The Georgia Northeastern Railroad is a short line freight railroad which runs from the town of Elizabeth, Georgia (now within Marietta

Marietta, Georgia

Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...

, northwest of Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

) to the city of Blue Ridge, Georgia

Blue Ridge, Georgia

Blue Ridge is a city in Fannin County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,210 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Fannin County.-Geography:Blue Ridge, GA is located at ....

. Goods hauled are mostly timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

, grain

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

, poultry

Poultry

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...

, and marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 products. The GNRR's subsidiary

Subsidiary

A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

, the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is a heritage railroad in northern Georgia.Based in Blue Ridge, Georgia, United States it follows the former Marietta and North Georgia Railroad line along the Toccoa River north to McCaysville, Georgia, and its Twin city of Copperhill, Tennessee...

, also operates on this line north of Blue Ridge. Despite the name, it actually operates between north-central and northwest Georgia

Northwest Georgia

Northwest Georgia includes the counties of:*Dade County*Walker County*Catoosa County*Whitfield County*Murray County*Gordon County*Chattooga County*Floyd County*Bartow County*Paulding County*Polk County*Haralson County...

, from north-northwest metro Atlanta

Metro Atlanta

The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States...

, and is a few counties away from northeast Georgia

Northeast Georgia

Northeast Georgia is a region of the Georgia in the United States. The northern part is also in the north Georgia mountains, while the southern part is still hilly but much flatter in topography....

.

Purchased from CSX, the line interconnects with the Western & Atlantic subdivision of CSX at Elizabeth Yard in Marietta at milepost 22.0 (33°58′29"N 84°33′25"W), located 22 miles (35 km) from downtown Atlanta

Downtown Atlanta

Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...

. GNRR tracks include a long rail siding

Rail siding

A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...

 along the east side of the triple CSX tracks, from just north of Kennesaw Avenue, over Tower Road, to just north of Loudermilk Drive, where it rejoins what becomes the main northbound CSX track. The main GNRR track splits from the GNRR siding at a rail switch just north of Tower Road, and parallels the other tracks to just before Marr Avenue, before a sharp turn to the east. Between Marr, Loudermilk, the GNRR siding, and GNRR mainline, there are two dead-end sidings extending north on the east side of the GNRR office, and one of those has another dead-end siding extending north on the west side of the office.

Communities

Counties and communities served by the line are as follows, from north to south (major towns in bold):

• Fannin
  Fannin County, Georgia
  Fannin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on January 21, 1854. As of 2000, the population was 19,798. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 22,580...
  
  :
  • Blue Ridge
    Blue Ridge, Georgia
    Blue Ridge is a city in Fannin County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,210 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Fannin County.-Geography:Blue Ridge, GA is located at ....
    
    (new)
• Gilmer
  Gilmer County, Georgia
  Gilmer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 3, 1832 and was named for George Rockingham Gilmer. As of 2000, the population was 23,456. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 28,389...
  
  :
  • Cherry Log (new)
  • Ellijay
    Ellijay, Georgia
    Ellijay is a city in Gilmer County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,584 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Gilmer County.Ellijay lies where two rivers, the Ellijay and the Cartecay, come together to form the Coosawattee River...
    
    
• Pickens
  Pickens County, Georgia
  Pickens County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2000 Census showed a population of 22,983. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 30,488...
  
  :
  • Whitestone
  • Jasper
    Jasper, Georgia
    Jasper is a city in Pickens County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,684 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Pickens County...
    
    
  • Tate
    Tate, Georgia
    Tate is an unincorporated town in Pickens County, Georgia, United States. Originally called Marble Works post office by the United States Postal Service, then Harnageville after Ambrose Harnage, it was the first county seat for Cherokee County, which functioned as a large territory rather than a...
    
    
• Cherokee
  Cherokee County, Georgia
  As of the census of 2000, there were 141,903 people, 49,495 households, and 39,200 families residing in the county. The population density was 335 people per square mile . There were 51,937 housing units at an average density of 123 per square mile...
  
  :
  • Ball Ground
    Ball Ground, Georgia
    Ball Ground is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1433 at the 2010 census.Ball Ground is at the northernmost end of Georgia Interstate 575, north of Canton at exit 20 on I-575, and ending seven miles north at exit 27...
    
    
  • Keithsburg
    Keithsburg, Georgia
    Keithsburg is a small unincorporated town in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. It was established in the mid nineteenth-century along the railroad northeast of Canton. The community was named after the local Keith family and its Keith Plantation, one of the oldest plantations in Cherokee...
    
    
  • Canton
    Canton, Georgia
    Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958.-Geography:Canton is located at ....
    
    
  • Holly Springs
    Holly Springs, Georgia
    Holly Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,195 at the 2000 census. Census Estimates for 2005 show a population of 4,328...
    
    
  • Lebanon
    Lebanon, Georgia
    Lebanon, Georgia is a community that is now absorbed into Holly Springs. While the community is locally known and still referred to as Toonigh, the community has a post office located in a small strip mall just south of the Georgia Northeastern Railroad that was posted as Lebanon, Georgia....
    
    
  • Woodstock
    Woodstock, Georgia
    Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 23,896 at the 2010 census.Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is now considered part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
    
    
• Cobb
  Cobb County, Georgia
  Cobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...
  
  :
  • Noonday
    Noonday, Georgia
    Noonday was an unincorporated community located in far north-central Cobb County, Georgia. It was centered at 34°03'43"N, 84°31'16"W , along former Georgia highway 5, around the Noonday Baptist Church. This Baptist church is still active today...
    
    
  • Blackwells
  • Westoak
  • Elizabeth, within Marietta
    Marietta, Georgia
    Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
    
    

History

The route has had several names since it was charter

Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

ed in 1854:

• Ellijay Railroad, changing name to
• Marietta, Canton and Ellijay Railroad, changing name to
• Marietta and North Georgia Railroad, changing name to
• Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railroad
  Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railroad
  Nicknamed "The Hiawasse Route" for a scenic portion of the railroad along the Hiawassee River, the Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway was chartered in 1896 as a successor to the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad. Most of the AK&N's stock was purchased by the Louisville and Nashville...
  
  , later purchased by
• Louisville and Nashville Railroad
  Louisville and Nashville Railroad
  The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
  
  , later sold to
• CSX Transportation
  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...
  
  , then sold to GNRR.

Commuter rail

At least one proposal

Proposal (business)

A business proposal is a written offer from a seller to a prospective buyer.Business proposals are often a key step in the complex sales process—i.e., whenever a buyer considers more than price in a purchase.-Overview:...

 is also considering using the line for commuter rail on the lower part of the route, from Canton to Marietta, and possibly along the CSX main route down to Atlanta. Canton, Marietta, and Cobb County put together $40,000 for a study, a draft

Draft document

Drafting is the preliminary stage of a written work in which the author begins to develop a more cohesive product. A also describes the product the writer creates in the initial stages of the writing process.In the drafting stage, the author:...

 of which says that it would cost $97 million to upgrade the old rail tracks and add passenger

Passenger

A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....

 train station

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

s, train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

 cars and locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s. Another $1.8 million would be needed annually above the intake of fare

Fare

A fare is the fee paid by a passenger allowing him or her to make use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used.-Uses:...

s.

The line would be 22 miles or 35 kilometers long from Canton to Elizabeth, where riders could transfer

Transfer (public transit)

A transfer allows the rider of a public transportation vehicle who pays for a single-trip fare to continue the trip on another bus or train. Depending on the network, there may or may not be an additional fee for the transfer...

 to Cobb Community Transit

Cobb Community Transit

Cobb Community Transit or CCT is the bus public transit system in Cobb County, Georgia, one of metro Atlanta's three most populous suburban counties...

 buses. The draft study estimates about 300 people per day would initially ride if it were already in place (600 if it went to Atlanta), and about 1700 would ride in 20 years.

The study urges local governments (Cobb and Cherokee counties, and the cities of Marietta, Woodstock, Holly Springs, and Canton) to preserve any areas where a right-of-way

Right-of-way (railroad)

A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...

 may be necessary, allow no new grade crossings of road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

s, and prevent land development

Land development

Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...

 too close to the line (so that new residents cannot complain about it, though it has been there since the 1890s).

The corridor

Transport corridor

A transportation corridor is a tract of land in which at least one main line for transport, be it road, rail or canal, has been built...

 may be in addition to GRTA Xpress

Xpress

Xpress may refer to:*Xpress , an award winning multi cultural entertainment series*Xpress, a regional passenger bus service provided by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority in metropolitan Atlanta...

 or even CCT bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

es on the parallel

Parallel (geometry)

Parallelism is a term in geometry and in everyday life that refers to a property in Euclidean space of two or more lines or planes, or a combination of these. The assumed existence and properties of parallel lines are the basis of Euclid's parallel postulate. Two lines in a plane that do not...

 Interstate 575

Interstate 575

Interstate 575 is an Interstate Highway spur route in the United States, which branches off Interstate 75 in Kennesaw and connects the metro Atlanta area with the north Georgia mountains. I-575 is also the unsigned State Route 417 and is cosigned as SR 5...

, which is scheduled to get new HOV lanes soon.

External links

• GNRR company site