"There were school groups and senior groups who showed up for a ride and no one ever called to let them know they were out of business," said Janet Brinko, tourism director in St. Marys. "It's really sad the railway didn't work because there are a lot of railroad buffs who wanted to take the train ride."

St. Marys attorney Randall Sorenson said the railway shut down because of a dispute over the lease for the vintage 1956 F-3 locomotive used to haul passenger cars filled with tourists.

Sorenson, who represents Colorado-based New Century Rail Transport LLC, owners of the locomotive, said a lease payment was never made during the year the railway had the locomotive.

Sorenson said railway president Pete Strickland agreed to restore the locomotive and deduct the improvements from the $2,000-a-month lease, but had never made a payment.

"I think Mr. Strickland's position is he spent far in excess and is owed money," Sorenson said. "Their position is the lease is expired, they are owed money."

Sorenson said he is trying to convince a Superior Court judge to issue a court order to force Strickland to return the locomotive.

The doors to the St. Marys Railroad were locked and no one answered the telephone for comment Wednesday.

The Historic St. Marys Railway has nothing to do with the takeover of the St. Marys Railroad in bankruptcy court, said Ward Stone, an attorney involved with the liquidation of assets owned by Durango-Georgia Paper Co. The paper mill, which closed more than two years ago, owned the railroad and the tracks running from Kingsland to St. Marys until it declared bankruptcy, Stone said.

Tonya Rosado, director of the Kingsland Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she learned the railway was closed from tourists who showed up for a train ride.

"It's disappointing because we were just infiltrating the market with information about the train," she said. "We've had to pull the information from brochures."

Brinko said the downtown trolley tours offered with the train ride were popular among tourists.

When the railway was operating, passengers learned the history of St. Marys from the 1500s during the hourlong ride from Kingsland. The trolley tour in downtown St. Marys included stops at museums, a cemetery with graves dating to the 1700s, ghost stories, pirate invasions and historic homes and churches.

"People were calling and it had really caught on," Brinko said. "It has been very devastating for St. Marys tourism."

The tourism department is trying to accommodate groups that had already made reservations by offering tours of the city's historic district on an electric tram capable of carrying 15 passengers. The tram tours have been so popular, Brinko said the tourism department is offering them to groups of six or more if she has at least 48 hours' notice to bring in extra staff.

The tours are also available to individuals and smaller groups on days there's room on the tram, she said.

"We can't offer the train ride," Brinko said. "But we can give an in-depth tour of St. Marys."

Apparently, the St. Mary's Historic closed down because of a lease dispute about their locomotive. The regular St. Mary's should still be running.

From the Feb. 10 Florida Times Union:

St. Marys Historic Railway closes


Attorney blames dispute over lease; tourism department still offering St. Marys tram rides.


By GORDON JACKSON
The Times-Union
ST. MARYS -- The billboards on Interstate 95 are still luring tourists to take a ride on the St. Marys Historic Railway.

But when they arrive to the ticket office in Kingsland, people are learning their plans to ride the tourist attraction have been derailed.

The railway hauled its last tourists on the 10-mile ride from Kingsland to St. Marys on Jan. 24, when it closed its doors without any notification.



"There were school groups and senior groups who showed up for a ride and no one ever called to let them know they were out of business," said Janet Brinko, tourism director in St. Marys. "It's really sad the railway didn't work because there are a lot of railroad buffs who wanted to take the train ride."

St. Marys attorney Randall Sorenson said the railway shut down because of a dispute over the lease for the vintage 1956 F-3 locomotive used to haul passenger cars filled with tourists.

Sorenson, who represents Colorado-based New Century Rail Transport LLC, owners of the locomotive, said a lease payment was never made during the year the railway had the locomotive.

Sorenson said railway president Pete Strickland agreed to restore the locomotive and deduct the improvements from the $2,000-a-month lease, but had never made a payment.

"I think Mr. Strickland's position is he spent far in excess and is owed money," Sorenson said. "Their position is the lease is expired, they are owed money."

Sorenson said he is trying to convince a Superior Court judge to issue a court order to force Strickland to return the locomotive.

The doors to the St. Marys Railroad were locked and no one answered the telephone for comment Wednesday.

The Historic St. Marys Railway has nothing to do with the takeover of the St. Marys Railroad in bankruptcy court, said Ward Stone, an attorney involved with the liquidation of assets owned by Durango-Georgia Paper Co. The paper mill, which closed more than two years ago, owned the railroad and the tracks running from Kingsland to St. Marys until it declared bankruptcy, Stone said.

Tonya Rosado, director of the Kingsland Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she learned the railway was closed from tourists who showed up for a train ride.

"It's disappointing because we were just infiltrating the market with information about the train," she said. "We've had to pull the information from brochures."

Brinko said the downtown trolley tours offered with the train ride were popular among tourists.

When the railway was operating, passengers learned the history of St. Marys from the 1500s during the hourlong ride from Kingsland. The trolley tour in downtown St. Marys included stops at museums, a cemetery with graves dating to the 1700s, ghost stories, pirate invasions and historic homes and churches.

"People were calling and it had really caught on," Brinko said. "It has been very devastating for St. Marys tourism."

The tourism department is trying to accommodate groups that had already made reservations by offering tours of the city's historic district on an electric tram capable of carrying 15 passengers. The tram tours have been so popular, Brinko said the tourism department is offering them to groups of six or more if she has at least 48 hours' notice to bring in extra staff.

The tours are also available to individuals and smaller groups on days there's room on the tram, she said.

"We can't offer the train ride," Brinko said. "But we can give an in-depth tour of St. Marys."

Thanks for posting that article. They put a lot of effort into getting that excursion train running and then its over shortly after it began.

Supposedly there are 2 small customers on the line other than the base. But the base seldomly gets service. So the railroad might only operate a few days a week to cut down cost. Hopefully they'll make it.

It's gonna be extremely close!

No unexpected expenses, or......

As far as the Navy Sub base goes, if worse comes to worse, the Navy can require a connecting common-carrier railroad to provide necessary rail services, at cost. So, if needed, CSX may be the lucky one to provide as-needed rail access to the Navy base if the St. Marys RR is not operating (or able to operate).

ACLfan