Southern's weekday turn out the former CofG to Roanoke and Lafayette has almost completed its round-trip back to its point of origin in Opelika. It was an interesting operation that utilized two miles of rights via the Western Railway of Alabama to reach Roanoke Junction, where the Southern/CofG branch diverged from WofA's main to Atlanta. Looks like a pretty healthy train this day, dominated - as usual - by wood and wood products. Up front is a typical loco for this train, AAR-trucked GP35 2656. Years later NS would spin-off this operation, by that time cut back to Lafayette, to shortline operators who would make a go of it for about five years before losing the remaining business to trucks.
Photos taken in the Deep South--primarily Alabama and Georgia--from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Featured railroads include the ICG, the West Point Route, SCL, Southern, Frisco, and even KCS.
Selected photos of locomotives, passenger cars, and rolling stock in the Southern's livery as well as other assets once belonging to or used by the Southern.
