Manchester, Georgia 07 06 07

Chartered in 1904, the Gainesville Midland Railway was a successor of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad.

When in Folkston, it’s worth taking a few minutes away from the train watching platform and taking a walking tour of the historic downtown.

EMERSON, Ga. – In order to complete the Western & Atlantic Railroad, engineers had to overcome a number of natural obstacles. That resulted in a 1,447-foot-long tunnel through Chetoogeta Mountain and a bridge over the Etowah River south of Cartersville. The bridge over the Etowah River was completed in 1847, about three years before the Atlanta-to-Chattanooga rail line opened. The bridge’s stone pillars are all that remain of the once-formidable structure. During the Civil War, James J. Andrews, who led a group of Union soldiers with the intent of destroying the Western & Atlantic Railroad, identified the bridge as a