Railroads, Trains and Progress

During the winter when I take Boo, the killer pug, out for his last walk of the day, I often hear a distant train blowing its horn. Where is this train I have often wondered? From googling maps of the surrounding area, the closest railroad tracks are in Jackson and Monticello, 10 or so miles from me.

The trains that come through Jasper County are part of two railroad lines, the Great Walton and Norfolk Southern, that come together near the metropolis of Machen, south of Shady Dale. Norfolk Southern cars, known as the Thoroughbred railroad, have as a symbol, a horse head with the letters NS forming the mane painted on the side.

Passenger trains of the Covington and Macon railroad first came to Monticello in 1887, but now we would have to drive to Atlanta to catch a passenger train. It was 1886 before all train tracks in the United States were standardized with a width of 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches, imagine the problem that solved.

With the new expansion of the Panama Canal which should be finished by 2015, many more Asian ships will be able to unload their cargo at southeastern ports and railroads are getting ready for the influx of cargo which previously had to be shipped from western ports.

So, the next time you are stopped at the train tracks around here and see all those cars going by, just think of the way railroads changed our history. Give a friendly wave, there could be someone working on that train that lives in Jasper County.