Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad
| Company type | Railroad |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Predecessor | Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Defunct | 1946 |
| Fate | Absorbed into Atlantic Coast Line Railroad |
Area served | Southeastern United States |
| Parent | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (majority ownership) |
The Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad was created in 1926 as a successor to the insolvent Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway. Majority ownership was held by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which exercised control over the AB&C. In 1944, the railroad reported transporting 763 million net ton-miles of freight revenue along with 33 million passenger-miles. By the end of that year, its network comprised 639 miles of mainline routes and a total of 836 miles of track, encompassing sidings, spurs, terminals, and sections shared with other railroads.
Passenger services
Daily freight and passenger trains operated by the AB&C linked its northern centers—Atlanta and Birmingham—with southern cities such as Brunswick, Waycross, and Thomasville. Until November 1933, passenger departures from Atlanta utilized Terminal Station; thereafter, services were relocated to Atlanta Union Station. Southbound trains originating in Birmingham served passengers via the AB&C’s Eleventh Street station. The two northern routes merged at Manchester to form a unified main line extending to Brunswick on the Atlantic coastline.
Branch lines ran from Fitzgerald southwestward for 80 miles to Thomasville and also extended to Waycross, which provided connections to Jacksonville, Florida—a significant railroad junction. Among these branches, the Waycross line experienced the highest volume of both freight and passenger traffic.
Beginning in January 1936, the AB&C took part in the seasonal Dixieland service between Chicago and Miami, offering coach and Pullman accommodations on the segment between Atlanta and Waycross. Starting January 1940, it also handled the streamlined Dixie Flagler, an all-coach train operating every third day as part of a trio delivering daily Chicago-Miami service along three distinct routes. The AB&C’s route was the shortest at 1,455 miles, covering the distance in approximately 29½ hours.
Acquisition
The AB&C was absorbed into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) in 1946, subsequently becoming ACL's Western Division.
Bibliography
- Goolsby, Larry. Atlantic, Birmingham & Coast. ACL&SAL Historical Society. 2000.
- Storey, Steve; Ray, David; McDaniel, Matt. Historic Railroads of Georgia: A Historic Context Study and Evaluation of Georgia's Historic Railroads Appendix A: Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast Railroad. Georgia Department of Transportation, November 2018.
External links
- Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad – Report by Georgia Department of Transportation, 2018
- Georgia Railroads, History and Heritage – Includes system map
- Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads
- Former Class I railroads in the United States
- Predecessors of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
- Railway companies established in 1926
- Railway companies disestablished in 1946
- Defunct Alabama railroads
- American companies established in 1926
- 1946 mergers and acquisitions
- 1926 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
- 1946 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
- American companies disestablished in 1946