The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad was a shortline railroad

Shortline railroad

A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the USA and Canada...

 that previously operated 77 miles (123.9 km) of track between Thomasville

Thomasville, Georgia

Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...

 and Sylvester, Georgia

Sylvester, Georgia

Sylvester is the county seat of Worth County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,990 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat and business center of Worth County and is claimed to be the Peanut Capital of the World due to its ability to produce more peanuts per acre than anywhere...

 via Albany

Albany, Georgia

Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the...

. The Atlantic & Gulf was created in 1991 from former CSX

CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

 tracks and currently exists as part of the Georgia & Florida Railway, a subsidiary of OmniTRAX

OmniTRAX

OmniTRAX, Inc. is one of North America's largest private railroad and transportation management companies, providing management services to 16 regional and short-line railroads that serve 10 U.S...

.

History

The Atlantic & Gulf consisted of two separate lines out of Albany. The route from Thomasville to Albany was originally built by the South Georgia and Florida Railroad and completed in June of 1870. The SG&F later became part of the original Atlantic & Gulf Railroad

Atlantic and Gulf Railroad

Atlantic and Gulf Railroad may refer to:*Atlantic and Gulf Railroad , predecessor of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad*Atlantic and Gulf Railroad , Gulf and Ohio Railways subsidiary...

, and the Savannah, Florida & Western by 1879. After 1882 the SF&W was simply known as the Plant System

Plant System

The Plant System was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system, named after its owner, Henry B...

.

A second line ran from Albany to Sylvester, and was built by the Brunswick & Albany

Brunswick and Albany Railroad

Organized in 1869, the Brunswick and Albany Railroad was created to take over operation of the Brunswick and Florida Railroad which was a casualty of the civil war. Apparently the Confederate States of America took portions of the B&F rail line for use in other more strategic lines...

 in 1872. By 1901 the railroad was part of the Savannah, Florida & Western. Both lines ended up under the Atlantic Coast Line

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad...

 umbrella in 1902, and through a number of mergers became part of CSX by 1986.

CSX sold both routes to Gulf and Ohio Railways

Gulf and Ohio Railways

Gulf & Ohio Railways is a holding company for seven different short-line railroads in the Southern United States, as well as a tourist-oriented passenger train, and locomotive leasing and repair service through Knoxville Locomotive Works...

 subsidiary Atlantic & Gulf and service began February 15, 1991. Interchange was made with CSX at Thomasville, Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

 at Albany, the Georgia Great Southern

Georgia Great Southern Railroad

The Georgia Great Southern Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between Dawson and Albany, Georgia, . The railroad was partially abandoned in 1994...

 at Albany until 1994, and the Georgia Southwestern

Georgia Southwestern Railroad

The Georgia Southwestern Railroad is a Class III short line railroad company that operates over of track in southwestern Georgia and southeastern Alabama...

 at Albany after 1994. Commodities included coal, paper, grain, peanut oil, tires, forest products, and aggregates, which generated about 12,000 carloads in 1991.

On April 30, 1999 the Atlantic & Gulf was sold by Gulf & Ohio to North American RailNet

North American RailNet

North American RailNet, Inc., based in Bedford, Texas, was a holding company of short line railroads. It formerly owned the following:...

 subsidiary Georgia & Florida RailNet along with an adjacent Gulf & Ohio property, the Georgia & Florida.