Hello.

I am trying to find out about the SAL/ACL depots of Thalmann, Georgia, such as when they were built and torn down. Thalmann was for many years an important passenger-train stop along the S-Line serving Georgia's Barrier Islands. From what I can tell, Thalmann is the only U.S. community (albeit a very small one) that once served as an Amtrak station stop that is today without any rail freight or passenger service.

I would appreciate any information that you might have,

Joe Schwieterman Chicago, IL

-- Joseph P. Schwieterman (jschwiet@aol.com), March 21, 2000

Answers

I photographed the ex-SAL depot there in 1978, not long before the line was abandoned in the early or mid-1980s. I don't know when the building was removed but no doubt it didn't last long after the line was taken up, if that long. Thalmann was also where the Atlanta Birmingham & Coast Sessoms-Brunswick branch crossed - the AB&C was merged into the ACL in 1946, and this branch was abandoned in 1954. Thalmann was a major freight interchange point between the AB&C and Seaboard. In addition, up through the teens, AB&C predecessor Atlanta Birmingham & Atlantic ran frequent connecting passenger service from Thalmann to Brunswick, providing SAL passengers a way to get to Brunswick.

-- Larry Goolsby (LGoolsby@aphsa.org), March 22, 2000.